Question: I deer hunt in North-Central Texas. Next weekend, I plan on building a round feeder pen at my deer lease. I am purchasing ten 16-foot hog panels that are 34 inches in height. I have heard that if the feeder pen is too small deer will avoid the feeder.
With this in mind, how big will my feeder pen be using ten panels and is this big enough? Also, I would appreciate any tips on how I can get a perfect circle and how may posts would I need. Thanks for your help.
Answer: Pen size is important because deer do not want to feel confined. Your panels total 160 linear feet, so with that you will be able to construct a circular pen with almost a 51-foot diameter (diameter = circumference/3.14). That is plenty big for whitetail deer. Of course, going to big is cost prohibitive and gets out of hand. I think 10 panels will make a perfect size pen. As far as fence post, I would suggest putting two post per panel, or one post every 8 feet.
To get a perfect circle, place a stake directly under your feeder or proposed deer feeder location. Then, loop a string half the length (25 feet) of the desired diameter of the circle over the stake and walk around the stake while keeping the string tight and marking the ground with your boot or some other tool.
We recently built 3 feeder pens and used eight 16-foot panels for each of them and they looked good. I think they were plenty big, so deer should not at all feel confined in your ten panel pen.
There is still a little time before spring green up, so I suggest getting your pen built before it gets hot. This will also give deer plenty of time to become familiar with your setup. Good luck with your upcoming deer hunting season.
Will deer use a 16ft by 16ft feed pen
Thomas, that is a fairly small feed pen for deer. I’m sure some will enter, but their preference is for the pen to be larger. I know some hunters that use 8-10 panels and place them in a circle around the feeder. Deer have no problem jumping in.
Keeping the pen big enough that almost no corn will be cast beyond the fence will help keep the pigs away… Thats why 10 16′ hog panels in a circle is ideal!