I tried researching previous posts but ran out of time (i know this probably should be posted under blinds and feeders but not as much viewship over there).

Ok - too late to put up feeder pens this year so I am planning for next year. My lease has hogs and cattle. What kind/size panels should i get - if you go to Tractor Supply thay have 34" hog panels, 5' utility panels, 48" feedlot panel, 5' horse panel, etc.?????

The prices are not listed but appr. how much does each 16' panel cost?

Does it really matter whether you build a square or circle?

I also understand that you need to build it as big as you can afford - minimum being 8 panels (32' x 32'). Correct?????

Lastly - how far do you have to recess the botttom of the panels in the ground to keep hogs from trying to root under them? Do you just dig a small trench around perimter of panel locations and then set your panels?

Thanks.

the bigger the better...we have hog panels and they work just fine..and no we dont bury em..thats alot work..just make em tight..and try and center the feeder if you dont want pigs...if you want em..place it where it can throw over the panels..better coon proof em as well with a cage of some sort..good luck..aslo have water on hand to pour where your gonna put the t-post..add as you go..

I built mine in a circle with 8 cattle panels. Used 16 t-posts and notched 3 of the panels to lower the height for the deer to have easier access. You can see the notched panel in the front and to the back right. Guys on my lease have used hog panels and the some of the stubborn cows jump the panels and tear up the feeders. I went with cattle panels to avoid this.

I got these panels from a local fencing company for $22/each, which is about $3-$4 cheaper than TSC. Total cost with panels and t-post was about $250.

Thanks - by the way, what diameter is the circle? (my geometry brain cell isnt functioning today :))

Any reason why you went with circle instead of square - just curious?

Also - have you suspected this may be too small? have you noticed deer being skittish of it?

How long have you had it up?

Thanks.

Aside from drinking - I assume water makes it easire to drive the tpost in the ground? The heat and lack of rain has made the ground hard as a rock - couldnt imagine driving tposts right now out where I hunt. The heat would make it just about impossible.

I believe the diameter is 40 ft. To find diameter, diameter = circumference/pi. Circumference is 8x16' = 128'.

I didn't want any pressure points for the pen as I am planning on it doubling as a hog trap once season starts. This is currently the protein only pen. I have my corn feeder pen about 100 yds from this one.

I have pics of 4 to 5 deer in the pen at a time. Haven't noticed them not coming in. It is a problem for the fawns, but since we have hogs, not exactly sure how I can build it to let fawns in and keep hogs out.

It has been up since April. Have lots of pics of cows and hogs walking around the outside, but none of them have succeeded in tasting the protein!

Excellent. Thanks for the time.

I prefer a circle for a pen. Just seems bigger with no dead space in corners. Also, the whole pen is more stable if you overlap the panels a foot or so and wire tie, or wire clip it together at both end-points. Tieing together at corners with panels simply butting up to one another creates a weak point at every joint.

I use 34" panels and they work great for me, but I have no cattle to deal with.

Lots of past discussion on this topic when you have time to go back and browse it...

The bigger the better is true, I've found out that 8 panels is pretty much the minimum to use to get more than one dominant deer in there at a time.

Lots of folks like round, but I've built round, square, rectangular, and octagon pens and have found no real difference when using cattle panels except that square or rectangular is much easier to deal with. Cutouts will get them coming in, usually, where you want them to come in.



Octagon in hard ground.



Cutouts for the deer. 2 squares down and six across.



Square pen

For the Fawns maybe build a 'handicap ramp' at one of your access points only on the feeder side so they can run up the ramp and jump out?

Sounds nice, but my experience is that when the fawns show up, unless the mother is the only other deer there, they aren't going to get anything to eat. The other deer will run them off.

All great advice on pen design, especially going with cattle panels, overlapping and cutting down two squares. Don't worry about fawns, they will get all they need from mom and the natural browse and forbes. When they are big enough around 5-6 months they will have no problem jumping into the pen. Keep your feeder in the center so feed doesn't fall outside of the pen. I personally like round pens with 10 panels. Anything less is too cramped and more is just a waste of money and real estate. Good luck!