Cattle grid
A cattle grid – also known as a stock grid in Australia; cattle guard, or cattle grate in
Origins
The modern cattle grid for roads used by automobiles is said to have been independently invented a number of times on the Great Plains of the United States around 1905–1915. Before that period, a similar device for railroads was in use at least as early as 1836; a stone stile was used in Britain as far back as pre-Roman times.[3] An article in Texas Monthly claims that the "first recorded use of a cattle grid for nonrail traffic" occurred in 1881 in Archer County, Texas, on the stagecoach road between Archer City and Henrietta.[4]
Uses
Cattle grids are usually installed on roads where they cross a
Variations
Almost all cattle grids are built around a grid. Most include a pit dug along a fence line, a base for the grid to rest on, and wings to connect the guard to the fence. Since many guards were or are home-made and to some degree
A study of the bars of traditional cattle grids in the
Cattle grids, as they are called in Great Britain, Ireland, and South Africa, are known by a wide variety of other names in other parts of the world. In the United States, they are cattle guards. Mata burro ('donkey killer') is the preferred name in Brazil and Venezuela, while guarda ganado ('cattle keeper') is what they are called in Argentina. Alternatives in the United States include car crossing, auto gate, corduroy gate, stock gap, cattle pass, run-over, and many others. Canadians use pit gate, vehicle pass, and Texas gate, as well as cattle guard, which in Canada refers mainly to guards at railway lines.[7]
Concrete
Cattle grids made entirely or mostly of concrete have existed since the 1940s.[8] Individual ranchers have often constructed their own, sometimes using plans developed in the 1940s.[8] In the 21st century, a set of plans for do-it-yourself guards made of wood and concrete are available via the web site of the Missouri Alternatives Center at the University of Missouri in the US.[9] Commercial precast concrete versions are also available; Smith Cattleguard Company, based in Virginia, sold more than 15,000 of them between 1960 and 1980.[8] Manufacturers also produce commercial polyethylene forms with reinforcing rods. Placed in or on the ground and filled, a finished cattle grid with 4,000-pound-per-square-inch (28 MPa) concrete reinforced with 5⁄8-inch (16 mm) fiberglass (GFRP) rebar can support vehicle loads of up to 32,000 pounds (15 t) per axle.[10]
Steel
University Lands, which manages land and mineral interests for a foundation supporting the
Virtual
Painted lines on the road can serve as skeuomorphs of cattle grids. The light-dark pattern of lines on pavement resembles a true cattle grid to animals, and by association think they will not be able to cross. Using a virtual cattle grid is initially cheaper than a true cattle grid,[13] but the cost of periodic re-painting may eventually exceed the initial cost of a well-built metal guard.[14] A particular advantage of painted guards is that they are smooth to drive over; in the US, most are found on state or federal highways, rather than private roads.[14]
Why they work is unclear, but it is most likely related to the bovine visual system. Experts say that "a cow's depth perception is such that it makes little or no distinction between painted stripes on a dark background and bars over a pit."[15] Cattle may acquire the behavior of avoiding grids over pits either from individual experience or through imitation of other cattle. However, painted grids have been reported to work with semi-wild cattle with no prior exposure to virtual grids.[15]
Cattle can sometimes defeat virtual guards. A station owner in Queensland, Australia, told a reporter that after some of his old bulls leaped a painted grid, the younger ones lost their fear of walking across.[16] This is common; if one member of a herd discovers it can step safely on the lines, others will follow. Other incentives that lead cattle to test a virtual guard include placing food on the opposite side, or using strong driving pressure to run panicked cattle over a virtual grid.[13]
Electric
Electric cattle grids use electricity to deter animals from crossing the fence line. There are different designs. One uses high-tensile wire run across the roadway, about 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) off the ground, attached to a power source on one side.[17] The primary advantage is cost and ease of installation.[18] Drawbacks include the necessity of spraying vegetation with herbicides to keep weeds from shorting out the grid if there is no barrier between the wires and the ground. In addition, some low-riding vehicles can catch the wires and tear them out.[17]
James Hoy in The Cattle Guard discusses four kinds of electric guards. One that was patented in
Effectiveness on wildlife
While cattle grids are most effective on cattle, they can be used to exclude deer and elk.[20][21][22] Research has shown that deer can cross cattle grids with flat, as opposed to rounded bars.[23] Sometimes a cattle grid is doubled to exclude these animals. A cattle grid requiring a horizontal leap of 14 feet (4.3 m) is considered effective when combined with a deer fence.[24] Striping is also painted on roads as a visual deterrent to deer, as with "virtual" cattle grids.[25]
Limitations and risks
While these barriers are usually effective for cattle,[26] they can fail due to ingenious animals. Sheep searching for food have been known to jump across grids, step carefully into the spaces,[27] or run along the side of grids as wide as 8 feet (2.4 m).[28]
Wider grids are used where wildlife is to be contained. Some animals can jump across them, and a barrier that stops deer needs to be at least 16 feet (5 m) wide.[26] Bison, and bulls in particular can easily jump across an 8-foot (2.4 m) barrier, and have been known to jump widths of up to 14 feet (4.3 m).[29][30]
In areas with heavy snowfall and long periods without a thaw, snow can accumulate beneath a grid and allow animals to walk across.
Horses are particularly vulnerable to cattle grid injuries, as their single-toed hooves can slip between the bars and trap their legs in an easily broken position.[26] The same risk exists for kangaroos in Australia's outback, with additional risk of entrapment.[31]
Cattle grids are generally useless for containing
Cattle grids produce noise when vehicles pass over them and people living in a 100 m radius from the grid can be affected.[33][34]
Patents and standards
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (US PTO) issued patent U.S. patent 1125095A on January 15, 1915, to William J. Hickey, Reno, Nevada, for a cattle grid.[35]
There is a
See also
- Anti-trespass panels, rubber and wooden surfaces meant to deter walking on or near rail tracks, derived from cattle grids
- Bus trap
- Bump gate
- Ha-ha
References
- ^ Brown, Robert A (March 1960). "Fooling Cattle With Paint". Popular Science. 176 (3): 228. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
- ^ Prince, Therese Lefebvre. "Texas Gate". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ISBN 9780803247871
- ^ Webre, Rodney (May 1984). "Texas Primer: The Cattle Guard". Texas Monthly. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ "Everything You Need to Know About Cattle Grids". FarmRanchStore.com. 2019-02-25. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ a b Hoy, pp. 112–116
- ^ Hoy, pp. 117–18
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7006-0226-1.
- ^ University of Tennessee (2014) [1968]. "Fence and Cattle Guard Plans: Cattle Guards, Wood Frame and Concrete". University of Missouri. Archived from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ Hendricks, Walt. "Cattle Guard Forms". Cattle Guards website. Ray Allen. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ^ "Best Practices: Cattle Guards & Cattle Guard Specifications". University Lands. 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ^ "Cattle Guards and Drive Through Gates" (PDF). University of Wisconsin – Extension. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ^ a b Sheldrake, Rupert. "Cattle Fooled by Phoney Grids". sheldrake.org. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- ^ a b Hoy, p. 153
- ^ a b Hoy, p. 154
- ^ "Virtual Cattle Grids Outsmart NT Cattle". Australian Broadcasting Company. July 28, 2005. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ a b Ford, Devlon (July 23, 2013). "Electric Cattle Guard Saves Time". Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- ^ Ford, Devlon (2013-07-13). "Electric Cattle Guard Saves Time – Noble Research Institute". Noble Research Institute. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ a b c Hoy, p. 152
- ^ Link, Russell (Maine DFW); Beausoleil, Rick; Spencer, Rocky (Washington DFW) (2005). "Wildlife-Human Issues: Living with Wildlife: Deer". Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (adapted from Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Living With Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest by Russell Link). Retrieved May 23, 2016.
Some people consider cattle guards eyesores, but these ground-level installations provide the most effective protection for ungated driveways on properties that are otherwise fenced to keep deer out.
- ^ "Wildlife Crossings". Backpacker. 37 (5): 40. June 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2016 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 9781603449724. Retrieved December 26, 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ Seamans, Thomas W.; Helon, David A. (2008), R. M. Timm; M. B. Madon (eds.), "Comparison of Electrified Mats and Cattle Guards to Control White Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Access through Fences", Proc. 23rd Vertebr. Pest Conf., Univ. of Calif., Davis., pp. 206–209 – via United States Department of Agriculture,
Comparisons of other cattle guard studies show that when flat material is used instead of rounded for cross members, deer cross the guard.
- ISBN 9781605296678
- ^ "Interstate 70 Ramps Between Rifle, Canyon Creek to Be Affected by Fencing Project". Post Independent – Citizen Telegram. Rifle, Colorado: Swift Communications. July 31, 2013. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Rob (July 23, 2012). "Cattle Guards Can Be Dangerous to Some Animals". Barn World. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ Marchington, James (April 17, 2013). Sheep Escaping. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ "Crafty Sheep Conquer Cattle Grids". BBC News. July 30, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-7627-8101-0. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-520-24062-9. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ Hooper, Ben (August 1, 2016). "Australian Dad Pulls Upside-Down Kangaroo out of Roadside Grate". United Press International. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
- ^ Hoy, p. 155
- ^ Watts, G.R (2023-09-21). "Investigations of noise and disturbance from vehicles crossing cattle grids and examination of options for mitigation". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ "Noisy cattle grids threaten a good night's sleep". University of Bradford. 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ "Cattle-guard". United States Patent and Trademark Office. January 19, 1915. Retrieved May 27, 2016 – via Google Patents.
- ^ "Specification for Cattle Grids". British Standards Institution. April 28, 2006. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ^ "Information About Cattle Guards". Barn World Farm & Ranch Superstore. Retrieved June 17, 2010.