With the high cost has anyone ever experimented with portable pens similar to chicken tractors or the sort. I am in South Dakota and taking to our Animal Industry Board which regulates that specific market the deer just need to be separated permanently from wild populations.
Portable pens
- Thread starter mlangstraat
- Start date
I'm not fully understanding your idea here. Are u talking about something you can raise deer in and actully pick up and move? For the health of your deer, I hope I am misunderstanding your thoughts.. please elaborate
I've only had a couple ideas in the area and they would be to utilize large pastures that would otherwise need large amounts of fence. I have more experience in poultry, cattle and pigs that you simple move their fencing to the new area when they have grazed down an area. The fencing requirements are obviously less for these examples and I know that deer require more. My deer portion of the farm would also utilize permanent structure for winter time and what not but I see no reason, health or security, that the animals could not be moved to other areas of the farm without using permant fence. A couple structrue examples would be 8' fence that could be taken down and moved or building that would be moved and then reconnected. For example turkeys can consume quite a bit of grass so they are housed in a 16'x8' shed that moves and then has fence around it that is moved when the shed is moved, this allows the turkeys to graze large amounts of grass without large amounts of fence, same with goats, cows and pigs.
Joined May 2011
296 Posts | 0+
Linesville, PA
I'm familiar with the chicken tractors you are taking about. I don't think it would work with deer. They would probably spook badly each time you moved it. This could lead to injury or escape. I don't think it would fit the state regulations either.
If you have any ideas on rabbit tractors please let me know.
If you have any ideas on rabbit tractors please let me know.
I am actually building the Joel Salatin rabbit tractor right now in 4'x8' to be stackable on a trailer for transport.
Joined May 2011
296 Posts | 0+
Linesville, PA
I didn't know Joel had one but they escape from the one I built if the ground is a little uneven. How do you fix that? Sorry to get off topic.
No worries but his design has slats I the bottom about 2"apart across the whole bottom.
Mlangstraat, no offense by this but we aren't talking about a $20 turkey or couple hundred dollar hog. I don't know if I would wanna build some half azz fence to "hopefully" keep my deer in. People build high fences for deer for a reason. If u build a fence that you could move, the deer could move it aswell, while your not present. Resulting in lost or injured deer. I would can the movable fence idea, and start thinking about a permanent fence. Build an extra pen or 2 to rotate the deer into fresh pastures. I have 2 pens that are an acre each. The pens are split in half so when one side gets eaten down or floods come (a creek runs through them both) I can move deer from one side to the other.
I've seen folks use 10'X10"X6' dog pens to TEMPORARILY house fawns
and moveable fence for adult deer would be way more expensive and not near as safe as a permanent fence. Not a good idea at all.
and moveable fence for adult deer would be way more expensive and not near as safe as a permanent fence. Not a good idea at all.
Joined Apr 2009
1,562 Posts | 0+
cental Pennsylvania
You will find there is nothing cheap or simple about raising deer., haha. I see what you mean in your post, but I agree with others, there is no possible way it would work in my opinion. At least not to a point I would feel safe taking my eyes off them. I don't even feel good about my fence post unless I can sink them at least 3 feet in the ground. Deer are a whole different species, and even the tamest ones can spook if a simple paper bag blows through the fence, let alone see you dissassembling and reassembling a pen. Also, When deer spook and crash into a fence, they can hit the fence with the force of a small car and can pop staples and twist wire.
I mean No offense to you at all, you can't learn if you don't ask questions, so I respect your question and wanted to answer with my honest opinion based on 8 1/2 years of raising deer.
Although it won't be cheap, your best bet is to fence in the whole field, and divide it 2 or 4 times (depending on your field size) and put a gate at each corner and do pasture rotation all summer.
If you do get into raising deer, I wish you best of luck, and have fun.
I mean No offense to you at all, you can't learn if you don't ask questions, so I respect your question and wanted to answer with my honest opinion based on 8 1/2 years of raising deer.
Although it won't be cheap, your best bet is to fence in the whole field, and divide it 2 or 4 times (depending on your field size) and put a gate at each corner and do pasture rotation all summer.
If you do get into raising deer, I wish you best of luck, and have fun.
If you have the right tools and fairly flat land to work with, it's really not that bad to put up. I bought a new Dunuser hydraulic post pounder that fits on the loader of my John Deere tractor or skid steer. I also got really lucky and found a Fence Hog wire unwinder tool at an auction. It also mounts on the front end loader or skid steer. It picks up the wire and you basically just drive ahead as it rolls it out. When you get to the end you simply lock the roller and drive forward to stretch. It makes for a nice tight fence. Pounding oil field pipe is so much faster then digging holes and tamping wood posts and the fence is rock solid for decades.
