Benefits of a Cattle Guard & How It Works with a Bump Gate

What is a cattle guard?

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A cattle guard, Texas gate, or cattle grid is simply an assembly of pipes laid out horizontally over a hole in the ground to discourage livestock from crossing over to the other side. The animals’ poor depth perception, coupled with their color blindness, creates an illusion of extreme depth and separation, underneath and between the bars which put off the cattle. 

The cattle guard also achieves its function by creating a situation of physical discomfort for the animal. If it somehow manages to ignore its hardwired instincts, the imbalance created by the round finishes will dissuade any brave livestock. 

Additionally, the contraption can also keep deer away and protect your field crops. This athletic creature can make light work of a good gate, but it will be discouraged from attempting the jump because of the vast distance it’ll have to cover.

The benefits of a cattle guard:

1) It doesn’t get in the way of human mobility

Our vision and depth perceptions are just fine, so people should have no problem crossing a cattle guard. Moreover, the gaps between the bars are too small for a human foot to fit through, ensuring they pose no problem at night. Vehicles can pass with ease as well as the minor spacings still guarantee a smooth ride. 

2) Cattle remain unharmed

A properly-constructed cattle guard has gaps too small to allow the hooves to slip all the way in, seeing to it that no harm comes to the animal. It is therefore completely safe for both livestock and humans alike.

3) It’s cost-effective

You can choose to build your cattle guard with metal or concrete, but either way, you’ll not be thinking about replacements or repairs for a long while. That’s particularly true for concrete, which has a longer lifespan.

You can easily build a cattle guard yourself with the assistance of a DIY tutorial, but you can get around all that work by ordering one that’s been built offsite. 

How a cattle guard can be paired with a bump gate to get around its shortcomings:

While cattle guards are effective at keeping hoofed animals in or out, they don’t work as well on those with paws, e.g. coyotes, dogs, and cats, who have no problem maneuvering vacant spaces. Wild animals of this nature pose a security issue if that’s the only barrier between the farm and the outside world. This requires a cattle guard to be paired with an effective yet convenient measure, such as the bump gate, which only opens upon a significant push such as that of a vehicle. Consequently, you won’t have to worry about domestic animals wandering out or wild animals finding their way inside. 

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You can place this gate ahead of the cattle guard (from an inside-the-farm perspective), but you might need to raise it a little bit so that it doesn’t open against the bars when coming into the farm. Also, ensure it’s fairly level so as not to leave sufficient room for a coyote to squeeze through from below.

So why a bump gate?

A bump gate is affordable and just as effective as an automatic gate and comes with little to no maintenance expenses, courtesy of its excellent immunity to harsh weather. It can provide years of services for a fraction of the price of alternatives, making it an excellent companion for your cattle guard.

Donald
Posted 2/24/ 00:07 (#)
Subject: cattle gates

west central OhioA fella from ky stoped today with a truck full of gates for sale.
jones gate co, liberty ky.
anyone deal with this co ? good / bad ?

here is the prices he gave me:

14ga galvinized , he called them Bull Gates
16 ft 175$
14 165
12 150
10 140
16ga painted green
16ft 106$
14 100
12 92
10 85

he had a lighter set of gates but did not price them to me , he said they were too light of metal.

do these prices seem high ? how do they compare with what you are paying ?

Thanks.



Casey IL. ( I -70 ) then south on rt.49I have several green bull gates and they are heavy . had them 3yrs. seem to be good . The prices are a lttle high than back the , but things have went up a lot also.
I have some old palco gates and these green gates seem as good.

Central PAI bought several gates from him, and am pleased with them. Cheaper than most places around here. And, they were delivered.I got steel yesterday to build some gates for the sheep "creeps"

$100.00



whitesville new yorkThese guys are very negotiable. If thEy have q certain size they want to get rid of or the more you buy the cheaper they get. I prefer buying the heaviest gates, my cattle seem to bend and break the lighter gates.

NC IndianaWe've dealt w/ 2 outfits out of the Liberty, KY area on green gates. We have the first set that are 3 yrs old that the gate has rusted through on the bottom tube (tied up, not hung ). The coral we bought at that time is still mostly in good shape, except for the pass through, but it was in the mud and a knothead calf tried to run through it w/ me - flattened the pipes, but still works. 2 yrs ago, we bought the whole load for $6k - 2 corals, 1 pass through, 21 16' ft's, mix of 12-20 ft's. They discounted the 16's to $85 on that. They've held up better, more verticals vs 3 yrs old stuff, but a 6-7 wt calf will still flatten them if they jump and land on them. All in all, they are better than the same priced stuff at the farm stores, but not as good as the higher priced stuff. Local guy makes heavy (11 ga gates ), but it takes 2-3 people to move one.I know your looking for cheaper gates, but we bought some 2 '' Steinway gates, must be close to you, over 25 years ago and still have them and they are not broke. We have changed plans and reused and cut down these gates to fit other applications, probably some of the best money we have ever spent, but it hurt buying them the first time! Ron

western iowa,by Denisonno substitute for steel,a 2inch 11gauge pipe cost $1 a foot-we make 20 ft gates with 5 pipes-pretty normal to have $400 in a 20ft gate,then add the 2inch solid shaft for $40-they should last 20-30 years-maybe you should go talk to your local blacksmith shop-I'm sure they will build you gates,Have found out if its a heavy or lite gate they move just as easy with a skid loader!If you need a corral,guard rail works good!

central IowaI've bought a lot of Kentucky gates from Jackie Pendleton. He stops or calls any time he's close. He carries a 2" gate that is good and heavy and 1-1/2 that are plenty heavy for non-crowding situations. His gates are kind of a JD green. Have bought a couple off another truck that weren't nearly as stout. Those were a darker green. Jackie also handles a real good bale ring.

Saronville NEThey just priced me the 12ft green panels at $89 last week I didnt buy any. I been buying some HW brand panels at Boomgarrs when on sale for $71 bucks. I would like some more, but decided I didnt want anymore mismatched panels, so gonna just get some more of the HWs.I do a little welding on the side and have sold gates. I make them out of 16 guage 1 1/2 square tubing. I have used them in our corral and they are really stout. I figure I am into them about $85 for materials then my time. In our area there is mostly powder river and classic panels. I don't know for sure but the panels I have made seem to hold up just as well or better. If I were to make some nice pannels for me I would do 14 guage top bottom and one of the middle rails, then pierce all the rails and run 1 in or 3/4 down the middle for a stay. I would keep them at twelve feet just because that is a good length to cut lengths of steel. Sorry for the long answer but I would hire somebody to weld you some up. Usually when those gate companies weld a panel they turn their heat and wire way up and don't worry about getting a really good weld on there. That's the long of a short answer.

east of indianapolisI have made all my own pens in my wifes show barn and the gates for each pen outside not hard work but i sure hate painting them. How do you paint them for the guys building your own? I can build a nice gate but paint look like what comes out of the rear of a cow in a few years.


West Texas

For gates on a line fence, I'll buy the good tube gates as long as there will be no crowding. For corrals and anywhere else that the cows may bunch up, I use 2 3/8 upset tubing. Its schedule 80 pipe and is doesn't make any difference weather its a 200# calf or a # bull, the gate is not going anywhere. Due to the weight of them, I don't like to make them longer than 12 foot.

you got to clean them really good with a solvent to get the oils and scaling off the steel, then use a good primer followed by a couple coats with a good enamel.  The more you put in it the longer they look nice.  Could just weld them up and spray them with a cheap enamel then plan to paint them every few years, I guess you either put the work in up front or later every few years sprayin them down.  Kind of like grain bins, do it right or do it often. 

Driftless SW Wisconsin

For you guys making gates etc - buying "P & O" steel (pickled and oiled ) and tubing gives you a clean steel and a much better surface to weld and paint. They oil it to keep it from rusting but the oil comes off easily.  Paint adheres much much better than on hot rolled.

Another trick is to use a pulsed arc welder - almost no spatter. Also easier to weld out of position as you are almost always doing on round to round as in a gate.

Another key to good paint job is to not use an antispatter spray with silicone in it. Almost impossible to get a good paint job where there has been silicone spray used.

Jim at Dawn 

Edited by Jim 2/24/ 22:42
Chadsu42
Posted 2/24/ 22:46 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: Re: cattle gates

central KentuckyI live a few miles from Farmer's Gate and they make a good strong gate. They are the John Deere green that were mentioned. Liberty KY is the next county over from us where a lot of the manufacturers for gates are located. Ask for the Farmer's Gates, only ones we use and we have several about 15 years old still going strong. 270-465- owner is Mark Farmer, wife Amy probably will answer the .Jim
Posted 2/24/ 23:52 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: Re: cattle gates

Driftless SW Wisconsin

I bought a bale feeder ring from Farmer's gate at Louisville a couple years ago. Very well made. Most of my gates are Applegate red series. Another quality product.

Jim at Dawn 

feelnrite
Posted 2/25/ 11:16 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: Re: cattle gates

northwest tennessee

Why not buy galvanized and forget the painting, dont see how it would last very well anyway. Painting gates is not too productive for me. I get the heavy duty gates from coop and they hold up well.

Edited by feelnrite 2/25/ 11:18
Jim
Posted 2/25/ 11:41 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: Re: cattle gates

Driftless SW Wisconsin

I'm with you on buying good HD gates at the coop. However for the guys above talking about making their own gates I would NOT buy galvanized tubing to work with. Welding on galvanized material is extremely hazardous to your health as gases are released. 

If you do need to weld galvanized material you should grind off the zinc in the areas to be welded which sort of negates the anti corrosion benefits of the galvanizing. Weldments should be hot dipped galvanized after welding. But that is expensive.

The red Applegates seem like they will probably outlast me.

Jim at Dawn