(Mule) Deer fence construction recommendations

[Shblack]

Hello fellow tractor users. This is 2nd post, and my 1st thread. I've lurked, learned, and leveraged what I've gained here. I thank you all and hope to distill more wisdom from you; and somehow contribute.

Given the old saw of "Good, cheap, and fast...pick 2", I need to construct a ≥8ft mule deer fence to protect a 1ac. vineyard in Northwestern Nevada. Prices are fluctuating wildly out there, so I don't know whether to bank on 10-12' t-posts, wooden round/square/rectangular posts, etc.

I have time, since I'll be doing it myself, so I need good and affordable. Plan is to use hydraulic auger for punching the holes, which is handy because it's how I prepare for vines.

Trial fence comprised of 9'6" pvc tied to shorter metal fenceposts, with bottom 4' chicken wire and 1' spaced wires (orange bailing twine) above that, worked very well, but it's neither permanent nor inexpensive. It's in the photo. Ignore the angled bottom section, as it was a relic from a prior attempt.

From the opinions on fence for mule deer from this page, 8' is the minimum height I'd want to go: How tall should a fence be for a mule deer? - The Environmental Literacy Council

Would you go 10'-12' T-posts anchored in concrete? Wood anchored in concrete? A combo? What questions am I not asking myself?
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White tail deer are a plague where we are in Tennessee. When we went to put in our orchard I started with a deer fence. It’s 8’ knotted wire with 10’ T-posts on 8’ centers that encloses about 4 acres. Fence is anchored to the ground with two rebar J-stakes between each post. I got the gate posts & gates from deer busters, wire & posts from our local Co-Op, shipping was prohibitive from deer busters. Used steel fencing because we were also trying to keep beavers out. Been up 4 years, no deer inside so far.

 

[jyoutz]

I'll come clean.

My first fence in 2017 was inspired by whatever I found on the internet. And what I found said "deer cannot jump up and out at the same time". So I put together something that was about 8' wide and 4' high.

In these 3 photos in series you can see the complete disregard this muley had for my "fence". From the crouch-and-spring in the 2nd photo to the sailing-over in the 3rd, this doe delivered humble pie.

Anytime I think I'm smart, I just look at photo 3.

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Yep, been there, done that. I finally called Game & Fish Department to ask them what works. They said to build a solid 8’ high fence. It has worked for me for 8 years now.

 

[klm]

Don't any of you guys have dogs?

 

[TheEquineFencer]

After reading several of these post, some crack me up. The deer jumping the 20ft fence was the best.

From personal experience, an 8ft fence is a great deterrent. Deer do not like trying to focus on two things at once. Try it, you can't. It's like skydiving, when the door opens, you only do one thing at the time, look outside at the ground or focus on the open door or where you're going to put you hands or feet. Give them two things to try and focus on.

If you put up a fence, be it mesh or High Tensile close spaced, put up two rows at least with flags or markers. If you're going with electric, make it hot the day it's put up. If they hit with it off before you get finished, they'll assume is off from then on no matter how many times they hit it with it hot. The cheapest you can put up is HT wire. If you put up a tall section, then in front put up 2-3 short sections, they get tangled before they can get off the ground to get over the tall section. A dog and/or gun will eventually get them to stay away.

 

[kiotirocky]

Don't any of you guys have dogs?

Coyote food where we live. Locals tell many tales of big, brutish dogs (in pairs, even) being lured by female coyotes calling out like a lonely, pretty pooch, only to run up the hill after her and be mobbed and munched. Nobody's letting dogs roam outside on acreage from dusk til dawn here. These things kill for a living, and they're smarter than any dog. I dusted a couple when the kids were small and the coyotes had gotten to looking in the windows, and that's a fascinatingly long jaw for the skeleton it's attached to.

 

[bunchgrass]

Don't any of you guys have dogs?

I have 3 Pyrenees and the deer will kick their asses for food.

They'll chase and fight any coyote so we never have had any problems there. Deer, moose? Another story totally.