Painting Stripes on a cattle guard - how effective?

[beowulf]

We have two cattle guards. The one at the main road at the end of the driveway is about 7' wide and as far as we know cannot be jumped. There is a gate there that we keep closed so we really don't know that for sure, but when it has been inadvertently left open we never had issues there - but it doesn't matter given that we kepp the gate closed.

We also have a cattle guard at the 'house-end' of the driveway which is a bit over 5' wide and they can jump that - the grass is greener so there is motivation. We have a gate there but it is a PITA to open and close it all the time - it is also used to keep the dogs in the yard when they are out. Years ago, I had three twelve foot 4" pipes welded to flat iron ends with the aim to widen the house cattle guard - I just never got around to it. Now, I want to do that (and BTW, I don't want to install an automatic gate there - but I know that is an option). So, with adding this extension to widen the house-side cattle guard, I calculate that it would bring the width to about 7' - maybe a bit more depending how I install it. I layed it out there and it looks like it would be enough to deter the jumpers. Anyway, I am going to give it a try.

My question is this: In addition to using this extension, I want to paint black and white stripes, or a checkerboard pattern on all or part of it to enhance the deterrent. I have seen this done, but never knew just how effective that is. Anyone have expierence with this? I am thinking and hoping that with the extension and stripes (if they work) I will win this one vs the cows. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any information.

 

[timbatrader]

my experience is with sheep not cattle but once they have learned to jump something adding something to make higher has to be a lot higher than what would have been a deterrent if you had put it that high in the first place. I kept adding height and it was as if I were just training them to jump higher

 

[ponytug]

My experience with the painted on faux cattle guards is that they worked ok if there were miles and miles of rangeland around, but once the pressure inches up, some bovine figures out that it isn't real and heads of to the greener pastures.

I think that there is a reason why the "standard" cattle guard is metal. I'm also with @timbatrader that extending an existing one is asking for trouble. I'd sell the old one and make an entirely new one. Strange is your friend here. If you do add on to the old one, I would repaint it, and do something to make the far side look different.

Have you thought about drive through electric fence gates?

All the best,

Peter

 

[beowulf]

my experience is with sheep not cattle but once they have learned to jump something adding something to make higher has to be a lot higher than what would have been a deterrent if you had put it that high in the first place. I kept adding height and it was as if I were just training them to jump higher

timbatrader, higher is not the issue as it is a cattle guard. I just want to make it wider to see if it will work out and deter them. I can likely make it as wide as 8' with a couple more pipes added to the extension I already have.

 

[beowulf]

My experience with the painted on faux cattle guards is that they worked ok if there were miles and miles of rangeland around, but once the pressure inches up, some bovine figures out that it isn't real and heads of to the greener pastures.

I think that there is a reason why the "standard" cattle guard is metal. I'm also with @timbatrader that extending an existing one is asking for trouble. I'd sell the old one and make an entirely new one. Strange is your friend here. If you do add on to the old one, I would repaint it, and do something to make the far side look different.

Have you thought about drive through electric fence gates?

All the best,

Peter

Peter, no, I have not thought about drive through electric fences - unless you mean the automatic gate openers which I have checked on extensively. If I can make it 8' wide I sort of feel that they are not going to jump that span - but not sure. In my favor, I guess, is that it seems that only one of the ten cows has jumped the existing cattle guard - so at least the others may be deterred. Thanks for responding.

 

[oosik]

I have a mile long driveway and an outer and inner gate. The gates keep the neighbors cows off the county road ( outer gate ) and off my property ( inner gate ).

TELL ME about a PITA. When the wife was still alive - it was easier. Stop - she got out, opened the gates - I drove thru - she closed the gates and got back in the pickup. Now I get to do it all by myself.

So...... about twenty years ago I tried this. Laid four sheets of plywood at the inner gate. 16' x 8'. Painted the plywood bright white. Then black stripes. I was surprised - it worked for about three weeks. Then a spring calf accidentally stumbled across the plywood. You would have thought it was the end of the world. All the bawling, mooing and cavorting. Finally the calf crossed back over the plywood.

That was the end of the charade. One by one they tip toed across. Then it was difficult to get them to go back over the plywood. I ended up pulling the plywood and shutting the gate.

I have priced cattle guards. Last time I checked - around $6000 each - installed.

That's for a 40,000 pound cattle guard. I would have a by-pass gate for anything over that weight.

 

[Locoweed]

Bump gate?

 

[ponytug]

Like these;

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=2E87BEC1-7B6A-11D5-A192-00B0D0204AE5

 

[beowulf]

Bump gate?

Locoweed, I looked at those - they should work even with the variety of vehicles we have - F150, Pilot, Prius, but the cost is about two thirds of the cost of the medium duty remote controlled solar automatic gates. I am going to lay out the cattle guard extension I had built years ago and see how that works. I think that I can configure that to get a width close to 8' with very little work to extend it - so will try that out. If it works, I am done, if not, I will try something else.

The property (90) acres is now fenced into multiple grazing areas and the cows will only be in the area where the cattle guard and yard are a temptation for part of the year, and then, only when the outside grazing is brown and the grass inside is green - but still a PITA to open and close the gate at the cattle guard.

 

[old and tired]

I have 3 cattle guards, the middle one, they walk through it with out even thinking... they don't cross the one to get into my property (when they come near it, I shoot off bird screamers at them) More for my entertainment vs. training them (a crazy b#$%^ard lives there!!)

We have had to start closing the first gate at night but can leave it open for the day we are there... Personally, I think the gates keep the riff-raft out. That and being a dead end with no other way out. Used to have meth heads "park" out there. Stopping to write down their plate number, scared them off.

Need to try the paint job!!!