High fence regulations

[DavisHollow]

I can’t seem to find any info on high fence rules/regulations in Texas. I’m not a fan of them, but my two much larger neighbors have high fenced 97% of my property for me. So I’m wondering if I might be better off completing the project and going high fence too.

Just looking for rules and regulations. Thanks.

[txtrophy85]

There is no regulations in Texas regarding fence height.

You want to build one you are free to do so, make sure you on or within your property boundary when you do so. If you are taking down a fence shared with your neighbor it’s a good idea to give them a heads up/get their ok before proceeding. If they object, step inside the fence 1’ and build away.

[Big pig]

Well, that sounds good to me. May I ask how many acres ? I assume you have resident deer?
But “ closing the gate “ means you will have to be killing lots of deer to keep the population in check. No matter how much you feed

BP

[60 Deluxe]

Those high fences can bite you in the rear. My neighbor across the road, whom is a good friend, put up about four miles of high fence with a four-foot barrier mat laid on the ground and staked down to keep coyotes out. This was done with the intention of raising sheep and goats, not anything to do with hunting. The dummy had a nice stand of wheat last fall. Mine failed and the neighbor to the east of me also lost his wheat. All of the deer migrated to the high fence ranch because of the easy food source. He finished hanging the gates about the time that nearly every deer in a couple mile radius was camped out on his place. This summer, the drought got really bad. He doesn't have anything for the livestock to eat, so they are mostly gone. He is having to feed the deer to keep them alive. I tease him often about his stupidity. A couple of months ago he offered to get several guys together on four wheelers late in the evening to push several dozen deer out and on to my place. I declined the offer. At the time, the only thing actually growing on my place was prickly pear and mesquite. There wasn't anything for the deer to eat. We got a little rain in October, so I went ahead and planted wheat. It's amazing how well it grows with a highly reduced deer population.

[BTLowry]

No regs

Finishing would depend on what I wanted to do and how many acres I had.

I think if I high fenced all of mine I would kill the deer off and get some kind of exotics and deer hunt elsewhere. But my place is not real big and would not support many deer without pouring feed to them

[Throwin Darts]

Those high fences can bite you in the rear. My neighbor across the road, whom is a good friend, put up about four miles of high fence with a four-foot barrier mat laid on the ground and staked down to keep coyotes out. This was done with the intention of raising sheep and goats, not anything to do with hunting. The dummy had a nice stand of wheat last fall. Mine failed and the neighbor to the east of me also lost his wheat. All of the deer migrated to the high fence ranch because of the easy food source. He finished hanging the gates about the time that nearly every deer in a couple mile radius was camped out on his place. This summer, the drought got really bad. He doesn't have anything for the livestock to eat, so they are mostly gone. He is having to feed the deer to keep them alive. I tease him often about his stupidity. A couple of months ago he offered to get several guys together on four wheelers late in the evening to push several dozen deer out and on to my place. I declined the offer. At the time, the only thing actually growing on my place was prickly pear and mesquite. There wasn't anything for the deer to eat. We got a little rain in October, so I went ahead and planted wheat. It's amazing how well it grows with a highly reduced deer population.

If you high fence a place to raise sheep and goats you’re not very good at math

[brokeno]

I never understood how the deer belong to the state but you can high fence and restrict their movement and trap them in your property. If I have a deer that I raised in my back yard the tpwd will come get it and give me a hefty fine.

[Bucknaked]

I never understood how the deer belong to the state but you can high fence and restrict their movement and trap them in your property. If I have a deer that I raised in my back yard the tpwd will come get it and give me a hefty fine.

Here we go …. Back on topic lol

[Big pig]

If you high fence a place to raise sheep and goats you’re not very good at math

He didn’t mention a business or trying to making a profit . . .

[Faulkster]

Here we go …. Back on topic lol

its a fair question for sure! I think this is something that Texas needs to address or look at.

[DavisHollow]

I purposely didn’t mention the size to avoid all the posts telling me it was a stupid idea.

It’s 96 acres inside the fence. I have about 60 feet of frontage where wildlife can get in/out. Everything else around me is 10-30x bigger. To close it off I would have to build 0.9 miles of high fence and 3 gates because there’s a county road running along one of the high fenced legs. Unless I could build a gate on the entrance to the county road. I doubt I could pull that off.

Once the high fence went up (3 years ago for one leg, his year for the other), hogs are gone. 90% reduction. Jury is out on whether I’m seeing fewer deer. Certainly fewer bucks, and smaller (healthy) deer overall.

Don’t want to talk “high fence bad”. It’s here. Pointless discussion.

[DavisHollow]

Another option is to get some low fence exotics like Blackbuck. How many blackbuck could I buy with 0.9 miles of high fence?

Are there seriously no regulations regarding high fencing? Like supplemental water and food requirements?


Thanks for all the input. I appreciate the viewpoints.

[Bucknaked]

its a fair question for sure! I think this is something that Texas needs to address or look at.

OK, but that isn’t what this thread is about now is it?

[Tbar]

When I was looking at buying a high fence breeding operation I thought I was told I could not trap the kings deer(native). I could be wrong.

The regulations were endless on the breeding stock.

[steve morton]

96 acres, 97% completed high fence now, not out of pocket, that's a no brainer.
I'd have all the kids and grandkids on doe and cull duty.