How effective are electric fences in keeping the fox out?

I've read that they can jump up to 1,8 metre from the ground, that makes the electric fence irrelevant, doesn't it?

I'm scared for my new chickens that I've fallen in love with and I want to protect them very badly. But I don't want that to cost their freedom or quality of life with regards to paddock shifting, that's why we have decided to buy a portable electric fence (112 centimetres specifically for poultry).

I have gotten my first accidental shock today and it was quite uncomfortable and still tingles a bit, so a smaller animal than me will definitely remember that encounter, but I keep wondering if a fox wouldn't just jump over it and kill them all on a hard winter day or so. The coop is absolutely fox-proof, but if the chickens are outside is what I mean.

There are other fences nearby, so if he can really jump 5 metres (what??), he would have no trouble jumping from there. Our automatic door lets them out in the morning, and if a fox really used an elevated point to get into the net and then would not be able to get out again, he would be trapped and the chickens would be served to him as breakfast. I really see them more as pets than resources and I really want to protect them. Can you tell me your experiences and/or solutions to my problem?

Electroplastic fences kept the earthbound critters away from our chickens but did nothing for the hawks. I’d recommend an electrified movable (covered) coop.  I built one 10ish years ago and haven’t had a predation loss since.

I used an electronet from Premiere 1, and I had no trouble with land based predators. We had foxes around that got some chickens who got out, but I think most animals tend to walk up to something new and try to sniff it first... if that first sniff is a bad enough experience, they are not going to try to jump the fence. I'm sure they could, and electric is not perfect, but it kept out dogs and foxes from my chickens at the least. I have seen a video of a bear being deterred by an electric fence.

That is amazing news! So far it seemed like losses were unavoidable. So no jumping foxes for you, Gray? Thanks for the photo as well! Mine are shifted in an orchard though, right now there is no way I can imagine a hawk getting in. Do you know if that is more of an issue in winter? The trees are quite close (so close that their crowns are growing into each other at some points). Or ist there a reasonable solution for hawk protection in orchards?

Thank you Matt, I was hoping it was going to be like that. Maybe I will post pictures tomorrow of how it is set up and the two of you or whoever joins can tell me if it seems like well enough protection the way I have put it into our yard? I found it surprisingly hard to find a good solution for a fenced in suburban front yard.

Ok so here is the set-up, the other three paddocks are basically the same. Is that an entryway for the fox? The fence goes around the whole area like that. How much distance should I keep? The yard is not huge, so every metre takes from the chickens.

Hi Tomke,
That is a hard one.

Once thing I notice is all the tall grasses and shrubs right next to your electric fence. When things like grass or branches touch the electric fence, they lessen the zap. So lots of things touching means a pretty weak zap. The whole premise of keeping things out is that first zap is bad enough they don't want seconds. If you go electric, you will need to clear a bit of a path for the fence to be on. Maybe a weed whacker or mower, otherwise it will not be effective. Ideally there would not be anything touching anything but the bottom wire, but in reality its never that good :)

I like that the coop is up off the ground. Can the chickens get under there? this should provide some hawk protection.