My buddy from the city decided to get some chickens a few weeks ago. They quickly attracted some possums and raccoons and got eaten so he called me for advice on what to do so the next batch of chickens he orders don’t get eaten. I advised him to get an electrified fence netting kit and put it up around the coop and run. He explained that he has never even seen an electric fence so I’d have to talk him through setting it up. I told him I’d be happy to do that but “whatever you do, you gotta check and make sure that the fence kit comes with an electric fence tester and if it doesn’t than make sure to add one to your order since I won’t be there in person to make sure it’s set up right and working”. I reiterated that point several times while I went over the details about the type and height of the netting he needs in the kit, the energizer, ground rod, etc… Well fast forward a week and he’s got the fence so he calls me to talk him through setting it up. Yesterday evening I spent an hour on the phone with him and talked him through the whole installation. Once it’s all in and hooked up I tell him to get the fence tester out and we’ll fire it up and make sure it’s working. That’s when he tells me he didn’t order the fence tester because he got the fence on FB marketplace and the guy wanted an extra $20 for the tester. He decided he wouldn’t need it because he could just follow my directions really carefully and make sure to set it up correctly the first time. I told him he is an idiot cheapskate for not ordering the tester, especially since he has a used energizer off FB marketplace that might not even work, and he agreed but it was too late to do anything about it so I said at least send me a picture of the wire connections so I can make sure those are right. Well it turns out that he overestimated his directions following ability and it was hooked up all wrong. I carefully explained what he needed to change on the wiring and said to send me another photo once he fixed it. Well he still got it wrong and by that time it was almost dark and well past time for supper so I told him that I would take his photo and mark it up with arrows that show exactly where to connect each of the the wires then send it back to him later that evening or first thing in the morning. I also told him that since he didn’t get a tester he would have to use the old fashioned testing method that they used back in the days before the invention of fence testers and that I’d include instructions for doing that when I sent back the photo showing the correct wiring connections. I am really looking forward to his response.
