Cattle fencing & stream access?

[wjoerob]

Hi all! I am a newbie here, but have been on Tractor by Net for a couple of years. Can anyone offer some suggestions? I have 5 Highlander cattle, and we are still all getting used to each other. They are strong and stubborn and have fairly good sized horns. I need to move them out of one small pasture into another 2-3 acre field. Wife has heard that they will stay in an area with 2 electric wires, "step-in" posts and a charger. Could install wood/ metal posts and woven wire if necessary. I would also like to let them have access to water from a small stream at the back of the lot. How can I build or install fence so that they can drink from the stream and not get out?

[Pooh_Bear]

I got a neighbor that does this. His cattle go down to the river (really just a big creek) for water. He went out in the river about 16 feet and set two T posts about 20 feet apart. He has one hot wire of barb wire fence ran out to one post and then down river to the other post and then back to shore. It forms a rectangle around a section of water that the cattle can get in and drink.
One strand of hot wire is enough to contain his cattle.
The only problem is when the river floods real bad. Logs and stumps and all kinds of other junk get washed down river and almost every time it wipes out the fence. And of course it does this mostly in the winter when the water is ice cold and nobody wants to be wading out there to fix fences.
He has about 100 cattle at any given time. If you just have a few you could look into a watering trough and a solar pump.

Pooh Bear

[Pat]

I agree with Pooh, but there are other alternatives too. If, for example, the stream depth varies a lot you can use PVC pipe as a float and put the electric wire above it. This keeps a relatively constant height to the electric wire under varying water depth conditions.

This IS NOT my design. It is posted on a Dept of Ag site somewhere but I don't recall where. It was intended to be used to restrict the stock's pond access to small area so they don't trod the whole bank into oblivion, muddy the pond, etc. They even recommended geotextile and gravel in the small access area. A minor variation in the design should serve you well.

Now then... If the stream meets certain requirements then there is a good alternative to direct solar PV water pumping. Don't get me wrong. A solar panel running a pump with no battery in the system is used all over the world with good success. A water ram is also a good system. a pipe is placed along the creek. water flows through the pipe. An "oscillating valve" closes and the water hammer effect builds pressure which shoots water from the creek up to your water trough through a pipe. As the pressure wave subsides the valve opens and water flows in the pipe again only to have the valve slam shut and pump another spurt of water to your trough. NO electricity. Works day AND night.

Another option, if the lay of your land will permit it, is to dig a ditch, more or less at right angles to the creek. the ditch will slope down hill away from the creek just far enough to enable you to run a fence parallel to the creek on the side where you put the ditch. The fence straddles the ditch which may only be a few feet in length. At the end of the ditch away from the creek you excavate a hole to accept a plastic drum cut in half lengthwise to hold the water from the creek. You may choose to us a pipe instead of a ditch.

Pat

[eccentricfarmer]

Not knowing where you are at pushes at the limits of advice. Here, there are strict rules to keep animals out of streams and to not put manure closer than 100 feet.

I have 13 Highlanders right now. I have seen them crawl over a 7' rigid fence. I have seen them push a calf into a power fence to push it down so they could get thru. If they are bored or something looks better on the other side they will get there and you will be amazed at how creative they
can be.

I have found over the years that selective culling is one of the most predictable ways to keep them in. Once one figures out the fence they seem to have a conference and they all know how to get around a fence. Once the 'naughties' were in the freezer, a whole lot of problems seem to just go away.

By the way they are VERY tasty but a little lacking in fat so have to cook them a little slower. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[jimbrown]

See these suckers. They are a cross between Mexican Corriente and Black Angus. The things can walk thru a 5 strnd barb wire fence any time any place and never even slow down. They are not mine they just come vist when they feel like it.

[lynxpilot]

I don't recommend access. They pee and crap in the water and you just send your garbage downstream to the next farmer. It's a great way to spread disease and keep people out of the creeks if that's what you want.

[eccentricfarmer]

Nice pic. So these black cows (bulls?) just wander around?

Looks a little like the Dakotas plains during the summer. Pretty girl behind every tree!