I am contemplating fencing around my deer feeder and I'm wondering how large of an area needs to be left inside for the deer to feel comfortable jumping into? I imagine they can get in and out of some smaller areas, but I don't want them to feel pressured out of the feeding area because they feel confined or closed in. I have a barrel with side ports and the hogs have figured out how to stand up with feet either side of the port and gorge themselves. I assume the high barrel with the ports t-ing from the bottom side prevent this, somewhat, but I had a plate style gravity feeder and the bucks refused to go under the barrel with their horns. After shedding, they seemed ok with it. That feeder was changed to a broadcast feeder last time I was here. I'm interested to see what the pictures show there, if the hogs now camp out under it.

But, I figured finding some panels on craigslist and posts would be cheaper than starting over with a new feeder system, so I'm interested to hear if there's any hesitancy from deer with the size. I figured a four sided, one panel per side would work. I guess if they wanted, the hogs could dig under it, but maybe since the food isn't on the ground, they'll move on to someone else's feeder. I think they drained 300 lbs of corn in the last 2-1/2 weeks...

I hunt a timber plantation near Woodville, so space around the feeders is somewhat small. Any feedback would be appreciated.

My pens have a diameter of at least 40 feet. Most are 50. I try to capture as much corn as I can in the pen. Also, the deer need to feel comfortable so I keep the pens large enough for several to jump in.

Ours is only a few feet from the legs of the feeder, deer hop in and out with no problem.

I have always just kind of gone with whatever size is convienent depending on the area and materials I have on hand. I tend to to a bit bigger (30-40 ft) but I don't think it really matters too much.

IMO the bigger the better. The deer will feel safer the bigger it is.

We generally use 10-12 hog panels

I've been wondering the same thing too- but mostly about the height of the feeder fence. 3 feet? 4 feet? Do you put a strand of barbed wire around the top to keep cattle out?

This is a stupid question- but can/do pigs jump (vertically)?

We are in brown county and finally have hogs- we've avoided them until now. We also have cattle there from March- September, and we want to start protein feeding and to have a fence that will keep the cows out as well

50' diameter minimum and round. Height doesn't matter, just build a 'gate'. Getting a dead deer out on your own can be a *****.

Ours are about 20' in diameter. No problem for deer to get in and out..

I've built pens for protein feeders when I established MLDP and feeding programs on two large ranches in South Texas and one smaller one near Rocksprings over the past 16 years. I learned some things as I went along. Some thoughts.

Bigger is better - 50' diameter minimum does some nice things. Deer get comfortable with the feeding area as a sanctuary and will actually often sleep in it over night. In South Texas our rule of thumb was about 65' min. You can just lay out the panels (13 or 14 with overlap), stand them up, wire them together and then drive t-posts at each end and in the middle. They go up quickly.

39" hog panel is usually fine. Unless you have unruly or very hungry cows, in which case the 52" panel is best. Then, cut out some top sections in a few places for does and fawns to jump in. Works great. If cows are still a problem, barbed wire across the cut-outs. Some really large hogs may still get in. Frankly - you will probably not keep a 300 lb. boar out if he wants in.

Important - remove all brush from inside the pens. "Cover" is not good. It will make the deer really uncomfortable generally as they are a prey animal that likes to be able to see their approach and around their feeding area. Remove brush from inside and around the pen and it will get much greater and more frequent usage.

Panels 3' high X 20' long. 4"x4" square openings, work very well. We make a round pen using 7 or 8 of these panels . Put your posts about 6 ' apart and tie the panels very well. Hogs cannot root under these if they are tied well unless the ground is very soft.

we have a 10x20 and a 10x15 and hold lots of deer. Smaller will hold hogs too (i.e. corn on ground) if thats ur thang.

Ours are all 50 foot in diameter with hog pannels. We have both protein and deer feeder inside face with plenty of room for 10+ deer inside.

We build them a minimum of 40'x40' some 60'x60'. I would go 40 at a minimum if I was you.

Interesting on the removal of brush. I would've never thought that'd be an issue. Hm .. Learn something new every day.

Back to OP - whatever size you decide, use hog paneling. Good luck!

We make squares out of 8 panels. On posts. One with "hinges" and clips so we can snap it open and back truck right up to feeder. Works great.

Ours are 60' circles. When bucks are in bachelor groups during the summer, i want 6-7 bucks to be able to be in the pen at the same time without feeling crunched for space.

I have one 55 gallon hanging feeder that I built just a few inches too low. Some of the taller cows can reach it. So instead of building a pen, I took three pieces of cattle panel mesh and wired them to the feeder legs. This makes a large, triangular "varmint" cage that keeps the cows out. Two of the three panels are wired high enough to leave about ten inches of space at the ground so the does can reach in there and clean up under the barrel. The third panel is wired all the way down to the ground, making the area partially enclosed so cattle are not as tempted to just plow through it.

The cattle come by and test it once in a while, but it has lasted about ten years or more like this. This year I replaced the barrel which had rusted out, so however many years it takes to do that.

I don't highly recommend this method, but it has worked for me. It is specifically for keeping only cattle away.

A round pen is much better than a square pen. Deer do not like corners

For my protein feeder in Rocksprings I used 16 52" panels. At times I had 12 deer in the feed pen.

If you have cattle make sure it is big enough no corn gets out side the fence.

Go to tractor supply and buy 5-8 hog panels that are 36" tall I believe. Overlap them by one square and put a T Post on the outside of the pen. Now google a Figure 6 hog trap design and make your pen serve two purposes. Make it keep hog out during deer season and then a hog trap when you have a bunch of hog on camera or in the off season.

Leave a 4-6' finger on the circle when designing it. That way, when hogs are circling the trap, they will eventually run into this "finger" and have to decide to enter the trap or not to. I usually just put a stick to hold open the trap and once a larger hog enters, the stick falls and swings shut. Oh and I leave it locked open when I'm not hunting so hogs can develope a routine.

Thank y'all good all the tips! Now to get it done asap to get protein out early and before the warm humid spring weather gets here!