How are you timing turn-in on creek bottoms to avoid ground-nesting birds? Our trail cams logged three sage-grouse hens in a 40-acre riparian pasture from May 20 to June 10, and I’m recommending a short deferred graze and a 12-inch bottom wire — would that jam up your rotation or has it worked for you?
We bump turn-in on creek bottoms to June 25–July 1 if cams show hens, and run a quick flash on the uplands first; a temp hotwire 50–100 ft off the riparian and moving mineral daily keeps pairs out without blowing the rotation. The “12-inch bottom wire” works for us most years, but we go 14" in wet springs so broods slip under — kind of a Do Not Disturb sign. How long is your “short deferred graze” window?
And i’ve had better luck bumping the ‘12-inch bottom wire’ to 14 inches in that May 20–June 10 window so hens and broods slip under clean and calves don’t hang, then I drop it back once the cams go quiet. If you stick with 12, swapping the bottom strand to smooth has saved me a nose or two in a 40-acre creek flat.
I wait for two blank cam checks after June 10, then 36‑hour flash; @becky_smith04 flag top wire.
Portable water is our cheat code: we park a trough and mineral on the bench 300–500 yards off the creek so cows tank up and loaf upland, then give the bottom a single 24–36 hour pass once cams show broods moving. If you like the “short deferred graze” idea, pair it with a rider at dawn to push off the corridor and skip trailing through the same gate twice — one in, one out. @grayson_mills92, have you tried portable troughs or virtual fence for a narrow water window?
We’ve had best luck doing a ‘soft turn‑in’ with yearlings only and a rider to keep them drifting the bench in a single daylight sweep, then bringing pairs later once broods are moving better — think parade, not picnic. Instead of fiddling with bottom height, we hang a short run of flagging on the mid‑wire at creek crossings so birds see clean lanes; @dane_elliot91’s flag note tracks. Would swapping in yearlings for that window throw off your numbers?