Are “droppers” people with “butter fingers” that keep dropping things? Birds that fly around dropping guano on unsuspecting people’s heads, perhaps? Erm, no, droppers are strips of wood, metal or plastic used in the construction of fences. Who knew? Well, people in the business of making fences are likely to know a lot about droppers, having used them often but I’ve only come across them recently. Let me tell you what I’ve learned about droppers.
Droppers are also called “stays” or “battens” which are, to my mind, equally vague terms for describing them but that’s just me. They are typically V-shaped and are attached to the fence with clips. Droppers come in different lengths and you will most likely need a fixing tool to assist you in attaching them to the fence. They are mainly used in farm fencing, particularly to fence livestock, and come in either standard pre-cut lengths, or can be custom-made according to individual specifications. You can get galvanized fence droppers that are low-maintenance and resistant to weathering or specially treated wooden droppers, and the added bonus is that they are re-usable. If the fence is electrified, however, then it is advisable to use droppers specifically designed for use in conjunction with electric fences. If you are intent on reducing the effect of man on the environment then you might want to use wooden droppers for your fence as wood, unlike metal, is biodegradable. Of course, wooden droppers will need to treated to protect them from the weather so try to get pre-treated ones to avoid you having to make the rounds with the creosote.
Anyone not accustomed to the structuring of fences (that’s me) may be forgiven for enquiring as to the exact reason for employing this unassuming device with the strange moniker. In fact, there are two main reasons why droppers are used on fences. Firstly, they can take the place of fence posts and are much cheaper than fence posts. Droppers are also good for spacing fence wires and holding them in place. The second main purpose of droppers is to strengthen a fence and add to its flexibility, and the V-shape helps with this. Farmers will be pleased to know that droppers can help protect their fences from boisterous livestock as they take pressure off the individual wires and spread it throughout all the wires. The aim is to protect the fence as well as the livestock and a fence with a lot of tensile strength can help prevent animal injuries (unless it is a barbed wire fence) and absorb a lot of pressure without breaking. It is easier for a sprightly heifer to snap one wire in a fence and take off through the resulting gap than to break through a whole row of them, so fence droppers are pretty nifty doodads to have. Droppers are essential where there are wide spaces between fence posts. Livestock, the wily critters, can spread the horizontal fence wires and step through. Furthermore, droppers help to make fences more visible to members of the bovine persuasion.
Hopefully, this explanation of the nature and purpose of droppers will assist you if you are planning on entering the farming business and will need to put up a bunch of fences.