CONTROL COWS FROM GOING UP OR DOWN A CREEK

[Caustic Burno]

Water gap in action.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

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

Sounds like a job for conveyer belting. :nod:

 

[BK9954]

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

I have a few like that, where all the water from the highway flows through, about 15 foot deep. I have them with cattle panel strung across, with about 2 foot clearance under for regular rain flow and debris. When we get HEAVY rain it's one of the first things I check, and I fenced those areas off so I can lock the cattle out if I see huge rain on the forecast. I have plenty of cattle panel laying around to patch it. I
it's worked so far, with the force of the water and erosion of soil I am not going to sink a lot of money and chance it washing out. I used cattle gates before but after losing one of those washed out into the creek, cattle panel is cheaper.

 

[Ohio Cowboy]

Saw this on a gap in New jersey. Hot wire up high with small chain link hanging down.

 

[BK9954]

Saw this on a gap in New jersey. Hot wire up high with small chain link hanging down.

Hard for me to tell how high that chain is hanging from. Kind of the same concept I used on a spring gate. I hung 12 gauge smooth wire from the spring in 1 foot intervals so I would only have to use 1 spring. Only the very small calves go through. As the calves get about 150 they can't make it anymore. It almost seems like there should be more chains on that.

 

[ccr]

This is a small creek that is dry most of the time.

 

[BK9954]

This is a small creek that is dry most of the time.

My well to do King Charolais breeder on the other side of town has some made like that. Those are nice. Wish I was able to afford and justify the expense.

 

[sstterry]

This is a small creek that is dry most of the time.

That is a nice fence!

 

[ccr]

This is another water trap with a cable to open up and clean out limbs and debris after a rain.

 

[BK9954]

Poor man's fence. This part will probably be sold in a few years so I am not investing. This has worked. I cut the ends of the cattle panel and twisted them like wire around the tree. When there is a FLOOD the other side with the T post will give way is what I intend, this is a secondary rotational pasture. I run a 2 wire electric fence back here so the cattle avoid this spot, assuming for lack of grass, fear of electric wire and terrain.