Feeder Pen Help

Posted By: Txhuntr2

Feeder Pen Help - 03/10/17 10:09 PM

I am heading West in a couple weeks to build some pens to exclude hogs. We do not have cows. My original plan was to use 9 hog panels with 17 Tposts per pen. However, it can be rocky where I hunt and the ground is really dry now so I'm dreading having to drive that many t posts. Especially if I have to break out the heavy rotary hammer very often. I've done a little reading here and elsewhere and some guys seem to wire the panels together in round pens and drive only a post per panel. Anyone here do that? Is such a pen rigid enough to exclude determined hogs?

Any other suggestions?

Posted By: aeb

Re: Feeder Pen Help - 03/11/17 03:33 AM

You need that middle post for each panel.

Posted By: Txhuntr2

Re: Feeder Pen Help - 03/11/17 04:34 AM

Originally Posted By: Scoop

I have a number of rounded feeder pens from 34" hog panels. Use from 8-12 per pen. I overlap them and use wire rope clips (look like little u-bolts) to bolt together on the overlap. The pen will stand up by itself and is really solid. If you can get the t-posts in the ground good, anything more than one wired in the middle of each panel would be overkill. Would be a big waste of time and effort for me to use one in mid and both ends on each panel. In my rocky country I sometimes have to use a big hammer drill to set posts. Basically they keeps hogs from shoving the pen around but do not serve to hold up the panels since they are self supporting. My pens have been up for about 5 years in heavy hog country and we have everything from WT to aoudad, to axis in them regularly. Still as good as the day I put them up.

This is what I'm considering.

Posted By: djs303

Re: Feeder Pen Help - 03/12/17 05:25 AM

if your building a round pen you can get away with less posts

Posted By: Hunter Daddy

Re: Feeder Pen Help - 03/13/17 06:05 PM

Put your pen in a round circle and tie them all together. Then tie some of the panels to any "bushes" they come in contact with and put steel posts where you can. If the pen will stand up straight without falling over, you should be ok.

Posted By: Deerhunter61

Re: Feeder Pen Help - 03/21/17 03:43 AM

I just built a twelve panel square pen using 12 t-posts and 12 rebar posts in the middle. The rebar posts are easy to drive and provide plenty of stability.

Posted By: TEXASLEFTY

Re: Feeder Pen Help - 03/21/17 11:06 AM

Originally Posted By: Deerhunter61

I just built a twelve panel square pen using 12 t-posts and 12 rebar posts in the middle. The rebar posts are easy to drive and provide plenty of stability.

What size rebar?

Posted By: Trenton

Re: Feeder Pen Help - 03/25/17 08:33 AM

If the ground is rocky or really hard the hogs won't get under it. We use 8 to 12 panels per round pen, and we start by tieing the panels together with rebar ties and the wire twister tools. We often use one t post per panel. If the ground is soft or far from flat more t posts are in order. We often joke that the pens would be fine with only two t posts for the gate.