Klinker, in answer to your question about pen or no pen, I have 12 - 2000 lb. feeders throughout the ranch and none of them are in a pen. I do not have feral hogs, just cattle. In our rotational grazing system, I know what pasture the cattle will be moved to next so 3 days prior to moving them, I shut off the feed valve so all that's left is what is in the 4 drops. It takes 3 days for the deer to finish off what's inside the drops and the feeders are so big, cattle don't mess with them. I have corn feeders as well but cattle don't mess with them again due to their size and weight. They are probably within 100 yards of the protein feeders.

Frio

If you have cows or hogs build a pen. The bigger the better in my opinion! I have both protein and cotton seed feeders in my pens.

Good luck with new set up!

Yes, as large as you can, low hog panels. My hunting partners have been doing it this way for years, very well. We have cattle and hogs, plenty of both so it's necessary. Myself, I went to a timed protein feeder and just use it as an attractant from September through deer season, corn year round. Good luck. I like your approach.

Klinker, I have three pieces of totally unsolicited advice. It is what it is and you be you. Commentary provided is simply observations derived from one's own, personal experiences. Initially seeing the protein feeders reminded me of two I had sold to get away from having to get up high and to avoid ladders. Just be careful of it and never get in a rush. Klappenbach & myself share eleven corn & protein feeders all of which are now stand & fill. Your jumping to the conclusion that someone said your feeder was worthless was quite a leap. If it works for you, it is what is and you be you.

Usins down here in South Texas, bunches in North Texas and many parts of the TX Hill Country can drive P/U's to each and every feed pen location. We have 4,200 pounds of protein pellet capacity and usually drive out to the pasture with a ton on the back and load up the feeders. Sometimes it is two trucks. It's a minimum of fifteen minutes back to camp and would take longer if pulling a trailer. That would mean in excess of a thirty minute turn around plus fill time back at the hopper. This would lengthen the time committed to our chore. The small feed trailer you have would not work with well with our set up, but if it works for you, it is what it is and you be you. Btw, we have four guys who fill by bags, three who use a hopper and feed trailer and yet another who brings his own feed trailer each time he feeds out. We were given the opportunity to participate and share the hopper & feed trailer, but declined.

I am envious of what you have provided for yourself. I relish your commitment. I think it looks great and am hopeful it will provide for everything you so desire. As DBB said, "If you have cows or hogs build a pen.". We make ours with three 16 foot overlapped panels per side (making them about 46" by 46") and sink strong corner posts. We used a mechanical post driver to set the 3 inch pipe shown below and have other pens with cedar posts. The photo was before we put up barb wire above the 34 inch hog panels. This was not enough to keep out the cattle when they got hungry. We now have a hot wire six inches above the panel and that has, so far, proven to be much more effective. Finally, if using a gate, do not put it in between the blind and the feed pen, but off to one of the sides (if at all possible).

My third piece of advice is to paint Klinker's Korner on that hopper. It's a great space.

We set ours up with no pen at first, scattered them around the property. Then the neighbors cows broke into the place, found them, and emptied three 55gal feeders in a day. So I built a 70'x70' barbwire pen in the middle of the property, and moved them all into it. That stopped the cows, and was good for the last few years. The deer had no problems with the pen at all. The top wire was about 36" high, and I pulled up sections in places to allow them deer to walk thru.

Lately, the pigs have become a problem after a few of them figured out how to rare up and hit the spout with their snouts to make feed fall out, so a couple weeks ago we hog paneled the whole thing. Anxious to pull the pics from the cam this weekend to see how many deer have taken to it, and whether or not the pigs have found a way in. I did sit and watch it the evening after we paneled the pen and had one doe jump in. The other dozen or so that visited that evening were not so adventurous. But it was new, the scent of four people was all over it, so it's understandable.

I'd add a pen unless you are certain there are no critters that could potentially gain access and potentially do harm.

If deer are already accustomed to corn feeders, put it next to one of them and they'll figure it out. As others said, I would never top off a protein feeder when first introducing it, especially if they have not already been acclimated to free choice protein.

Once they understand what it is, you won't need the corn feeder to draw them in.

Safety issue with the ladder is mostly in play if you are humping bags of feed up and down it. Why leave it off if you have to get that hose up to the opening? Perhaps you're really tall.

If you do a pen, use a minimum of 7-8 cattle / hog panels and make yourself a gate wide enough to back your auger filler close enough to fill it, unless you have enough hose to stretch 30+ feet from outside the pen.

Maybe the picture angle is just misleading but it looks like the feed ports on those feeders are @ 90 degree angles. If so, I'd be concerned about their ability to funnel feed effectively.

How many feeders and what capacity are you running in total?

You can’t dictate written tone. I took STX feed back as potential areas for issue. Sometimes knowing the potential issues is the majority of the battle as you can plan aground them.

There is no perfect set up. Of the 25 plus feed station he is currently running I’m sure it’s still a consistent evolution.