Will be setting up two new feeders this weekend. One broadcast and one free choice protein. Both are tripod feeders inside of a 50' round pen. Plenty have commented on 50' being plenty big, but here are a few other questions.

1.) 50' still large enough for TWO feeders?
2.) Will I benefit/hurt pen activity by clearing pen of vegetation?
3.) LO says that 34" hog panel works well to keep the sheep out. Any ideas here?
4.) Plan on using T-Posts every 8'. Sound sufficient?

Build the pen large enough to keep all the corn inside and it will be big enough for 2 feeders. Clear all the vegetation from the pen and have easy access from around it. Deer have poor depth perception. 34" panel should be fine for sheep. I build mine with with a T-post every 8' also.

We have gone to 6 panels and 30' round pens and had no issues with deer feeding in and around them. I like some corn on the outside as there are some mature bucks that simply won't cross that line; however, we don't have sheep, goats, etc... clearing corn and we shoot the hogs that do. Also, we don't have the deer densities in the Panhandle as other places, so the smaller pens might not work where you have 20+ deer showing up at your feeder. Nothing wrong with 50' if you can afford it and have room for it.

This is the size I've done too, just a spincast feeder or protein feeder, not both per pen and they seem to be fine in size. Have had up to 4-5 deer at one time.

50' will work for both a protein and corn feeder, but IMO bigger is always better. I like my feeder pens to be ~20 yds from cover but open and clear inside. This way the deer has good visibility of danger in the pen, but escape cover nearby.

If you really want to maximize your protein access, consumption set that protein feeder in it's own pen in a protected area that is never hunted. Deer will certainly use it next to a corn feeder, but I've found the mature bucks will primarily hit the protein at night.

34" hog panels are fine for most domestic sheep and most cows. However, if you have cows and they get real hungry or curious they will go over them.

I'm about to set 2 new ones up in the next month, and will go with 12 hog panels with t-posts every 8 feet. This will make it about a 60' diameter. That may be bigger than necessary, but that won't hurt anything and I shouldn't have to expand them later if they end up too small or to add a protein feeder, etc. It won't be that much more work or money, really. I will have the pen clear of brush and may even weed-eat it with the grass being so thick right now. I like to have cover near by, but I want probably 10 yards clear on the sides to allow enough room to get a shot off after/before a deer jumps the pen.

Thanks guys. I gotta get my arse in gear as 5 of the 10 spots have already been set-up. I've got a spot near a deep draw picked out that's 600 yds from a water tank and 1200 yards from the nearest stand. Our new place is between Sonora and Juno so my idea was to find something near/in a draw with cover.

My Dad's on a lease just north of Juno. I went out there for the first time last December, and its got some great bucks, tons of deer and its beautiful country. Within 4 hours of being on the property, I saw more deer (about 20 total) than I had seen all season on my lease in Cisco. In 4 days I bet I saw 8 or so bucks over 120". I watched a 150" 12 point, big-bodied buck for 45 minutes but was only able to take a cull or doe. Really nice country if you're on a big enough place.

we use 8 twenty foot cattle panels 36 inches high. We have 180-200 inch bucks feeding in them. Clear the brush - I am not a believer that you have to have a huge pen for deer to jump in and eat the feed. If they are hungry they will get to the feed - especially dominate bucks

The number of deer and quality that we've seen so far has been really unbelievable. Half our group went up last weekend and opted for ten-16' panels for their pens so that's the direction I'm going in. They killed 6 rattlers this past weekend so I guess I'll be watching my steps closely. I seen maybe a handful of snakes at my in-laws West Texas place in 15 years.

Our smallest is 14 16' panels! I just put one up for my wife and we used 16-16' panels and used rebar every 8'. T post have gotten way to high.

My pen is 17-16' panels. I have two feeders (1 AM and 1 PM feeder) and I have seen as many as 12-13 deer at one time in the pen. I use two feeders in case one goes down.