starting pen size ?

jlboomer · Post by **jlboomer** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:16 pm

just curious im going to start a fencing for a pup training pen this fall what do you think about a 150 x 350' this is a little over and acre think it would be good enough for pups 4 to 8 months old. thanks guys and i need some tips on wire and how to constructe it any help would be appriciated thanks.

S.R.Patch · Post by **S.R.Patch** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:19 am

Sounds great! when can I bring the pups

Size sounds good, wood post on corners or angles, gate big enough to get a mower through, steel line post every 10ft., 3 runs of high tension wire around the pen, one at top, one in middle & one just barely off ground to hold fence down and keep anything from slipping under. 5 ft. apron fence is the ticket, stretch only hand tight, attach with hogrings. We turn apron to inside of pen and bend old wielding rods into hairpin shape and push through apron into ground, to hold wire apron down until grass grows up to grab hold of it.
We cut out the trees where we had pushed up some root-wads, when the sun came in, so did the blackberry and honeysuckle, over head high now, thicker the better...
Good luck with your pen, you'll really enjoy it

...Patch

jlboomer · Post by **jlboomer** » Wed May 24, 2006 5:44 pm

thanks for the advice patch im takin notes. im going to be fencing in a moutain side lol thats already pretty thick thats why im going to have to wait till this fall when things die down enough to move in there if i can aford it id like to make it bigger i bought 40acres but im going to try and farm alot if it latter on in life when i get it cleared off. i see the biggest problem is going to be finding wire. do you know of any places to get it resaonable or what would you reccomend i don't think the wire sold around here with the 2x4" squares would hold my rabbits in. hey thanks alot for all your advice patch.

backyard beagler · Post by **backyard beagler** » Wed May 24, 2006 7:31 pm

just yell when you get it finished

I can probaly give you some business.

jlboomer · Post by **jlboomer** » Thu May 25, 2006 7:07 pm

hey backyard longtime no see. lol may get you to help me out on it lol i bought some property down on 229 gonna be awhile movin on it tho. but id love to be able to start workin on a pen this fall. so what kinda dogs you got now.

PLATEAUBEAGLER · Post by **PLATEAUBEAGLER** » Thu May 25, 2006 10:03 pm

boomer i just built one in Jan of this year and it's alittle over acer to and i think it has been money well spent.
patch is telling you right, i did the same except i used steel post on corner, ran my post every 8',set my fecing at 4' high and used the other 2' as aporon. all i did was bend it down as i attached to fence post, then i took cloths anger's cut them up to make horseshoe shape and put it on my aporon at a angle in the ground to keep it from pulling loose.
i have small trees in side maybe 6' high at most the rest is briars and grass about waist high now.
i also built a few brush piles, cut some plastic 55 gal drums in half w/ a 4'' hole at both ends for them to run out either end. i also put a old camper top in there to let them get out of the rain, snow, until the pen growed up.
as for my fencing i ran 6'x150' 1'' chicken wire 57.00 a roll at our local feed store, i've got maybe alittle over 300.00 in the hole job and have enjoyed it every sense and if ya don't watch it,it will become a full time job with everyone training there pups when you get it built, i had to shut mine down until it grows up to runners or it wouldn't have got grown up like it is, but i got a waiting list to run when i do open it.lol
good luck and hope this is of some help to you.

S.R.Patch · Post by **S.R.Patch** » Fri May 26, 2006 6:30 am

jlboomer wrote:thanks for the advice patch im takin notes. im going to be fencing in a moutain side lol thats already pretty thick thats why im going to have to wait till this fall when things die down enough to move in there if i can aford it id like to make it bigger i bought 40acres but im going to try and farm alot if it latter on in life when i get it cleared off. i see the biggest problem is going to be finding wire. do you know of any places to get it resaonable or what would you reccomend i don't think the wire sold around here with the 2x4" squares would hold my rabbits in. hey thanks alot for all your advice patch.

Hi Boomer,
I got my wire from a old brace beagle club. They'd been rolling their wire in thined roof coating to make it last longer. It's a mess and you have to let it dry a few months but does the job.
Now, they have the plastic coated wire and it's very nice. I bought some on a damage sale one of the lumber yards was having after the roof fell in during a big snow we had. I'm going to put up a pen to raise the baby rabbits on the ground before going into the starting pen and thats what this wire will be used for. It's been laying outside for over a year now and still looks brand new. It's not the 17ga. beagle netting for starting pens, it's a little lighter, the same a chicken wire, but coated black. Should last a long time and thats what make it worth the extra $$$. I don't remember what I gave for it, but if I had to buy the wire a paycheck at a time to get the coated wire, it is worth the extra cost for less trouble. A lot of the tar has come off my starting pen wire and I'm going to spray it with diesel fuel to keep the rust down, but the tar coating lasted 10 years...
RedBrand makes a good wire for pens. The 2X4 wire is way to big, even baby rabbits will get through the beagle netting, as I had one run through it while I was mowing around the outside of mine. Luckly, it was a wild one that squeezed into the pen...

Since your not going to build until the Fall, you've got time to start buying your fence a little at a time or save up for it when needed.
Remember, no corners in a pen is best, hounds can't trap them.
Wood pallets and sections of 4"-6" field tile, 10' long make excellent starting bases for brushpiles also. You got to have lots of cover or the rabbits won't last. Fit your pipe ends into concrete blocks, or the pups will get hold of them and pull them out of the brushpiles...
Make your pen look like, say, if you were rabbit hunting and you came upon it, you'd think to yourself, "now there's got to be a rabbit in there"...

jlboomer · Post by **jlboomer** » Fri May 26, 2006 8:59 pm

thanks again patch for all your info ill be checking around for wire. Donnie i thought about the chiken wire but i don't think it would last to long im afraid a bealge would chew through it. but if anyone knows where i can pickup some apron fencing wire resonably priced let me know. oh yea i did find some wire they call kennel wire 2x2" squares thirty some dollars for 50' or like $47 a 100' i beleave at lowes. thanks for the advice guys.

backyard beagler · Post by **backyard beagler** » Sat May 27, 2006 8:20 pm

give me a yell and I will try to help as I was thinking of doing the same thing might be good experience, as far as dogs go I got nothing worth talking about but thats nothing new.

smithbros.1 · Post by **smithbros.1** » Sun May 28, 2006 7:43 am

Boomer, I am currently finishing my staring pen. I made mine about 1 acre also. I purchased my wire from Byrne Fence. I bought the 18 ga vinyl coated 5' fence. This has a 10 year warranty on it. I would rccommend going with the vinyl, I used 17 ga beagle mesh on a fence 3 years ago. I pulled up a section of this & it was getting rusty along the dirt already.

If a couple of people would buy wire with you, it will save on the shipping. I think they ship 1-9 rolls for the same price!

I also ran 4 strands of High-tensile wire. We have alot of deer & they will destroy your fence. I put my T posts 10' apart. I used wood corners & braced them diagonally with another post.
I used ratchets on the high-tensile, so when the deer run into it & strech it out you can restrech your wire.
I use cage J clips to hook the mesh to the High-tensile. The sheet metal J clips work better than the aluminum J clips. I have never used the hog rings. I think the J clips might be a little cheaper to buy.
Good luck Jason

jlboomer · Post by **jlboomer** » Sun May 28, 2006 2:20 pm

thanks for the advice jasson. yea backyard i don't have much to brag on either just got 5 pups im trying to work with and seems like everything under the sun keeps coming up and preventing me from getting them to the woods.

NC rabbit hunter · Post by **NC rabbit hunter** » Sun May 28, 2006 5:09 pm

Smithbros got it right.I just built a 4 acre pen,took me 2 months but I havent regretted one second of it!!!!!!! I even sold my boat to build it! I put a couple of food plots in it and keep taters scattered where they can eat and be safe.I also ran electric fence around the top. It will be the best money you will ever spend. The j clips are definately cheaper than hog rings,learned it to late. Good running to all!!

Rico · Post by **Rico** » Sun May 28, 2006 9:16 pm

I just finish a 4 an half acre starting pen,took about 4 week ends. Thanks I learn a few tricks from reading this thread.I turned 7 rabbits loose yesterday and took 4 pups today they just followed me around since it was thier first time out. Didn't see but 1 rabbit an it was ahead of us runn the fence line.Feels good to have a place to take your pups.

J.B.M. · Post by **J.B.M.** » Tue May 30, 2006 8:44 pm

Joey, you might check with Chip Eisenhut. I bought vinyl coated apron fence from him a few yrs ago for a one acre pen. He was very reasonable and is in reasonable driving distance from eastern Ky, so you may be able to go pick it up yourself. I moved away and left my pen, but I really enjoyed it.

J.B.M. · Post by **J.B.M.** » Tue May 30, 2006 8:53 pm

To add to my last post, I will also say that if you're not going to use wild rabbits, Smoky Mtn Cottontails worked best for me. I put a few in, and the following year I had to start trapping them becuase they were multiplying like crazy.