How do I keep cattle off my property?

[getoutoftown]

Our house is fenced on 3 sides, with the 4th side open to our garage with no fencing. We have an ag exemption and grazing lease which allows our neighbor's cattle to graze on our acreage. We can’t afford a cattle guard or any additional fencing right now. Any ideas on some kind of motion detector, or driveway noise-making/siren system that will make a loud sound when cattle come towards our house on the driveway, or something inexpensive from preventing the cattle coming into our vegetable garden on the one open side to our house that has the driveway to our garage? Thanks, Jane

[farmergirl]

Best defense would be a cattle dog that would chase them off. You could try hotwire...I've seen mixed results with that, but it's quite cheap and easy to install.

[getoutoftown]

You could try hotwire -- Farmergirl, what is that? I've never heard of hotwire? Jane

[pookshollow]

Hotwire = electric fence.

[farmmom]

hotwire = electric fencing

[getoutoftown]

please re-read my posting about the driveway - how would we drive through any kind of fencing? That's why I has asked about some kind of motion detector. Thanks, Jane

[Wolf mom]

If you can afford electric fencing for cattle, you can afford t-posts and 4 strand barbed wire around your garden.

Why don't you go to the guy who owns the cattle. Maybe he'll help out with some fencing if he wants to keep his grazing rights.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Hungry cattle don't care about motion detectors.

Call the cattle owner and ask him to help you fence your yard. Put in a gate.

[milkinpigs]

Put an end to the grazing lease and pay the taxes you are dodging......

[ace admirer]

there are spring loaded electric fence gates that push out of the way by your truck and spring back after you drive through. never actually seen one except in catalogues.

[chewie]

used something like that at the last dairy i worked at. it had a long arm, kinda like a set of windshield wipers, one from each side. then about 3 foot of hotwire in 'ribbons' dangling down from the arms. vehicles could drive right thru, you could walk thru them just fine cuz the arm had a hose on it, so you just put a couple fingers on it and pushed it out of your way. very simple

[Alice In TX/MO]

Drive through electric fence gate:
http://www.ruralmfg.com/mall/DTG1_Ec...veThruGate.asp

[tyusclan]

The drive thru gates are nice, but pricey. Jeffers has them much cheaper than the above link. I tried to link to them, but it didn't work. Go to www.jefferslivestock.com and search for electric fence gate.

You can also go with the $4.00 insulated electric fence gate that you have to unhook each time you go through. A little trouble, but much less expensive.

[Rock]

I guess not to many saw that you can't afford to spend the money on cattle guards.
Get a dog like the 1 poster had said, watching a good dog move stock is a thing of beauty.
Rock

[MTplainsman]

Anything you can do to effectively keep cattle out of your yard is gonna cost money. There is really no cheap way around it, IMHO. As mentioned before, contacting the man who runs the cattle is the first step. Maybe you two can work out a fencing deal. If not, stretching a hotwire is the next best economical option you can do. Seriously, going electric is as cheapest form of closeing out unwanted beef. Those push-through electric gates really do work well, however they do cost a fair amount. I would wonder though, about driving through one daily for several years. Wonder if they'd eventually leave rub marks on your nice paint job???

The dog option would be effective, have you chosen the right breed. If you don't, you'll have an extra dog to feed that lays around on the door step sunning himself, while the cattle help themselves to your veggies and rub thier scratchy hides on your house siding!

I fail to beleive that any senscored sound device will deter cattle who really want your greens. If a stubborn cow wants over to the other side and the siren went off, I'll bet you they just run quicker across your boundry and then calm down once they get a mouthful of lettuce!

[Dexter]

If you can't afford a fence then you surely can't afford a dog. Dogs need feed, time, shelter, vetting.

[Allen W]

Who is responsible for maintaining the fence in your lease agreement? How large of an area needs to be fenced? I wouldn't lease something for grazing when the animals can't be contained where they are supposed to be.

[RonM]

If he has grazing rights you should not keep the cattle off, they should be on there until the rights are depleted, then like someone said pay the taxes and stop the grazing rights....

[Shygal]

Some of you are just plain nasty.
where do you get they are trying to dodge taxes, for goodness sake??

[texican]

Harsh noises won't keep livestock away. Nothing is going to work but a fence. Until you can afford a fence, a garden is going to be nothing more than a hot visiting place for the cattle. Electric fences only work with gentle cows... if you allow the cattle to get a taste of the goodies inside, nothing will stop them from returning, outside of barbed wire.

If you live in cattle country, there's going to be lots of fences. Ask around and do some scrounging... ye shall find barbed wire, if you look. I see someone tearing down a fence, I ask what they're going to do with the wire. If it's usable, I'll salvage it. I've got quite a stack of rings of wire from such activities.

Good luck. I've had cattle problems before. When fences started getting cut, to allow the cows to eat in my garden, I resorted to rifle fire... cattle suddenly started staying at home.........and the fence stopped mysteriously getting cut.