No, touching the ground wire does not shock you unless you are properly connected and there are defective equipment connected to it. This! Remember that the voltage is relative. This can be some volts if there are floor defects standing - but usually at least 50V in normal, dry skin, is perfectly safe.

If your fence is not the right earth, the shock may not be so powerful in the same way! Because when the circuit and the earth are critical to the shock of being felt, the birds are in a line close to the energy line in shock of feeling. Because they are not the earth in any case, the circuit is not complete.

The power lines are not isolated and you should always avoid contact with them. It is very possible that people will be electrocuted if you touch the power lines.

If you are standing on a rubber carpet or any other non-conductor material, you can touch a live electric cable with one hand without getting an electric shock. Birds land on live electric cables of a variety of tensions, and not getting an electric shock.

A: Well, it didn't kill you for three reasons. First, the electric fences are designed to not kill you. Second, with this in mind the electric fences are designed to provide high voltage and under amperage and instead of explaining how volts, amplifiers and resistance work, simply google.