Just out of pure curiosity and possibly helping others. What is the height of your federal pen panels? As for mine they are made of 16 x 60 cattle panels. The back 2/3rds of the pen is full size panels, and the frontb1/3rd is cut to 36 inches high. The thought there is by leaving the front shorter than the back making it easier to jump over the deer will enter and exit in the front providing more open shot opportunity. It seems to work more often than not.

Sounds great and thought out. My gate was a cattle panel which the bucks flew over with no problems. The rest of the pen was 36 inches high. One of my pens had two feeders the other had three feeders. I also had bob wire around the top adding 8 inches to the height. Fawns flew over my pens with no problem.

One is 34" hog panels and the other is a mix of 50" and 34". The second one is open on one side where I was going to slowly build a trap, but hogs quit coming to that feeder even with a 40' opening. Suspicious hogs I guess.

I just notice that I said the cattle panels are 16x60. I miss typed they are 16x50.

All our pens where there isn't livestock are merely the 8-10x 32-34" hog panels.

Out at my Ozona place, it has cattle and horses free ranged and most of my pens are 8-10 panel hog panel. One pen up on the north side I did with 3x 50" cattle panel sides (arc) and 1x hog panel on front and back as easier access points and seems to deter the cattle & horses (so far).

All of my pens are with 16' long hog panels which are just short enough for myself to step over into the pen. We have no cattle or other farm animals on our ranch. Hogs stay out and the deer come in. It helps to have it accessible to get to your feeders.

Mine is the same and I use 10 panels per feeder. I leave one where it is like a gate so that I can drive in with the corn.

I exclusively use 16' x 34" hog panels----(8-10) panels per feed area

We have cattle on the property, so I use regular hog panels with a strand or barb wire about 10 in higher. Before the LO sold his herd, I had to run 2 strands and extra t-posts but now the neighbor runs his herd there and they're much less aggressive...so far!

Hog panels. Deer just in easily. Pigs get fed in a different spot or outside the pen.

36" hog panels and as of this year 2 strands of barb wire on top. Years went by and cows did not bother, This year they went after the cottonseed.

Hog panels 10-12 in a circular shape. Size of the pen matters more often than not. IMO

Same setup, 10 hog panels one as a gate. Mine is almost round, going to change it up a little this year by adding two more panels and making it oval shaped like Brother in-Law suggested.
Rational behind that is; if you have an elevated blind, having an oval shape pen with the long area facing your blind will allow you greater shooting area inside the pen

On one panel that is facing my stand, I cut the top two rows off, lowering it. That does the same thing that you are thinking about doing and it funnels about 50% of the
deer to jump that panel.

16' X 34" hog panels here as well. Also 10 panels per pen.

Hog panels are 34" tall, I would be concerned that cutting the two top rows 6" & 5" would leave that section of the panel at only 23" tall and would invite a good sized boar or sow to enter through that spot and possibly damage the feeder and possibly the panel also.

I concur with Stub.

Same. I'm 5'9", short for a gringo, so I cut off a bit to climb in and out w/o tearing jeans/shorts. Although cinder blocks would come in handy.

It has 100% kept hogs out without making life difficult for deer.

We have goats, so am going to try 40" panel this year. Is that too high for deer?

Even the old bucks will not have a problem with leaping a 40" panel. I have cut down some cattle panels from 50" to 38" and it worked fine!

16ft hog panels also. I spread evenly 3 spot and cut just the top wire for FAWNS to jump in easier. Most adults use those areas more also but really any adult deer can jump in wherever they want....usually away from a more dominate deer already in the pen. Round in shape so bucks cannot corner another buck and kill him....round leaves an escape route.

These are great insights from seasoned hunters for those just getting started. I can say this for sure because I was informed this by a young man at church just getting into hunting.

34” hog panels set in a circle with two strands of barbed wire to keep cattle out has worked well for me for 40 yrs.

16' by 34" hog panels... use a minimum of 8 panels.