Hog Panel Fence Installation

Hog panel is a shorter, tighter version of cattle panel: welded galvanized rod with openings that close to about three inches at the bottom. It was made for pigs, which go under and through a fence rather than over it, and it turns out to be the right fence for a lot of other jobs around Lake Livingston too. Feral hogs are a real problem on acreage in Polk and San Jacinto County, and a hog panel fence set low on close posts is the practical way to keep them out of a yard, a garden or a food plot. We build hog panel fence for small pig operations, hog exclusion, goats, dogs and gardens.

Keeping hogs in, and keeping hogs out

A pig pen and a hog exclusion fence are the same fence built from different sides. Both depend on the bottom edge. A hog gets its nose under a fence and lifts, so the panel has to sit at grade or slightly below, on posts close enough that it cannot flex up. For exclusion fence around a yard or a food plot we set the bottom edge at or just below the ground and add a strand of barbed or electric wire low on the outside where hogs are bad. Hog fence and hog panel fencing goes deeper into both sides of the problem.

Where hog panel fits

• Pig pens and small hog operations.
• Feral hog exclusion around yards, gardens, orchards and food plots.
• Goat and sheep pens, where the tight bottom holds kids and lambs.
• Dog yards on acreage for diggers and small dogs. See making a simple dog run fence.
• Gardens and chicken yards, often as a frame with finer wire added. See garden fence.

How we build it

Posts go closer than on a cattle panel fence, typically four to six feet, because the panel is being pushed low where it has the least leverage. T-posts work for most runs; pipe or heavy wood goes at corners, ends and gates and anywhere pigs are penned. Panels are set with the tight spacing down, at or below grade, and wired to every post at several rails. On uneven ground we trench or cut and step the panels so there is no gap underneath. Where the fence has to hold larger animals as well, we use taller combination panels or stack a cattle panel above. Gates are tube or panel gates hung low and tight to the post, because a gap under a gate is the first place a hog goes.

Materials

Standard hog panels are galvanized 4-gauge rod, 16 feet by about 34 inches. Combination panels run taller with hog spacing at the bottom and cattle spacing above. All of it is galvanized for the humidity; cut ends are coated, and we use galvanized clips and wire so there is no bare steel at the posts. For an exclusion fence we will talk through adding a low strand of barbed or hot wire.

What affects the price of hog panel fence

Posts on close centers are most of it: a hog fence uses nearly twice the posts of a cattle panel fence on the same line. Trenching the bottom edge, a low hot or barbed strand outside, and taller combination panels each add a line. A pen on pipe posts costs more than a garden perimeter on T-posts. We price it on site and will tell you which spots on the property actually need hog-grade fence and which can take something lighter.

Frequently asked questions

Will hog panel keep feral hogs out?

It is the best fence for it short of a buried exclusion fence. Hog panel on close posts with the bottom edge at or below grade stops most rooting. Determined hogs will test a weak spot, so the posts and the bottom edge are what matter.

How tall is a hog panel?

The standard panel is about 34 inches tall and 16 feet long, with openings that tighten to about three inches at the bottom. Taller combination panels are used where the same fence has to hold larger animals too.

Can hog panel be used for a garden or a dog?

Yes. The tight bottom spacing stops rabbits, small dogs and chickens as well as pigs, which is why it shows up in garden fences and dog yards on acreage.