# Bent up Hog/Cattle Panels



## kile529 (Jan 14, 2014)

So, my husband and I bought a small foreclosed farm. We're getting the pastures set up and removing old hog & cattle panels that have had overgrowth on them and most of them are bent quite a bit. Are they worth using still or should I just pitch them? I'm assuming they bend with use at some point anyway...right?


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

If they can't be straightened good enough to use as fence panels, they make great trellises for cucumbers, peas, etc.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I use them curved into a circular pen to hold squash plants. Just keep directing the vines back into the center. It saves space.


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## kile529 (Jan 14, 2014)

Thanks!! If they're really bent up, do you just pitch them?


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

That's pretty much up to you. If you don't think you can straighten them enough to be of any use to you, then sure, scrap them.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

We used them to build temporary fencing, runways, or as squeeze pannels.

We also cut out the bent or broken portions and use what's left to patch others, fortify weak places on other fenching types, create temporary dividers in trailers or stalls.


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## kycrawler (Sep 18, 2011)

We cut some 4 foot pieces out and mount to a wall fro calf and goat hay feeders too


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

It's obvious he has made up his mind he is going to trash the ones he has, no amount of ideas we offer will change his mind.
He had already decided to trash them before he posted here, but posted only looking for support snd justification for what he wanted to do.


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## kile529 (Jan 14, 2014)

Well Dixie, that was pretty rude... lol I'm a she...not a he. Also, I tried posting last night to cfuhrer but my internet was messing up so I gave up after over 5 tries.
Anyways...... So, Cfuhrer.... thanks for the idea! Thankfully our family owns a machine shop, so I took in one of the panels & had the bad section cut off. I was having a really hard time figuring out how to work my electric fence because a run-in is in the way. Cutting off the bad parts made it the perfect size to put a fence where it was too difficult to put the electric. I don't know why sometimes it's so hard to see an easy solution....I definitely tend to over-think things and make it more difficult than it needs to be. Thanks for the suggestion - seriously wouldn't have thought about cutting the bad parts off.


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

My appologies, ma'am


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

I bent them back straight. Hard to do, but better than buying new ones at $25 each!


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## kile529 (Jan 14, 2014)

Secuono - do you just use pliers? Do you have to heat it up first? I can't imagine I'd be strong enough....wonder if I could get my hubby to give it a try.

Dixie - Thanks, I forgive ya.


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## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

Congrats on the the farm! Keep the panels, you will eventually have a need/use for them if you ever plan on getting animals and/or growing a food garden


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I've straightened mine out by stepping on them. If needed I will put the bent part over a depression in the ground so there is enough room to force it beyond level.


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## badlander (Jun 7, 2009)

We have straightened out bent panels by laying them down on the ground and running the tractor over them until as flat as we can get them, then turning them over and doing the same thing. Works like a charm. They may not be perfect but they come out usable. 

Even the worst ones can have sections scavenged out of them to use to patch fences and make trellises as stated. They have 1001 uses. We have even taken hog panels and made 'kitty runs' so our cats can go outside via their kitty door and get some fresh air while remaining safe from predators. 

If you have tents, (we have hunting blinds) the panels can have sections cut (we use bolt cutters) to make tent pegs.

Panels are worth their weight in gold around a farm!


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## susanneb (Feb 17, 2005)

Consider using the bent up sections in the garden as plant support.


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## mulemom (Feb 17, 2013)

Kile-you don't need to haul them to a machine shop if you need to cut the bad sections out. Hit your local garden and farm stores or a Harbor Freight if you have one and buy a bolt cutter-think 18" to 24" handles with cutting jaws-like a super heavy duty pruner. We bought ours for under $20 and they will cut the panels-the longer the handles the easier the cutting. Our pair with 12" handles i'll sometimes have to stand on to squeeze the handles together but it gets the job done. They're also great for cutting fence wire. Others have put forward good suggestions on how to straighten bent ones-I'll add one more idea. Put a board under each bar and beat on it with a hammer 'til it's straight. Cattle panels-1001 uses-you can never have enough!


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## Russ Knarr (Jan 2, 2014)

I love my panels I have built a greenhouse our of them and am currently making goat fencing and have used them in the garden


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

When we moved here, I cut all my cattle panels in half with a hack saw and a jig saw (wore a couple of blades out on the jig saw!) to make them easier to move. They make great gates. I've got some shorter pieces that I use for a feeder. And zig-zagged and wired together, you can make a good fence without using any posts. (This won't work as well with full-length panels. Half-length is perfect, though.) I fenced part of the pasture here this way and it holds the goats and my 8-month-old Jersey heifer.

Bent into arches and covered with a tarp, they make good shelters for some kinds of animals (goats, not so much, as they will chew on the tarps, and climb on the shelters if they can figure out a way to access the tops). 

Kathleen


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

my guess is your referring to wire panels,

lay them out flat and stand on them and one should be able to get them reasonable flat or unbent, and if there a curve in them (hardness of ground makes the difference here) one can many times drive over them soft ground will make a big bend hard lighter bend, but can help some times one needs to stand on the panel while some one else drives, light or heavy truck can make a difference, as well, 

I do not know how your panels are bent but I have seen many bowed or cupped and one can usually straighten them out if some common sense is used,


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## lkeeble (Jun 17, 2015)

Bit late to the party on this thread but wanted to add another way. You can lay the panel flat on the ground and then beat on the bent area(s) with something heavy such as a metal t-post driver. You can also lay a rounded fence post underneath badly bent areas to coax them back into the right shape also if needed. I've been doing this today because my horses lean over the panels to get to long grass on the other side and bend them. Be careful and wear eye protection. If there are sections where the metal welds have failed you can cut off those parts with some large bolt cutters. You can re-use the other parts as needed.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Never throw anything away, that might remotely have use in the future..... I've kept old bent panels, and ended up cutting sections out for small gates (two staples and you're done. Nastier pieces get thrown into concrete projects. Hinges and other useful things can be made with the wire... 

If it don't eat, and you have the space, I'd not toss em....


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## boolandk (Sep 20, 2003)

Use cattle panels in the garden for peas, beans, cucumbers, etc. Also use them for flowers - clematis love them. We use a bolt cutters to cut them into pieces.


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## gibbsgirl (May 1, 2013)

You should pick a spot to begin collecting useabke stuff, IMO.

We stack panels, rocks, garden stones, reusable or scrap lumber along two walls outside our big shop. We've uncovered many small clusters of things in different areas of our property that have ended up being big collections of like items after awhile.

Then, you have enough collected to do big projects or a quick supply of items for urgent fast repairs.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

If you decide you don't want to mess with them, you could probably sell them for $10-$15 apiece and be overrun with people wanting to come get them.


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