Clearing fence line

[Dusty Britches]

Our fence lines are so grown up, that there isn't a fence - the brush keeps the cattle in. Sounds like a great fence - until there is a serious drought.

We need to clean out the lines and put up a new fence, but we've been strapped for time. I'm thinking about options now, though. There are some huge, beautiful oak, pecan, and hackberry trees that I don't want destroyed and most lie about 10 feet off the line.

I was thinking of using Spike 80 or Spike 20 to clean the lines and keep them clean, instead of hiring a dozer operator.

What do you think is the best option for cleaning the lines without killing the trees that aren't on the lines?

 

[WORANCH]

If your going to build a new fence I would use a dozer. Spraying and cleaning out by hand takes time . Using spike might get some trees that are close if the roots run under the fence line.

 

[bigbull338]

id hire a dozer to clear the fencelines.itll be cheaper an faster in the long run.spraying the fencelines wont save you anything.youll still have to use the chainsaw to clear it out anyway.an add to it youll have to pile the brush up by hand.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I'd save any really good oaks or pecans, but everything else would go. I'd doze it. This is one of those choices you have to make in deciding whether you are going to grow grass or trees and brush. If it is not a pecan tree, it is in jeopardy on my place. Otherwise it is drag brush now, then again a few years later, and then again and again. If you clear it out you can mow it with a brush hog and back the brush hog under the pecan trees.

 

[dun]

I don;t know what posts are in the stuff, but frequently I'll just hook on the a section with the tractor and start pulling. I push it in a pile out of the pasture and burn it. Most of our old fences are on rotten off 3 inch cedar posts, MF rose and blackberrys. The actual fence is a combination of old metal assorted parts (bed head boards, rusted out gates, etc), barbed and field fence.

dun

 

[john250]

Our fence lines are so grown up, that there isn't a fence - the brush keeps the cattle in. Sounds like a great fence - until there is a serious drought.

We need to clean out the lines and put up a new fence, but we've been strapped for time. I'm thinking about options now, though. There are some huge, beautiful oak, pecan, and hackberry trees that I don't want destroyed and most lie about 10 feet off the line.

I was thinking of using Spike 80 or Spike 20 to clean the lines and keep them clean, instead of hiring a dozer operator.

What do you think is the best option for cleaning the lines without killing the trees that aren't on the lines?

Get a dozer man to give you a quote. If the trees are 10' inside the prop line, and they have 40' of canopy you are giving up a lot of acres to them.

 

[Jogeephus]

I'd be very careful with the Spike if it gets in the drip line of your desirable trees it could kill them. I've had luck using Garlon and a Brown Tree Cutter to get to the fence line. Garlon is pretty good stuff and will kill most any brush in this area while not being soil active.

Am clearing a fence line out now that has specimen trees all along it - couldn't think of any other way than a chainsaw and machete. Basically I have tunneled my way through the trash and once I get the fence up - I'm gonna let the cows do the rest.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Our fence lines are so grown up, that there isn't a fence - the brush keeps the cattle in. Sounds like a great fence - until there is a serious drought.

We need to clean out the lines and put up a new fence, but we've been strapped for time. I'm thinking about options now, though. There are some huge, beautiful oak, pecan, and hackberry trees that I don't want destroyed and most lie about 10 feet off the line.

I was thinking of using Spike 80 or Spike 20 to clean the lines and keep them clean, instead of hiring a dozer operator.

What do you think is the best option for cleaning the lines without killing the trees that aren't on the lines?

Move the fence this is the cheapest route and keep the new one clean. I don't fence down property lines as I don't share fences. Keep problems away.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

We put new perimeter fence in when we got our current property. The 2 sides that were next door to a neighbor had very marginal fences. We put our new fence 12-18" inside our property line and left their trashy fence up. No question as to who owns OUR fence...lol. The "double" fence also provides good barrier between our cattle and any neighbor might have.

 

[llcupit]

I built new fences 20ft from the property line like Caustic said don't have to share a fence that way.

 

[MillIronQH]

If your going to build a new fence I would use a dozer. Spraying and cleaning out by hand takes time . Using spike might get some trees that are close if the roots run under the fence line.

To run a dozer on a fence line you need to pull the old wire first. Otherwise it can get hung up in the tracks and someboddy get to spend an hour or so cleaning out.Z

 

[auctionboy]

I don;t know what posts are in the stuff, but frequently I'll just hook on the a section with the tractor and start pulling. I push it in a pile out of the pasture and burn it. Most of our old fences are on rotten off 3 inch cedar posts, MF rose and blackberrys. The actual fence is a combination of old metal assorted parts (bed head boards, rusted out gates, etc), barbed and field fence.

dun

Don't you worry about putting metal in your field and possible hardware problems in the future?

 

[WORANCH]

If your going to build a new fence I would use a dozer. Spraying and cleaning out by hand takes time . Using spike might get some trees that are close if the roots run under the fence line.

To run a dozer on a fence line you need to pull the old wire first. Otherwise it can get hung up in the tracks and someboddy get to spend an hour or so cleaning out.Z

Yes it can happen but I see alot of fence pushed up and buried.

But I was just going by what Dusty said.

Our fence lines are so grown up, that there isn't a fence - the brush keeps the cattle in

 

[dun]

I don;t know what posts are in the stuff, but frequently I'll just hook on the a section with the tractor and start pulling. I push it in a pile out of the pasture and burn it. Most of our old fences are on rotten off 3 inch cedar posts, MF rose and blackberrys. The actual fence is a combination of old metal assorted parts (bed head boards, rusted out gates, etc), barbed and field fence.

dun

Don't you worry about putting metal in your field and possible hardware problems in the future?

You must have missed this part, "I push it in a pile out of the pasture and burn it."

dun

 

[auctionboy]

read it wrong.

 

[Earl Thigpen]

I just had a lot of fence done by a "professional" and I've got some more to do myself, but a dozer is the way to go for those fence lines that are over grown.

Unless you've got some really big trees on the fence line (which can be used to tie your wire to) you can get a small dozer for $50/hr - at least around here. If the operator is worth his salt he can clear 4 or 5 hundred feet in an hour and when it's all done you've got the right-of-way nice and smooth and fairly level.

I don't know anything about the herbicide your talking about. I use Grazon P+D for brush control but for anything I need cleared quickly, I would go the dozer route.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas to all of you - you too CB! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[okbob]

I know hackberry and fences do not mix, they bad about spliting and falling on a fence, especially the ones growing on a fence row, because you prob have not trimed or cleaned they up and seems like always it 2 growing into 1 and thats the real week one, cut and coat em with diesel and rock salt

 

[Bluestem]

Just got done clearing a fence line. Had a dozer do it. I may be to picky, but two hours of dozer work left me with 4 days of clean up. The pipeline company had there right-of-way cleared with a large machine that ground everything up. Cedar trees over 8 inches in diameter were no problem. Would make a nice clean fence line.

 

[Hasbeen]

I built new fences 20ft from the property line like Caustic said don't have to share a fence that way.

I would estimate that I have over two miles of perimeter fencing. I'm not very good at math, but moving the fence in by 20ft seems that I would be losing an awful lot of land use.

 

[MillIronQH]

I built new fences 20ft from the property line like Caustic said don't have to share a fence that way.

I would estimate that I have over two miles of perimeter fencing. I'm not very good at math, but moving the fence in by 20ft seems that I would be losing an awful lot of land use.

Be roughly 5 acres. And you'd still be paying taxes on it.Z