CONTROL COWS FROM GOING UP OR DOWN A CREEK

[Anonymous]

Does any one know of a way to keep cows from going up or down a creek? I know a fence would wash out during high waters. I saw where someone had a cable stretch from tree to tree across the creek with what looked like white stremers tied to it hanging down on the water, tied side by side,but I don't know what the stremers were made of or if it worked. Any ideas? Thanks T.D.

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[Anonymous]

> Does any one know of a way to
> keep cows from going up or down a
> creek? I know a fence would wash
> out during high waters. I saw
> where someone had a cable stretch
> from tree to tree across the creek
> with what looked like white
> stremers tied to it hanging down
> on the water, tied side by
> side,but I don't know what the
> stremers were made of or if it
> worked. Any ideas? Thanks T.D. For years I have used plastic barrels strung by cable from one side of the creek to the other-a floating water gap so to speak. Its not a perfect solution but its the best one I have found, the barrels float up as the creek rises and back down as the water falls. the only problem is the debris that sometimes hangs the barrels but you will have that with any water gap. TSR

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[Anonymous]

Sounds like you may have seen electric streamers hung over the creek. Around here many will hang wooden gates from a cable and hope the gates float high enough to let debris under when the water rises. You can always build solid fence up to the creek then build a break away fence that will be replaced when washed out. I don't think you will find a solution that won't have to be checked after every big rain. If there are enough trees around, you can even bulid a good log jam at the fence line. My son is great with a chain saw.

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[Anonymous]

Ah, the joys of fencing across a creek.

Building a water gap is like skinning a cat. Hundreds of ways to do it and they're all messy. When you're fencing across a creek or branch the main thing to remember is that when the water gets up your gap WILL wash out – no matter how strong it is. It would cost a fortune to build something that can withstand high water without giving way in some fashion. It's not the water that does the damage. It's the debris stacking up against the gap and the pressure building from upstream. The trick is to build failure points into the design so fixing it is easier. There are two basic approaches, each with countless variations.

One basic design is to build your gap in such a way that the gap will swing up when all the limbs, flotsam, and other crap build up against it. Then they will be shoved under the gap and it will swing back down when the water goes down and you have cleaned out the leftovers. This type of water gap can be made from pipe, bull panels, corrugated tin, tires, etc. Whatever material you use will hang from a cable that is stretched across the creek. It will work OK but if big limbs or anything else get hung up in the gap they will tear it out, so when you're wiring things together don't make it too strong. Make sure to use good posts on each side and stretch the cable high enough that it will not get snagged by any debris. If it goes with the gap your whole fence will be damaged since you are probably using those posts to stretch regular fence running away from the creek.

The other basic way is to build a wire gap using stays that sit on the ground instead of posts. You will still need a good strong post on each side. Stretch tight enough to turn cows. Wire it to the post on one end very strongly, but weakly to the post on the other side. Then when the creek gets up the gap will break where you want it to and sweep over to one side and lay down. When the creek goes down you can clean all the mess out and swing it back.

As said, there are many variations but most water gaps swing up or to the side. All are a pain to fix but the good ones are a lot less of a pain than rebuilding from scratch, which is what you will do if you try to build a strong fence across. When a creek or branch gets on a tear it wins every time, so let it win on your terms.

Craig

 

[Anonymous]

I build fence to support my bad habits(cattle and horses) The best water gap Ive found is to build a proper corner on each side of the waterway so you don't loose the whole fence if trash gets hung up in the gap . Then you pull a cable or strand of hi- tensil across and electrify it using a circut interupter that cuts the wire out of the circut when it's grounded( the water is up. From this cable or wire you cut and hang pieces of 1/4 or 5/16" rod to within a foot of the normal level of the water and the banks on each side. The rods can be spaced every 9" or a foot apart and make a vertical electric fence. Water comes up and the bars swing, being slick they catch very little trash, the cut out keeps the rest of the fence hot, and when the water goes down (most of the time) the bars swing back into place and the electric cuts back in.

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[Anonymous]

I use plain old yellow nylon rope strung back and forth across posts or trees (if possible). It doesn't break and will give with tree limbs. At the most I might have to tighten it up every now and then.

 

[BK9954]

Anyone have a picture of this electric water gap? I revived this thread from 2002.

 

[Bigfoot]

Anyone have a picture of this electric water gap? I revived this thread from 2002.

No, but the ones I've seen would ground out. I like plastic barrels. Debris doesn't seem to collect on them too terribly bad.

 

[BK9954]

Anyone have a picture of this electric water gap? I revived this thread from 2002.

No, but the ones I've seen would ground out. I like plastic barrels. Debris doesn't seem to collect on them too terribly bad.

How do you use plastic barrels? I have 4 sitting around the house.

 

[Bigfoot]

Anyone have a picture of this electric water gap? I revived this thread from 2002.

No, but the ones I've seen would ground out. I like plastic barrels. Debris doesn't seem to collect on them too terribly bad.

How do you use plastic barrels? I have 4 sitting around the house.

End to end. Run a chain through them.

 

[countryboy780]

We have installed several kattle keeper systems on our property. One full length and several shorter ones under existing fences. They work great. Not a lot of rain here in Arizona, but what little debris came down washed right through the post and larger stuff was pushed up about half ways up on the system, it sure helps keep our dogs in their pens and the coyotes out.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

Conveyer belting or sheet metal suspended from a well braced cable are the most maintenance free options. Debris doesn't hang up on them like it does on cattle panels and old gates. Conveyer belting is a little classier than old barn metal.

 

[Bright Raven]

Conveyer belting or sheet metal suspended from a well braced cable are the most maintenance free options. Debris doesn't hang up on them like it does on cattle panels and old gates. Conveyer belting is a little classier than old barn metal.

That is very useful. Thanks Luke. Kevin Burton put in my biggest water gap. I got gigantic 10 foot post driven on both sides, but the fence still catches debris. This looks like the best solution.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

Conveyer belting or sheet metal suspended from a well braced cable are the most maintenance free options. Debris doesn't hang up on them like it does on cattle panels and old gates. Conveyer belting is a little classier than old barn metal.

That is very useful. Thanks Luke. Kevin Burton put in my biggest water gap. I got gigantic 10 foot post driven on both sides, but the fence still catches debris. This looks like the best solution.

I built that one, and another just upstream, in the spring of 2014. They are both still in good shape, with no repairs made to date. I do prefer the belting when I can get my hands on it. When my new driver gets here, I'll be mobile enough to come to your neck of the woods for a fence job every now and again.

 

[ddd75]

i hang an aircraft cable from posts or trees and cut cattle panels to fit the creek. leaving them about a foot over the water. only hang it from the cable at the top of the panel to act as a hinge.

 

[Bright Raven]

i hang an aircraft cable from posts or trees and cut cattle panels to fit the creek. leaving them about a foot over the water. only hang it from the cable at the top of the panel to act as a hinge.

That is the way mine is constructed but in high water, limbs and logs hang up in it.

 

[Caustic Burno]

My water gaps are cables clamped together with tin hanging down.
Water flow lifts the metal, the cable clamps let the cable break away in the event of a large log. Nothing worse than trying to cut a log out of tangled up cable with a chainsaw standing in the creek.

 

[KMURBAN]

I have a gate in the pasture fence parallel to the creek, I use electric wire and go about 2 feet in the river then along the shore. We have a lot of kayakers so if you go across the creek they will cut it and possibly some liability issues. If flooding is expected I can close the gate if it gets washed out all is good. However I've had water over the electric wire by 4 feet and sometimes doesn't get washed out. Sometimes it does. Just depends on the amount of debris or ice. But I find less is better, less resistance. Just a single strand works best.

 

[greybeard]

I have one area I need to do something with and it has it's own unique problems. I don't have a picture of it but it looks kinda like this, except the fence along the river is not the nice neat looking thing in this drawing.


This is a narrow deep ravine that is the culmination of my pond's overflow channel and it joins the river channel about 20' beyond the fence.
Most of the time the ravine is dry.
In heavy rains, the water goes under the fence into the river,
but if it's a long period of rain, the river rises and starts backflowing into the ravine & pond overflow...the pond itself is about 1500' up the channel.
If the river continues to rise (It does sometimes get over the fence itself) then the flow in the whole area is from left to right in the drawing.

I've never lost the fence here, but I have had calves get down in the ravine in dry times and walk out under the fence into the dry part of the river channel. I need a baffle that will swing both in and out but won't get carried away down river once the flow is left to right over the whole thing. I had a strand of SS cable on crosstie posts with old tires threaded onto the cable but it and the crossties got swept away long ago.

Can't put a big post in the bottom of the ravine because it would catch too much debris.

???
There are a few trees nearby, but not close.
Top and cross section views

 

[slick4591]

i hang an aircraft cable from posts or trees and cut cattle panels to fit the creek. leaving them about a foot over the water. only hang it from the cable at the top of the panel to act as a hinge.

I did pretty much the same thing about 7 years ago in a wash that was fairly deep. On the bottom of the panels I hung some old and free truck mud flaps. Best I can tell you it's still there as the owner hasn't yelled at me about it.