Deer proofing my pigs feed

[59 Sons]

I have four hogs and about a dozen uninvited deer guests that eat the veggies that I provide my pigs. I bring home about 8 55 gallon barrels a week from produce stands. I have never minded the deer joining my other livestock but lately I have noticed aggressive does chasing off my pigs. I'm only going to have these pigs a couple more months but I'm trying to fatten them up for slaughter. And they are not getting the food I am bringing home for them. I'm trying to come up with something I can enclose the veggies in that will allow the pigs access and prevent the deer from getting into it. Any ideas would be welcome.

 

[paulsharvey]

Thats normally the opposite problem I hear about. Normally its "how do I keep these dang hogs out of my deer feeder". And most of the time thats "sour some corn and place it way from the deer feeder, and the hogs will prefer the soured corn"; so maybe leaving the hog feed jn a barrel for a few days to let it sour, will keep the deer away?

 

[Rockbadchild]

pehaps a electrical wire ?? high enough for the hogs to go under but not the deer.

 

[WM75Guy]

I am one with the opposite problem. I did throw corn in the front yard for the deer. Had to stop when the hogs showed up. Grass is taking a beating. I have to drag the yard with the harrow just to mow. For an early Christmas present I am getting a thermal scope.

 

[drizler]

pehaps a electrical wire ?? high enough for the hogs to go under but not the deer.

Deer easily hop over electric fences. They easily clear 5-6’ without even trying. They have a huge reach as well. I often see our way overfed whitetails stand on their hind legs and stretch like a rubber band to over 8’ likely 10 just to sample a tree bough.
Our mob Always raids the garden in the night. This year I put a series of heavy welded wire panels 5’ high around it and they stayed out. I wouldn’t buy that stuff for the job but I had it already. It kept everything out fine but I have no illusion that they couldn’t just hop it if they really want to badly enough. So if you are doing electric I’d go with at least 3 lines making sure the bottom one was less than a foot off the ground . Most times they are just grazing past nibbling on what is easily available I find. Make it difficult and they will eat something elsewhere.

 

[gstrom99]

A regular pig feeder should work, since the deer probably wouldn't/couldn't lift the door. If the season is open, you or a buddy could legally harvest them (bow/gun/muzzy).

 

[Cycledude]

My dog used to think it was her job to chase the deer away, after the deer ran about 100 yards the dog would come back, unfortunately my dog passed away a few years ago.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Deer easily hop over electric fences.

Depends on how you build them ... Look into to "3D fence" if you want to keep them out ...

Mine works!

I put it up this spring, no more problems on my trees! IIRC wires on T-Post is at 22", 40", 54", then the fourth wire is set 30" away, and at 30" high off the ground ...

 

[gstrom99]

I'm trying to come up with something I can enclose the veggies in that will allow the pigs access and prevent the deer from getting into it. Any ideas would be welcome.

Wouldn't a regular pig feeder (with the lift up door) work? I posted a reply a day ago, with the idea of taking the deer "out" with one of those loud, lead projectile things - but the post "didn't make the grade"...

 

[59 Sons]

Wouldn't a regular pig feeder (with the lift up door) work? I posted a reply a day ago, with the idea of taking the deer "out" with one of those loud, lead projectile things - but the post "didn't make the grade"...

View attachment 4327486

Sorry I did not respond earlier. I thought I would get notifications if anyone responded to my post. Anyway, those feeders look like they could work but I would not put it past our dear to figure out how to get into them. They figured out how to get the lid off of the 55 gallon barrel of pig feed. But the real problem is the barrels of vegetable trimmings that I am dumping on the ground. I could not put those in a feeder.

 

[59 Sons]

Depends on how you build them ... Look into to "3D fence" if you want to keep them out ...

Mine works!

View attachment 4327419


I put it up this spring, no more problems on my trees! IIRC wires on T-Post is at 22", 40", 54", then the fourth wire is set 30" away, and at 30" high off the ground ...

I have heard about and even tried the multi-dimensional fencing before on my garden. It works. Unfortunately, my pig pen is about a quarter acre and is already fenced with 4 ft high field fencing. I tried deer netting above the field fencing, and they just dove through it and made a mess of things. I may have to run another layer of field fencing above the existing one. Thank you for the response

 

[59 Sons]

My dog used to think it was her job to chase the deer away, after the deer ran about 100 yards the dog would come back, unfortunately my dog passed away a few years ago.

Thank you for your response. I have two livestock guardian dogs who are up all night chasing off predators. My chickens and rabbits are all free range so the guardians are essential, as my farmyard is a buffet for predators. However, I have trained them to leave the deer alone. Simply by ignoring the deer as I go about my chores. To them, the deer are just another goat, just like the wild turkeys are just another chicken, and the squirrels are just another rabbit. It was never a problem before but now I have some really aggressive herd does that are becoming possessive.

 

[59 Sons]

pehaps a electrical wire ?? high enough for the hogs to go under but not the deer.

I was thinking of something similar. Maybe a small ring of hog panels that is covered on top with an opening that the pigs could get under. I doubt the deer would get down and crawl under an opening. But then I realized I would have to open it up to dump the barrels inside every week, and the idea got less interesting.

 

[59 Sons]

Deer easily hop over electric fences. They easily clear 5-6’ without even trying. They have a huge reach as well. I often see our way overfed whitetails stand on their hind legs and stretch like a rubber band to over 8’ likely 10 just to sample a tree bough.
Our mob Always raids the garden in the night. This year I put a series of heavy welded wire panels 5’ high around it and they stayed out. I wouldn’t buy that stuff for the job but I had it already. It kept everything out fine but I have no illusion that they couldn’t just hop it if they really want to badly enough. So if you are doing electric I’d go with at least 3 lines making sure the bottom one was less than a foot off the ground . Most times they are just grazing past nibbling on what is easily available I find. Make it difficult and they will eat something elsewhere.

Thank you for your reply. The pig area is about a quarter acre and is already surrounded with 4-ft high field fencing. I tried that deer netting above that, but they just drove through the stuff and made a mess of things. I think I'm going to hang another 4 ft layer of field fencing above the existing. It's just a bummer because I'm only keeping these pigs a couple more months, not even sure if I'll do pigs again in the future.

 

[ponytug]

Around here, the general suggestion is a second fence outside the prime fence, as @Shawn T. W. suggested, and having an irregular top to the main fence (things sticking up like branches). Apparently, the irregularity throws the deer off.

Good luck.

All the best, Peter

 

[gstrom99]

Yeah, if you're just tossing it out on the ground you're just inviting every critter you can imagine for supper. That's a big problem, IMHO.

Bears, skunks, rats, possums, raccoons, bugs...

 

[CliffordK]

Deer easily hop over electric fences. They easily clear 5-6’ without even trying. They have a huge reach as well. I often see our way overfed whitetails stand on their hind legs and stretch like a rubber band to over 8’ likely 10 just to sample a tree bough.

What we did in the garden was we would weave the electric wires down the rows. So, there wasn't really any safe space for the deer to be munching.

The same could apply to the munch piles. Just do fencing over them, high enough to be a bother to the deer and not the pigs.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I've never done it myself but I have seen people fence off around the pig feeders with hog panels/netting/chicken wire set high enough off the ground for the pigs to go under but low enough to the ground to deter the deer.
Although this was for weanlings / smaller pigs.
Cover over the top with chicken wire/hog panels, etc... to deter deer from jumping over?

could this work?

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Since you already have a perimeter fence ... Maybe just add a strand of electric out about 3' - 4' ... Providing your ground can use "step in posts" like my outside ones, you could space them every 50' or so ...

I use a 100 AH deep cycle battery which lasts awhile, but I supplement it with a 15 watt solar pan, it doesn't really keep up, I need to bring it up to the house to charge every month ...

It's plenty powerful to get there attention!

That's 9,900 VOLTS!

This is what I'm using ...

 

[Yander]

I am one with the opposite problem. I did throw corn in the front yard for the deer. Had to stop when the hogs showed up. Grass is taking a beating. I have to drag the yard with the harrow just to mow. For an early Christmas present I am getting a thermal scope.

View attachment 4327355

Interested in the thermal scope you end up with.