Cows trespassing. What to do?

[Dusty Britches]

Why don't you ask the sheriff those questions? Regardless if it is a fence in or fence out - you want to do the right thing.

How close is the feeder to their fence? It may be pretty simple to find the trail they are using to come in - if they are travelling back and forth.

Show the pictures to the cattle owner. They are responsible for damage (which includes grass and corn eaten) done to your property.

In the mean time, it may be necessary to find tracks and look for them yourself. Are they pretty wild? My cows are fairly docile, but when caught in an area they know they shouldn't be, they take off like banshees. Especially if someone they don't know makes contact. If you could find them from a distance, call the lady and tell her exactly where they are and keep an eye on them until she shows up. If she were to put a little pressure on them, they may lead her to the spot they came over on.

[Dale Moser]

Depends on if it's an open range county or not

No it doesn't. If they destroy property their owners are liable.

[South 75]

Might try speaking with your landowner. He might know them and have a quick remedy for the situation. While checking my cows one day I noticed 4 heifers that weren't mine, took a few calls but figured out that they belonged to another landowner about 2 miles away.

[60 Deluxe]

You will give them ample time to remove the cattle. You do not have a choice in the matter. If they cannot get the job done contact the county sheriff and notify him that you wish for the cattle to be captured and impounded.
He will ask you if you wish to capture the cattle. You do not have to do so. If you cannot or won't the county will hire cowboys to round them up and move them to impound. The cattle will be held for a defined time within which the owner can claim them and pay all costs to get them returned. I did that with a very nice bull that I could not locate the owner of. The owner came around about three or four days after the sheriff sold it at auction. Too late to claim his bull but he would have received any money left over after expenses. He was not happy. He told me that he knew for two months where his bull was but didn't know how to get ahold of me. Since I live on the place I knew that he was a liar or was just wanted his bull fed through the winter. I was allowed to bill for feed but didn't so I told the guy to go argue with the sheriff as I wasn't about to listen to him.

[BrianL]

Polk County

Closed range county

[TTU TX Hunter]

Closed range county

My bad, we are in an Open range county and our neighbors are fenceless to the S with a cattleguard and small fence to the end of the road. Guess I should have googled before I trusted an old cowboy's word for it

[AntlerCollector]

I lease timber land. The area is heavily wooded next to the pasture and the fence is hard to see. They told me they couldn't tell where the cows got out. That was my first concern if and when the cows were put back in the pasture. I don't want them returning.

[BBReezen]

This.

X2, my grandma has a neighbor on two pieces of property that his cows basically roam all the surrounding properties that they can get access to. He seems to have no care about the issue or fixing his fence RIGHT so that they stay in his. The have destroyed an already rough creek crossing that can't be crossed now. She had two of his calves get into our place last year and when it was dry enough they loaded them up and took them to the sheriffs office and were told that is not the way it's supposed to happen. You are supposed to call the sheriff office and they come get them. But anytime you call them the cows are gone when they get there. I'd love to shoot them but I know I can't do that. We don't run cows on those properties anymore so you can always tell when they have been through.

[BrandonA]

http://tscra.org/what-we-do/theft-and-law/livestock-laws/

[SaltwaterSlick]

Cleaning up their "meadow muffins" can get expensive too... 4 head of cattle makin' muffins over days n days can add up to a BIG BILL!!

At the very minimum, you should make sure your Sheriff's contact was done officially, and Document the breach in a letter to the owner of the cattle via registered letter that you expect the cattle to be removed within (X) days and all damages covered within 30 days. If not removed within the (X) days, you will notify the Sheriff's Dept. to remove and impound them... My (X) would be 10 days max... more likely 7 days.

[rtp]

Put some dang slinkies on those feeders.......that should keep them away.

[Ironman]

Fire up that new fangled griddle you got.

[Fmjag64]

I have dealt with this a lot from our own cows getting over to a section of our land that is fenced off at my place and my best advice would be to go out and get the fence fixed where they are crossing and fix it well. Most cows will come running or at least respond if you go out with a bag or 2 of cubes.

When you're looking at the fence, look for hoof marks where they are crossing or jumping over low wire. It's a pain but ultimately it's not necessarily someone purposely doing harm so I would try to work with the land owners as much as possible bc cows have a mind of their own and the grass is always greener on the other side to them. Nothing a strand of barbwire and some T posts cant fix. And you never know, if you help out and get the issue handled on your own, you just might earn their trust and the right to hunt their place in time or at least open that door for discussions. Good luck

[Gummi Bear]

I turn off feeders, and put a thin trail of corn from the back the property out the gate to the county road.

Once cows are out, close the gate. Once they are on public property, it becomes a much higher priority to get them gathered up.

Fix your fences, most counties are "fence out".



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

[BrianL]

I turn off feeders, and put a thin trail of corn from the back the property out the gate to the county road.

Once cows are out, close the gate. Once they are on public property, it becomes a much higher priority to get them gathered up.

Fix your fences, most counties are "fence out".



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

23 of the 254 texas counties are "fence out" or open range. Most of those are far West Texas counties.

These counties are open range:

Andrews, Callahan, Camp, Childress, Collin, Cottle, Ector, Hemphill, Jeff Davis, Kenedy, King, La Salle, Loving, Midland, Navarro, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Reagan, Schleicher, Shackleford, Stephens, Sterling, and Throckmorton.

All other counties are closed range.