Need help with cattle gaurd

[barnyardfun]

The cattle gaurd coming into our land is on a hill. Let's start with it is not an option to move it (father-in-law says no!) The cattle guard is constantly filling up and the cows jump it (we have olympic cows ). We have to dig this thing out 3 or more times a year and it usually doesn't get done as often as it should so we end up having to open and shut the gate. Now mind you my car is a standard and doesn't have a emergency brake so I have to shut it off and pray it stays in gear and then after opening the gate I have to roll backwards down the hill to take off. Then stop and shut it and hope I don't spin out on the other side!!! And father-in-law doesn't care because he doesn't have to drive that way!! Can you tell I have had a bad day with this???

Okay, enough of the rant. Can anyone please give me ideas to fix this?? Is there a good way to keep it from feeling up?? Is there some new kind of cattle guard that would work better?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Old Vet]

Ditches could be the answer to the problem. Some contrete on each side should be nice to keep any mud and rocks out of it.

If you catch the ditch dry enough, move the cattle guard to the side and dig it out a little extra wide and deep. Stack heavy timbers ( railroad ties work well ) along both sides and anchor them. Then, on the upstream side, build another timber wall, sort of a dam, across the ditch at the end of the cattle guard. Make it low enough for the ditch water to go over but tall enough for mud to settle behind. You may have to dig out in front of the dam occassionally if you have a lot of erosion, but it is easier than cleaning under the cattle guard. Good luck

[ericjeeper]

if you do not like his rules.
assuming he owns the place.

[farminghandyman]

as all ready said divert the water and dirt off the road way and off to the side away from the gard,


if there is concrete, you can paint lines on the side away from the cattle, and they will sometime think the gard is wider than it is, and not jump it, (I read this in a old sucesfull farming magazine)

there are drive through electric gates, that are powered by an electric fence charger,

there are also solar powered automatic gates that work like a garage door opener, or a switch on a post, you push the button and the gate opens and when through the gate you push the other button and it shuts,