I'm wanting to pen off my feeders so the hogs can't get to it and the deer still can.
Took a look at some cattle/goat/hog pannels this weekend.
The hog panels were 34" tall, and I'm wondering if that's tall enough to keep the suckers out.

Also, do the hogs ever dig under the panels to get to feeders?

Hogs go under, not over, so the height should be OK. You may also need skirts, or panels bent 90 degrees to keep hogs from digging/rooting under your hog fence/panels. The upright half of the skirt is wired to the fence. the half on the ground is staked down with wires loops, so those nasty critters can't root under the skirt.

DF

So how deep would you recommend the skirting to be so the hogs won't dig under?

Just on top of the ground, secured down with wire loops, so they can't get under the edge, like a camel with his nose under the tent...

They'll usually go to the bottom of the fence rather than backing up a couple of feet to find the edge of the skirt. When they hit the bottom of the fence, they're right in the middle of the skirt and can't dig thru heavy wire.

Works pretty good. I think some fence companies make the skirts already bent just right. You may want to check on that. A good friend has 1,000 acres of Red River bottom land high fenced for Whitetails. He has coyotes and hogs digging under the fence and I've suggested he needs to do the same thing, at least in places where washes occur and where signs of digging are seen. In his case, I con't think he'll need to skirt the whole fence, just parts.

In your case, you probably need the full treatment.

DF

If you could somehow run 1 electrafied wire at the ground level so that the deer couldn't come in contact with it you'd be GOLDEN for sure.They don't like electric fences for sure.

Thanks for the advice DF

I use a irrigation trencher and set the panels in about 10" deep. Best defense is to shoot all those worthless bastards and let em rot

If you set the panels in 10" deep, that only leave the panels 2' above ground. Does that keep the pigs out?
I've seen them do some crazy stuff to get in or out of places

+1

DF

Burying the bottom of the panels with a trencher should be effective, although sounds like a lot more work to me. If I did that, I'd probably check into 48" panels. You'll have to look at cost of materials and time, depending on how many of these set ups you plan to erect.

DF

Trenching is easy, I rent a machine for $50, hardest part is getting it outta the truck. Height Hasn't been an issue, they wanna go under, I put a strand of barb wire along to just in case. My new plots will have a hot wire running off solar along the bottom.

I think the type of soil determines trenching or skirting. If the soil is hard, they work fine just on top of the ground. If it's loose soil they can dig, but not usually going to happen in clay or rocky soil.

I personally would run them level with the ground until a problem aross. If they started to dig, I'd skirt it. Another idea is to drive pins and wire the top to the panel. Rebar and a steel blade will make alot of pins.

All of our hog pens, when I was a kid, had a strand of barbed wire about an inch above the ground and then woven wire above, but close to that. Course we ringed their nose too. miles

I had two feeders to fence, did some researching on the net. Decided to get the ecoonomy cattle panels cut them in two, which makes each panel twenty eight inches tall. I cut eight foot t post in two. Cost for both pens was around 220 bucks. I did'nt bury the panels. It's been a year and every now and then will have a boar get in it, but rarely. Little piglets may get in, through the larger panel squares, but they leave as soon as mama leaves. We have very sandy soil here to, easy for hogs to root. I do have dedicated hog feeders also at some stands, jsut for having fun, picking off hogs!!



This is why we needed them!

Cool pic with the pig wrestling the coon.

I would take those panels and build some traps around those feeders - get rid of the bunches.

Seeing hogs like that gives me an "itchy trigger finger."

I just don't like hogs, unless they're on a grill and subsequently, my plate...

DF

You have a couple big ol' boars!

My AR-15 and I are still awating an invite from anyone on here who has a bunch of pigs! I would LOVE to take it to Texas and put some bacon in my truck! Looks like a blast and I have heard they eat really well.

We use the same Hog panels on the ranch I hunt in Zapata Cnty. Put the small squares to the ground, only trench enough to prevent a gap where the panel meets the ground. Drive a "T" post every 8', We make ours 32' square. Use some good wire to tie the panels to the "T" post secure enough that they can not be lifted. From my experiance if they can get their nose under or lift the panel with their nose they will dig under.

Spiwonka,

Looks like you've got a 'coon resting peacefully near your feeder, second pic up from the bottom.

Not in the Texas Hill Country.

Yes.

Im in FL, Soft and sandy round these parts

Ok. I'm going to go with the hog panels and T post every 8ft.
I had originally thought of building it 32'x32', but I'm wondering if 48'x48' would be any better.
I've heard that if the enclosure is too small that only 1 or 2 deer will get into it at a time.

The largest you can afford is gooder. Don't forget to put you a gate in there.

You will not have to bury the panels if you build a round feeder pen. Just multiply the number of feet of panels that you have and multiply by 3.14 and then get a string half that length and draw a circle around your feeder. Hogs will not dig around a round pen.They will come up to it, start circling the pen and then just run off.They will only dig around a pen when they can get their nose into a corner which alwaays happens on a square pen.

Ex.8-20 foot panels =160ft X 3.14 or 480 ft roughly. Now take half of 48 and that is 24.That's how long you're string needs to be.Measure the string out after you have staked it into the ground under your feeder and with a pole that has sharp end scribe your circle in the ground.Now place your panels on the scribed mark,drive your T posts and your done.You may want to cut one of you panels in two to make a 10ft gate to enter and leave the pen from.

Powdr, I did not quite understand you math. Shouldn't you divide by pi instead of multiply. ie. 8-20 foot panels=160 ft divided by pi (3.14......)=50.930 divided by 2=25.46 or 25'6" for your string length? miles

This works very, very well. Set one post/panel end & just follow the scribed circle around. We hammered a piece of pipe that a T post would slip in (Without the plate.) for the center of the gate panel. Just remove the wire from one so it swings away easily. Plan your gate for easy access for the truck to back in to fill the feeder.

Perfect circle with no corners for them to get leverage. Looks much better than a square, too, IMO. Plus, it maximizes the distance of the feeder from the panels. Just change the math a little if you use 16 footers. I used ten of them & think twelve would have been perfect.

Miles I knew something was wrong but couldn't figure out what. Was not sharp in math.I can guarantee him if he builds it square the hogs will find a way in. I've seen them tear their noses and snouts to shreds to tear a gap in a square pen.The biologists in Texas say a minimum of a 60ft round pen is about perfect. This allows enough room for a young buck to get away from a mature buck if they get caught in the same pen together.You don't need to bury your panels...just set them and hold them down w/your foot while tying to the post. powdr

Revised Math: 8x20ft panels =160ft divided by 3.14=50.95 so your string should be 50.95 divided 2=25 feet long and draw your circle w/that, making sure one holds the implement used to draw the circle straight up and down throughout the circle.I used this system in deep south Texas for years and never had a hog breech any of my pens.Sorry for the earlier error.By the way...I used 9-20foot panels for 180 feet total or a 57-58 foot pen.

UPDATE:

I bought a dozen 16ft. hog panels and am going to build the enclosure in a circle.

12 x 16 = 192ft. circumference divided by 3.14 = a circle enclosure that's just over 61ft. across.

I think it's going to come out nice. Now I just need to figure out where to build it! The deer roam all over this 200 acre track of land, so I know they'll find it easily.

Good pix!

Good pix!
That big buck looks as if he has stockings on front legs.

SC just find you an area w/natural deer runs or areas where you see the deer consistently. A random approach to pen location is not good. Set it up for their convenience not yours. The place should have some cover and place at least 30-40% of your pen butting up against this cover. They need to feel safe when approaching the pen. You will find out at first, they will just mill around the outside of the pen till some brave soul jumps in and starts eating. You then have established a good feeding area. Don't be afraid to move the pen if it's not getting the movement you feel like it should. powdr