Rancher grazing his cows on my land- help!

[snake67]

Here's the bait.
"Any good cow poison recipes? "
Sounds like a troll.

Yup - got cow poison recipes - best one is strychnine.

Put it out in grain - takes them down fast.

Not my idea - happened in Saskatchewan a few years back and down the road from where we lived. Never caught the guy - would have liked to though

Troll? Probably - but some folks got an idea on how to put up a decent electric fence and how to train cows - and finally - how to solve their own problems.

I am out of this one - have a great weekend Jed

Bez

 

[Caustic Burno]

a hotwire really does nothing.we are using a hotwire now an we keep it up.an our cows go through or over it when they want.

sounds like you need to turn the heat up. it aint hot enough... ive had mine for 20 years, and it will still make sparks shoot from your zipper :cowboy:

You put up one throwing about 9 to 10,000 volts and they won't get in three feet of it.

 

[HSchiller]

There may be a misunderstanding: this guy is not my neighbor. He lives in an entirely different community some 20 miles away. He dumps his cows on my road because it happens to have a few cattle guards that were remnants of an old cattle ranch. He is known in the community for doing this in several areas. I'm just "lucky" enough to live in one of them. They're not escaping his fence; he is just dumping them off. This is NOT a free range area and as such I have (to my knowledge) NO legal responsibility to fence my property to keep cows out. As far as my flippant "poison" comment. I got woken up at 2AM by my dogs barking to find a front yard full of cow pies and a herd of cows standing in my garden. They then proceeded to flee through my fence like it was air- pardon me for being a bit ticked.

I still want to know what agency handles ILLEGALLY grazing cows in California?

cross_7 Thank you for the hotwire box recommendation. I'm somewhat encouraged that the consensus thinks hotwire could solve the problem. When I tried it before, it was a single wire atop a 4ft chicken wire fence. They jumped the fence and shorted the wire. The hotwire box I used before was the Saco XX like the one here. http://www.pasturefence.com/sacoxx.html and I had a decent grounding rod but the ground may well have been dry.

cow pollinater: Thank you for your wise advice- your neighbors are lucky!

snake67: You're a bit abrasive, but decent advice. I can say with fair certainty that a "correct" barb wire fence will not stop a determined cow. I've seen that with my own eyes and I'm surprised you would say otherwise. When the grass starts to get short and dry, these cows are very motivated to get to anything green (aka my gardens). There is a simple "country folk solver" that occurred to me - shoot every cow that sets foot on your property in the gut, then chase them off so they die of bloated gangrene within a few days. Train the rancher- not the cows. Solvers are easy, civilized solvers are a bit more work. I could do a google search for a generic "how to keep out cows" info, but I'd much rather have real world advice from cattle handlers. I live on a hilly/curvy road and his black cows are seriously dangerous to cars at night. Even if I keep his cows off my property, he still shouldn't be grazing them here.

skeeter swatter: I agree most vegetarians are kinda hypocritical - especially Californians. I'd say I'm "kind to animals when I can be" but I don't think it's morally wrong to use critters for food etc and I don't look down on people who do so.

I have a few hotwire questions though:
1) Kids ride horses down my road sometimes; if I put hotwire on the outside of my fence won't there be a risk that a horse could hit it, spook and throw the rider or something? Will it work just as well if I put the hotwires on the inside?
2) Will it work to ground the barbwire strands to the T-posts instead of running a separate ground wire between the hotwire strands?
3) Things get extremely dry in the summer here and it is a high fire risk area. Is there any fire risk if I run a hotwire low enough to hit weeds?
In case anyone missed it above: I still want to know what agency handles ILLEGALLY grazing cows in California?
Thanks all :cboy:

 

[3waycross]

Good post Bez. Don't know if this is a troll or not. I suspect not.

BTW you lost Bigbull when the cost went over $100 dollars for the whole project!

 

[I luv herfrds]

Still love ya Bez!!!!
Yep teaching cattle to respect a fence is great. Will never forget that calf licking that wire. Heck of a bellow from that calf sure stirred up that momma cow! :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

 

[Alan]

a hotwire really does nothing.we are using a hotwire now an we keep it up.an our cows go through or over it when they want.

sounds like you need to turn the heat up. it aint hot enough... ive had mine for 20 years, and it will still make sparks shoot from your zipper :cowboy:

You put up one throwing about 9 to 10,000 volts and they won't get in three feet of it.

:nod: :nod: :nod: , again some pastures I use no barb wire just two strands of hot wire. But, it kicks out a little over 9,000 volts.

 

[tsmaxx47]

schiller; from the sounds of your posts (whiney, complaining, willing to put up with it for 12 years and not willing to stand up to them) my advice would be move...........

 

[HSchiller]

There is a delay with my reply posts because evidently new posters here have to get each post approved by the moderator. So again, thank you to everyone offering helpful suggestions even if I don't reply.

tsmaxx47, that's really quite a rubbish reply. It's easy to spout hollow bravado like "stand up to him", but what exactly do you think that means? I talked to him about it years ago, showed him the damage and the receipts for the trees. He said he would pay for it and never did. I called law enforcement and they wouldn't even come out. You want me stand and yell in his face that he should remove his cows? I've heard him brag (at a yard sale) that he killed two Mexicans and got away with it. I drove past his home once, faster than he liked, and he followed me for 2 miles to tell me he "would have to have to kill me if I hit somebody". He may be all bark and no bite, but as long as I'm responsible for protecting my family, I'm not going to take the chance and openly get on his bad side. Don't get me wrong, if he threatened my family, considering his history I'd kill him - seriously. That's my version of "stand up to him". I try something new to fix this issue almost every year. But I believe in being tolerant whenever possible. That means I'm a good person and a good neighbor. Last season I built a new large fenced above ground garden. His cows broke into it in the night, broke my supports and ate half the tomato/pepper crop I had been nursing for months. That upped the ante. Now he's dumped more cows than ever before. You want me to stop being "whiney" and start shooting? For your sake, I hope your neighbors are more like cow-pollinater and less like you.

 

[kerley]

You said the cows broke your Chicken wire fence. I'am sorry that you have to deal with a Bully. You will eather become meaner than the Bully / move or build a stronger fence. Good luck.

 

[Ryder]

? I've heard him brag (at a yard sale) that he killed two Mexicans and got away with it. I drove past his home once, faster than he liked, and he followed me for 2 miles to tell me he "would have to have to kill me if I hit somebody". He may be all bark and no bite, but as long as I'm responsible for protecting my family, I'm not going to take the chance and openly get on his bad side. Don't get me wrong, if he threatened my family, considering his history I'd kill him - seriously. That's my version of "stand up to him". I try something new to fix this issue almost every year. But I believe in being tolerant whenever possible. That means I'm a good person and a good neighbor. Last season I built a new large fenced above ground garden. His cows broke into it in the night, broke my supports and ate half the tomato/pepper crop I had been nursing for months. That upped the ante. Now he's dumped more cows than ever before. You want me to stop being "whiney" and start shooting? For your sake, I hope your neighbors are more like cow-pollinater and less like you.

You are not being tolerant--you are backing down. Has nothing to do with being a good neighbor.
He is a bully and you are his victim. That is the main problem you have. Get your mind and emotions squared away with that before you do anything else.
Don't think about what to do--just make a decision to do something. What to do is to be decided only after that.
Make your mind up that you are going to handle this problem, or that you are not.

I know one man having a similar problem, not me of course, that used bird shot to send the cows running. Then he called the fellow and told him what he had done and said the next time he was filling the udders full of shot. He told him that he could call the law on him and he might get arrested--but if that happened he was going to bond out. Then guess who he was coming for!

No more cow problem. But the man meant what he said.

 

[Commercialfarmer]

If the country is dry and the cattle are on the road easment only, what water source are they using?

If you don't have a gate to get to your house, what keeps them coming into your property from the county road?

What is the situation of the surrounding country, is the county road fenced along both sides? Is there large tracts of open land?

 

[john250]

Since you already have a 4 strand barbwire fence then you should be able to add 2 strands od electric wire.
These type insulators are made for t-post, wood post, and several other options.
There are several 110v fence chargers that will do the job.
I like the a100li by zareba, the one I have now is a range master, both are overkill but it will turn cattle back when INSTALLED PROPERLY.
read the directions that come with the charger.

I use a Zareba 100 miles, says so on the box. They sell for $200 at the local TSC. For the money they are darned good. 7000 volts is easily achievable on a good clean line. That is going to turn cattle back. Put at least three ground rods, 10feet apart in some soil which is likely to stay a little more moist. Buy a digital voltmeter thingy--and some switches so you can isolate segments of fence. Kencove.com gets a lot of my business. Good advice in their catalogue.

 

[chippie]

Put one or two strands of your existing fence on insulators. We have pushy cows and two strands of our barb wire are hot. If the cow has a winter hair coat, the barbs will go through the hair to the skin. We've been doing this for years and it works well.
Good luck!

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Here's the bait.
"Any good cow poison recipes? "
Sounds like a troll.

Thank you Jed.

 

[CottageFarm]

Good grief,I'm with Bez on this one. You are whining. You have made yourself the perfect victim.
For the "rancher", the sherriff, everyone you've come in contact with. Why come here to find out who in your state takes care of livestock problems? I took about 5 seconds and found this in a google search. http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/livestock_id/Helpful_Laws.html#Cattle
It appears that this is the livestock regulatory agency in your state.


You have 4 options: (in no particular order)
Put up a fence that will do a better job of keeping his cattle off your land.
Kill his cattle.
Start harrassing LE and state agencies until they do their job.
Continue to whine and cower and complain to people who can do absolutely nothing about your situation.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Good grief,I'm with Bez on this one. You are whining. You have made yourself the perfect victim.
For the "rancher", the sherriff, everyone you've come in contact with. Why come here to find out who in your state takes care of livestock problems? I took about 5 seconds and found this in a google search. http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/livestock_id/Helpful_Laws.html#Cattle
It appears that this is the livestock regulatory agency in your state.


You have 4 options: (in no particular order)
Put up a fence that will do a better job of keeping his cattle off your land.
Kill his cattle.
Start harrassing LE and state agencies until they do their job.
Continue to whine and cower and complain to people who can do absolutely nothing about your situation.

I totally agre with the whinning part before you start killing cattle you better check your livestock laws.
In Texas if you kill or maim someone's livestock even on your property you are the one going to jail.
Then you would have to move if you lived here. You couldn't buy a settin of eggs in town once the word got out.

 

[CottageFarm]

Yeah, CB, that appears to be the case in California, too, But the OP seems to want to persue that option so I thought I would still throw it out there just for the heck of it. ;-)

 

[cow pollinater]

Another option is to haul them to the salesyard yourself. You'd have to wait for them to be in your yard but once they're on your place they're legally strays and you can haul them to any sale as long as you don't claim them as yours.
If they're branded, they'll either sell and the owner will get a check or the brand inspecter will call the owner and the owner will come get them. If they're not branded and the owner doesn't come to claim them then the procceds go to the state.
If you want to make a point of it, haul them in the afternoon AFTER the sale. That way they'll sit at the yard for one week before the brand inspector looks at them and if the owner does come pick them up he'll have to pay yardage fees for an entire week before he can load them. ;-)

 

[tsmaxx47]

CB; i had a friend in laredo that kept getting unwanted visits from his neighbor's hogs. - he roasted one of them for his retirement party........

 

[Caustic Burno]

CB; i had a friend in laredo that kept getting unwanted visits from his neighbor's hogs. - he roasted one of them for his retirement party........

Hog is a different beast in Texas unless it is a marked hog. Registered marked hog has caused a pile of crap more than once. If it is a marked hog it still comes under the estray laws. When I say registered your mark is recorded at the courthouse. I don't know many people that mark their hog's like when I was a kid.