Two years ago, we put up low fences around two of our feeders. We wanted to keep it high enough to keep the cows out, but low enough that the deer could jump in and eat. Both areas have stands - One with a nice box blind, and the other with a ladder stand.
The fence was made with T-posts and rolled out Tractor Supply "field fence"
The fences worked for the longest time. The cows would wander around the fence, but never tested it. That's recently changed with new cows that were introduced to the ranch.
The new cows started putting their necks over the fence. They realized they could push it down if they put some weight on it, so they did. The T-post clips popped off, and the top of the fence was pushed down enough that they just walked right over it. They did this at both locations, and the old cows followed the new cows into the feed pen.
I've re-attached the t-post clips, and re-enforced them, but I don't think this is over. I need a quick fix, as I'm trying to hunt this location right now.
My choices I came up with:
1) Replace the roll fence with cattle panels. At $20 a pop, this seems to be about a $250 per location fix, minimum. Could be more. Not sure if it will work though, and would hate to spend $500 ++ this close to Christmas on fencing. That's also a lot of work at hunting locations during the season, which I'm concerned will keep the deer away for longer.
2) Figure out a quick and cheaper way to fix the existing fence. I've considered running barbed wire across the top, but not sure how this would affect the deer jumping in, or if it would hurt any of the cattle (which I definitely don't want to do - that's the #1 priority - fix this in a way that ensures the cattle won't get hurt.
3) I've also considered just snaking a piece of wire through the top rungs of the roll fencing and tensioning it up on the corners so that the fence won't get pushed down. But cows are heavy. Don't know if either the barbed wire or regular wire could withstand them pushing it down with their necks.
What would you recommend?
All the best,
Glenn
The fence was made with T-posts and rolled out Tractor Supply "field fence"
The fences worked for the longest time. The cows would wander around the fence, but never tested it. That's recently changed with new cows that were introduced to the ranch.
The new cows started putting their necks over the fence. They realized they could push it down if they put some weight on it, so they did. The T-post clips popped off, and the top of the fence was pushed down enough that they just walked right over it. They did this at both locations, and the old cows followed the new cows into the feed pen.
I've re-attached the t-post clips, and re-enforced them, but I don't think this is over. I need a quick fix, as I'm trying to hunt this location right now.
My choices I came up with:
1) Replace the roll fence with cattle panels. At $20 a pop, this seems to be about a $250 per location fix, minimum. Could be more. Not sure if it will work though, and would hate to spend $500 ++ this close to Christmas on fencing. That's also a lot of work at hunting locations during the season, which I'm concerned will keep the deer away for longer.
2) Figure out a quick and cheaper way to fix the existing fence. I've considered running barbed wire across the top, but not sure how this would affect the deer jumping in, or if it would hurt any of the cattle (which I definitely don't want to do - that's the #1 priority - fix this in a way that ensures the cattle won't get hurt.
3) I've also considered just snaking a piece of wire through the top rungs of the roll fencing and tensioning it up on the corners so that the fence won't get pushed down. But cows are heavy. Don't know if either the barbed wire or regular wire could withstand them pushing it down with their necks.
What would you recommend?
All the best,
Glenn
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