New Food Plot in Cow Pasture- fencing question??

[Sligh1]

So, I have permission to tear up a couple acres to put in food plots where it's now just Brome grass AND there is some cows in there. There's not many cows and it's 100 acres of brome.

My goal is to put up "enough fence" to keep the cows out while leaving as little fence as possible to make the deer feel totally comfortable hoping over it.

Could I do a single strand of barbed wire without making it electric? If I had to make it electric- detour the deer a little? I'd prefer not to have to do that and I'd have to make it a solar powered fence. Or, I could do double strand of barbed wire without electric. I don't know, I'm not a cow expert at all?!!?? The minimum for cows the better and if I can get away with no electric- great! And, I'd like to not have to spend much money at all! *Ideally I'd love to use a single strand of barbed wire with those tiny cheap metal poles, think it would work or do I need "beefier" set-up?

Just an FYI- it'll be clover, alf-alfa, annual rye and forage oats planted later on this summer, I suppose if enough cows broke over the fence they could kill it. THANKS!!!!!!!

 

[Sligh1]

Oh, I'm not planting 100 acres of course, more like 2 acres TOTAL, just to clarify!

 

[Critter]

Re: New Food Plot in Cow Pasture- fencing question

A cow gets what a cow wants........ /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Just my opinion, but I don't think a single strand is going to be enough to stop Daisy from coming in.........especially without any wooden posts in. Better electrify it and hang some markers so they can see it. Not really sure the deer will appreciate it though.

 

[dbltree]

Re: New Food Plot in Cow Pasture- fencing question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CRITRGITR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A cow gets what a cow wants........ /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Just my opinion, but I don't think a single strand is going to be enough to stop Daisy from coming in.........especially without any wooden posts in. Better electrify it and hang some markers so they can see it. Not really sure the deer will appreciate it though. </div></div>

Criter is right on...there's a reason we put up 5 strands of "bobbed wire" in cow country! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

I've chased enough cows outa the corn in the middle of the night to know what it takes to reliably keep them in/out.

Those buggers can "smell" when a hot wire fence is off I think... /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazy.gif

Anyway...I hate to tell you this but your looking for trouble...just a little anyway.

Electric fence with a solar powered fencer will keep them at bay until....a deer runs thru it 3 days later and the cows "lap" up your new seeding and punch holes in it! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazy.gif

A single barbed wire won't even phase them or the deer (electric or not)....

If you fence it with electric and if they can only get "in" to your plot and not "out" as in heading over to the Doubletree /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif then you only have to worry about whatever damage they do to your food plot and go into it with both eyes wide open.

Use lots of flags to warn both cows and deer /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[BugleMIn]

Re: New Food Plot in Cow Pasture- fencing question

I agree, and would recommend electric if you don't want to invest in some good posts.

I hand planted two small corn food plots in this year. The deer came on to them and ate the tops right off the corn stalks from the time the corn sprouted.

I put electric fence around one field (really small plot about 10 rows by 150 feet). I used three rows of electic, the highest being about 5 feet. The goal was to keep them from crawling under and jumping over. I know a deer could jump over if it really wanted to but they haven't.

The crop with the fence is chest high, the other plot is about 12 inches high and the deer just keep munching it.

Next year it will get replanted and I'll run electric to both.

 

[nacho2770]

Re: New Food Plot in Cow Pasture- fencing question

It will take at least 3 tight wires of barbwire to keep cows out.

You will also need to use steel t-posts to keep them from pushing on the wires.

If you want to go electric, I think two wires would do it if you had a good Fencer.

When I say good fencer, I mean it should feel like you got hit by a Mack truck if you touch the wire and you would probably loose control of your bodily functions... That's a good fencer!!!!

You could just use the thin electric fence posts if you went this way and you would be fine as long as a deer doesn't knock it over, which they are known to do from time to time.

 

[Skully]

Re: New Food Plot in Cow Pasture- fencing question

Cows are a pain in the arse plain and simple. If you ever plan on hunting over a plot in a pasture expect every cow in the section to come investigate your set-up. If you are blind hunting its even worse. They try to get in with you! I would find an area outside the cow pasture for the plot. Even if you have to clear some brush and have a long narrow plot rather than a square plot I think you will have less headaches and damage in the long run. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif

 

[KSQ2]

Re: New Food Plot in Cow Pasture- fencing question

We did the same thing this year at my father-in-law's place. He said only five strand barbed wire would keep his cows out. You can find t-posts cheap if you're willing to take out people's old fences. The buy the wire and go to work. Best to make trees the corner posts if you can. Good luck!

 

[jjohnson]

I think it depends on the cows but 3-5 strands would be wise just to be safe. I think Waukon1 did this last fall. Not sure how he fenced it in but you could pm him. I hunt a farm mostly cow pasture that has a 4 acre hay field and a separate 2 acre corn field that have a single strand of electric fence.

 

[Sligh1]

Since then, all the cows have been turned into steaks and hamburgers!
No more cows for me!!! Never again!
Great advice on all this, thanks so much & good luck keeping those rascals out!

 

[bucktails]

One strand will not be enough. 3 strands have a hard enough time keeping them in place. There is nothing worse to work hard on food plots and to come back to see cows in the plot tearing everything up. Over do the wire to make sure if $ is not in play.