Feed Pen Question

[TexasArchery_27]

This may be a stupid question, but for the guys that run a feed pen, I have a couple of questions:


Are the fawns able to hop the wire?

Do you make the pen not very large so the corn spits out, kernels are shot out past the radius of the wire?

If they(Fawns) can't hop the wire do they just wait outside like a guy that can't get into the club?

[DeadEyeB]

Depends if you are trying to keep cows out or hogs. If you are trying to keep cows then no the fawns wont hop it usually.

If just hogs then yes they will, but you might need to cut them down 6 or so inches from normal hog panel height.

You want to make them pretty wide in my opinion. My bigger pens over the years have produced more deer mainly I think because they don't want to feel vulnerable.

They should be able to get a good running start to get out anyway.

Some people cut openings for fawns, but hogs will get in those so if you are trying to keep hogs out that wont do.

[TexasArchery_27]

Good info to know! Always wondered, and since the property I'm on has 4 fawns this year it's good to know for future reference

[Txhuntr2]

If you are building pens to exclude hogs you'll want all the corn to stay within the pen or the hogs will still come around to eat outside and scare deer. Also make sure to use hog panels not cut down cattle panels. Smaller hogs can and will fit through the holes. I think that a deer that is old enough to eat corn can probably hop a hog panel.

[Tex21]

Mine are cut to 24" tall and I had fawns in mine all the time. The only pics of pigs I ever got was right after I put them up with the pigs walking around the outside.

[Doe Doe Spike]

I have 34" high panels with graduated wire and fawns can get in unless its early spring when they're young. Optimum is 28" high which is the recommendation of Texas A&M agrilife extension. They have several YouTube videos with good info on deer pens. This will keep hogs out but you want corn to stay inside pen or hogs will come around and scare deer off.

In my option as big as you can make the pen the better. The bigger it is the more groups of deer that will enter the pen and feel comfortable. Even within a good of deer they each need so much space so make it as big as possible.

[Rick]

Optimum is 28" high which is the recommendation of Texas A&M agrilife extension.

I can promise you if there are goats on the property, they have to be higher than 28"

I think I hate goats worse than cows on a lease....lol

[texashunter56]

I have seen fawns at 4 months old jump into a 34" hog panel deer pen. I have seen a buck fawn in La Salle county jump a 39" net wire fence in late October to get into an oats patch with the doe. I have pics of fawns in pens on a regular basis when they are 7 months old eating corn and protein. With 2 feeders in a pen I would make it at least 12 panels to get as many deer as you can in it at one time. I try to keep all the corn inside the pen, so I build mine round and at least 10 panels or more. I also road feed around the pen and the areas I can shoot so that all the deer have space and the fawns will eat corn their. If not they will run around the pen waiting on the doe to get done eating corn. Fawns can jump really well at a very young age, just like most deer of any age they prefer to go under a fence or thru a gate.