# Security signs for fences/gates.



## dianneS (Nov 14, 2010)

I'm in need of some signs stating that visitors are not to enter the fenced areas without authorization etc... something of that nature.

I never really thought that it would be an issue.  I would never enter or open a gate to a fenced livestock pasture or enclosure without authorization.  I just assumed that others would have that same courtesy.

Apparently not...

I had a client here last week who was waiting for her friend and I told her she could take a walk around the property since it was such a nice day.  My husband told me later that this woman was inside the horse pasture with the horses so that she could pet the goats and dog on the other side of the fence!  I about freaked out!

Now today, my sister in law was visiting and waiting for my husband to finish working on her car.  She allowed herself into the goat pasture and then through the gate from the goat pasture into the horse pasture.  Well, she didn't latch the adjoining gate properly and when my husband and I came home from dinner tonight all of the goats were out, as well as the LGD and luckily the horses were only in the goat pasture, not "out".  I had goats in the chicken house, goats in the back yard... goats everywhere!!

I need to post some sort of sign telling people to "KEEP OUT", or somthing of that nature.  Does anyone know where they sell signs like this or know of a place where I could get something printed?  Any ideas for wording on a sign of this nature that would get the point across?

I really wish our entire property were fenced, but that's not possible without a gate across the driveway.


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## patandchickens (Nov 14, 2010)

Home Depot type places often have a reasonable selection of generic signs like "keep out", "no unauthorized entry", "no unaccompanied entry", etc.

"Always latch gate!!" is useful but hard to find premade versions. YOu could certainly whip one up yourself though. If you want fancy, you could get a quote on it from a sign shop or somewhere that mail-orders horse stall nameplates... but I think you'd have to be pretty Martha Stewart to care that much 

Also, since these were people you knew were on your property, I would suggest being Very Very Very Clear To Them (to everybody who comes over, for any reason) that they Cannot Go In With The Animals At All, So Sorry, But You Seriously Mean It.

Unfortunately though there just ARE a large number of people floating around in the world who a) think signs do not apply to them and b) see absolutely no possible harm in the world in traipsing into your stock pens and paddocks. There is not a whole big lot you can do about those people, short of padlocks (not always a great idea) or latches that are complex or hidden enough that people can't easily figure out how they work, or things like stiles and pass-throughs that casual city-type visitors may not know how to use them. 

(Giant stinking mudpuddles at the gate are a surprisingly good deterrent, actually; but obviously not the most appealing idea for gateways that YOU use frequently TOO )  

Pat


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## goodhors (Nov 14, 2010)

I ckecked Ebay for keep out signs, found some pirate types "Keep OUT  This means YOU", some humorous, some serious.  A good one was "Warning, Shark Sighted, Keep Out".  

On the "keep gate" search there were a variety of endings to choose from.  I liked "Keep Gate Closed Our animals are fast and loose".  Also "Keep Gate Closed Dogs Inside and Please Keep Gate Closed At All Times".  Not sure what you would turn up with a search on Livestock signs.

If you have backer pieces, metal, plastic, you might be able to get adhesive backed signs made up less expensively for posting about the place.  Wording could be specific to suit your needs and animals.  Probably a big one is STAY OUT DO NOT PET THE ANIMALS.  Some people with LSG dogs have dogs that will protect their flocks from stranger people!  You don't want the idiots getting bitten as well as turning everyone loose.

We have a gate on the driveway to barn, kept shut unless we are using it.  Often locked, and we just deal with the problem of carrying the key.  Better than having nutcases out in the barnyard.  Closed gate has contained any escapees when the paddock gates were not closed and fastened.  
Safety measure for all concerned, our road is fairly busy, no one expects to see loose livestock in our area.  We are about the only ones with animals.

Signs might need to be rude, even relatives need to GET A CLUE when visiting and leaving havoc in their wake!!  One I saw was "You are NOT special!
Keep Out DOES mean YOU!!  That was a custom made, but they were tired of friends thinking Keep Out sign meant everyone ELSE.

I would check at a local sign shop, we got 4-H stickers made there cheaply.  If you bought a quantity, you can just put up a new one on the metal backer when it fades or wears out!

You may want to get that driveway gate, shut and lock it even without a perimeter fence.  Many folks won't walk on to house, though some will.  Gate could say Keep Out Unless You Have An Appointment!  Gate Will Be Open For Appointments.  

I can't believe how rude some folks are barging into your place and SNOOPING everywhere.  Stories I hear are just amazing.


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## animalfarm (Nov 14, 2010)

The driveway gate isn't FOOL proof either. I had an electric gate across my drive to allow the horses to mow the lawn. 2 ropes with flourescent pink and green ribbons tied along them and 2 bright orange traffic cones in front. The mailman came bombing down the driveway went through the whole shebang letting the horses escape and killing a turkey in the process. Tried telling me I had no business blocking the road like that. Had to have a lawyer send a bill to the post office explaining the meaning of driveway vs road and that a gate is a good indication to stop. Now I have some deep pot holes in the drive as well as a gate and I have to go to the post office to pick up my packages.

I have beware of bull signs on all my pastures even if the bulls don't happen to be in them. No one messes with bulls.


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## dianneS (Nov 15, 2010)

Wow animalfarm your mailman sounds like an idiot!  

People are unbelievable some times.  I am concerned that family and friends may not obey the signs anyway, thinking that they don't apply to them.  So I may have to come up with some rude wording to get the point across!

I wasn't home when my SIL was traipsing around our pastures, but my husband was.  I already have LGD signs and my SIL ignored those.  I feel like I can't ever go anywhere because my husband is not responsible enough to tell people not to enter fences or go back and double check that everything is closed properly.  I guess I just can't ever leave the house if I want to be sure that everyone stays secure.

My SIL was spoken to about the mishap, she won't be doing anything like that again.  I told her it could have been a disaster if the horses had gotten out.  Two wethers gorged themselves on chicken feed and who knows what landscape plants the goats may have helped themselves to.  I don't think that I have anything poisonous.

Turns out my SIL didn't even attempt to latch the gate properly, she just pushed on it really hard and wedged it into place since the gate only swings one direction.  She pushed it in the opposite direction, then the horses did the same, pushing the gate the wrong way and bending the hinges!  So I have a gate to repair now as well.

I am still trying to think of a way to fence the entire property, but it would be tricky and costly.  I will be getting myself some signs in the meantime!


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## jodief100 (Nov 15, 2010)

I know someone who has signs stating her animals bite (they don't) and something about liability.  It seems to work.


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## ksalvagno (Nov 15, 2010)

I would think you could find signs at places like TSC or Rural King.


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## freemotion (Nov 15, 2010)

dianneS said:
			
		

> I am still trying to think of a way to fence the entire property, but it would be tricky and costly.  I will be getting myself some signs in the meantime!


Mine was tricky and costly.  I did it one roll at a time, and let me tell you, it was SO worth it!  

For a sign.....hmmm...."If you open this gate you will be receiving a bill for any damages.  Think twice."


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## glenolam (Nov 15, 2010)

You could also print out some home-made signs and laminate them.  Then you can nail/tape/glue/whatever the signs to the fence posts or on a stake. 

"Do you like your hand?  Great!  Then don't pet the animals!"
"Warning - these goats love to jump on people and cars!"

I bet you could even go back to that "Goat Trauma Org" website and print off some of their 'awesome' signs!


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## patandchickens (Nov 15, 2010)

If your gates are wooden, I bet you could just PAINT a sign on the top board. "Re-latch gate immediately, OR ELSE" 

Pat


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## dianneS (Nov 15, 2010)

I think in addition to the signs I'm going to put a "back-up" chain latch on every gate.  I have one on a main gate that I use a lot.  I put it there so I could just drop the chain hook into the loop and the gate would be secure without me having to take the time to latch the "real" gate latch... when I'm running in and out a lot.

I have that type that they sell at TSC, its got a chain with a hook on the end and a safety mechanism that secures it so that it can't be lifted out of the loop so easily.  The loop just looks like a big fat staple.  It works really well.  

I figure if I have a simple, easy to figure out chain on all of the gates, then just in case someone does enter a paddock again, they can certainly figure out how to securely affix that chain, at the very least!  I really hope so anyway, but some people never cease to amaze me!

I am going to go with a stern "Keep out" type of sign and I like that liability disclaimer idea Freemotion!


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## savingdogs (Nov 15, 2010)

glenolam said:
			
		

> You could also print out some home-made signs and laminate them.  Then you can nail/tape/glue/whatever the signs to the fence posts or on a stake.
> 
> "Do you like your hand?  Great!  Then don't pet the animals!"
> "Warning - these goats love to jump on people and cars!"
> ...


Agreed! And how about a sign that reads something like "If you are able to read this sign you are expected to shut this gate."  Or "Gate must remained closed at all times. This means you."


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## mully (Nov 15, 2010)

Funny thing about signs ...some people think "oh that does not mean me" chains and locks work...a pain but they work.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Nov 15, 2010)

Earlier this year one of my does was going into labor so I was hanging around the barn and doing chores.  My husband and MIL were also doing yard work, but a bit further from the barn.  The neighbor (a not-so-close relative) was having a family BBQ and apparently she thought it might be a nice opportunity for her grandchild to have an unsupervised visit to the local "petting zoo" and sent him on over.  The child walks into the yard, directly past my husband and MIL without uttering a hello, straight towards the goat pen like he's done it 100 times.  When my husband recovered enough from his complete and total confusion, I hear him say "um, hello?"  The kid says, "oh, hi..." and proceeds to open the gate and let himself inside.  I then hear my husband say (in his, I'm totally T.O.'ed right now but I'm trying to hide it, tone) "Uh, who are you?"  At this point I'm inside the kidding stall and step out to see what's going on only to have a 10 year old complete freaking stranger standing in my goat pen looking at me like I'M the weird one!    The kid then explains that he's so-and-so's son and he was just blah blah blah.  We were so shocked we just pretty much stood there looking at him like, "WTH can I DO for you??" until he got a clue and left.

It happened one more time when I was home.  I have no idea how many times it happened when I wasn't.  Needless to say a phone call was made to the neighbor and we started padlocking gates.

Unfortunately my husband was born into a family that doesn't really GET personal space in the way normal people do, so a couple weeks after this we have another fun incident.  One afternoon I had come home from work and was getting ready to jump in the shower when my husband calls to ask me if we have any salad in the fridge.  I say, hang on, let me check, and make a nekkid detour to the refrigerator.  I live in the woods, so under normal circumstances this is NOT an issue.  However, I open the fridge, glance to my right and just outside a large window are 4 complete strangers walking through my yard and suddenly the salad doesn't seem all that important.   As it turns out, they are even more distant relatives whom we've never met just walking over to gawk at my livestock unannounced.

Now we have a LGD in training.


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## dianneS (Nov 16, 2010)

OMG, n.smithurmond!!  Both stories are outrageous!

I would be annoyed at a kid just walking on my property and entering my fences.  You know the kid was probably _told _to do that, by some _adult _with just as little respect for other people's property.

My DH and I have had some near nekkid incidents.  My sister came to the door and caught my husband in the kitchen in his underwear.  He was getting undressed in the kitchen because he didn't want to drag his dirty clothes upstairs.  My sister went around to the front door and pretended she didn't see anything!

I've had to put a curtain on the kitchen door due to some near nekkid incidents with the Jehovas witnesses.

I have a LGD and signs in place for him, but that wasn't a deterrent so far.  I really just cannot believe that anyone would enter fenced areas without permission??  It still boggles my mind.

We're only about a 1/4 mile from a very busy road.  If my horses were to get hit by a car, the passengers in that car would probably be killed.  A horse is almost ten times the size of a deer and look at the damage a deer can do to a car and sometimes the people inside?  My goats could get into poisonous plants, not to mention destroy my landscaping!  I just don't understand why a person would put themselves in a position where they could possibly be responsible for such tragedy and mayhem!!  Why don't people think????


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Nov 16, 2010)

When I was a kid my best friend's mom's gorgeous buckskin quarter horse mare spooked and jumped a fence onto the busy highway they lived next to and was hit by a logging truck.  She was, of course, devastated about losing her horse AND the lawsuit that followed!


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## Emmetts Dairy (Nov 17, 2010)

I think people think all farms are petting zoo's sometimes.  I go thru the same thing...But I will tell them straight up what the rules are at my farm!

I have alot of people coming to get eggs and bread..and they will bring the kids to see the animals...and I will not allow anyone to go to see the animals without escort. EVER!  I dont have signs cuz people dont read them.  

If the kids go running to the barn...I make them stop and tell them to wait and I would be glad to show you my animals but they must wait for me.  And parents will stop them..once I say that...cuz it almost embarrasses the parents and they jump in.  

I found it to easier to be up front with people and tell them your expectations when it comes to your animals...cuz  they have no clue and truly the could get hurt.   

Good luck...I recommend speaking up..you can put "keep out" signs...but communication of what you expect works for me..

People amaze me...I find common courtesy of others, is'ant so common anymore...its terrible.


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## Bossroo (Nov 17, 2010)

I breed horses on my 20 Acres, which is well fenced with 6' high chainlink fence along the front. All access gates (4) are chained and padlocked. I installed electric wire offset in the inside of the chainlink with electric signs all over.  I posted NO TRESPASSING SIGNS on the inside side of the fences and all gates. I had to do this for my liability insurance.  The next day all of my signs were removed. The chains were cut.  I again reposted,and replaced the chains... again removed, gates open and my horses runing out on the road. I even posted the signs on the power poles out front 12 feet high. Gone the next day. Come to find out that one of the neighbors delights in removing the signs and cutting the chains as he thinks that all the land around him is for his own pleasure and use anytime that he feels like it. He even had an attack trained Doberman Pincher run loose in the neighborhood that had chased one of my son's up onto our hay stack  and wouldn't let him down all afternoon.  We contacted the sherriff who had a heart to heart talk with him. Several months later another neighbor shot that dog while he was killing his sheep.   Still, even years later, some of the signs go missing from time to time as well as the chains are cut. Thank God that none of the horses caused an accident yet.


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## dianneS (Nov 17, 2010)

Bossroo said:
			
		

> I breed horses on my 20 Acres, which is well fenced with 6' high chainlink fence along the front. All access gates (4) are chained and padlocked. I installed electric wire offset in the inside of the chainlink with electric signs all over.  I posted NO TRESPASSING SIGNS on the inside side of the fences and all gates. I had to do this for my liability insurance.  The next day all of my signs were removed. The chains were cut.  I again reposted,and replaced the chains... again removed, gates open and my horses runing out on the road. I even posted the signs on the power poles out front 12 feet high. Gone the next day. Come to find out that one of the neighbors delights in removing the signs and cutting the chains as he thinks that all the land around him is for his own pleasure and use anytime that he feels like it. He even had an attack trained Doberman Pincher run loose in the neighborhood that had chased one of my son's up onto our hay stack  and wouldn't let him down all afternoon.  We contacted the sherriff who had a heart to heart talk with him. Several months later another neighbor shot that dog while he was killing his sheep.   Still, even years later, some of the signs go missing from time to time as well as the chains are cut. Thank God that none of the horses caused an accident yet.


OMG!  That is horrible!!  Some people are just plain nuts!  That guy sounds like the nut-job that just shot his TV during Bristol Palin's performance on Dancing with the Stars!  Whackadoo!!  

I'm really glad my only problem is a air-headed, absent-minded sister in law!  Whew!  I feel lucky now.  

Sorry for your problems with that nut-job neighbor.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Nov 17, 2010)

Bossroo said:
			
		

> I breed horses on my 20 Acres, which is well fenced with 6' high chainlink fence along the front. All access gates (4) are chained and padlocked. I installed electric wire offset in the inside of the chainlink with electric signs all over.  I posted NO TRESPASSING SIGNS on the inside side of the fences and all gates. I had to do this for my liability insurance.  The next day all of my signs were removed. The chains were cut.  I again reposted,and replaced the chains... again removed, gates open and my horses runing out on the road. I even posted the signs on the power poles out front 12 feet high. Gone the next day. Come to find out that one of the neighbors delights in removing the signs and cutting the chains as he thinks that all the land around him is for his own pleasure and use anytime that he feels like it. He even had an attack trained Doberman Pincher run loose in the neighborhood that had chased one of my son's up onto our hay stack  and wouldn't let him down all afternoon.  We contacted the sherriff who had a heart to heart talk with him. Several months later another neighbor shot that dog while he was killing his sheep.   Still, even years later, some of the signs go missing from time to time as well as the chains are cut. Thank God that none of the horses caused an accident yet.


Can you find a way to run a charge through the metal signs?


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## Bossroo (Nov 17, 2010)

n.smithurmond said:
			
		

> Bossroo said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes I can easily do so as they are metal, however my insurance company advised against it as I may be sued by the s.o.b.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Nov 17, 2010)

That is so uncool.


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## aggieterpkatie (Nov 18, 2010)

Bossroo said:
			
		

> Yes I can easily do so as they are metal, however my insurance company advised against it as I may be sued by the s.o.b.


I would tell him "Oops, our fence shorted out and caused the electrified sign.  Sorry. "


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## ohiofarmgirl (Nov 18, 2010)

i find that becoming completely unglued and totally freaking out  - and swearing a blue streak - keeps them all off the property
;-)

actually we make it a point not to let anyone - especially people with kids - come on the property. its just not negotiable and it doesnt matter who they are. even the neighbor kids (who are in 4H) cant just wander over.  i've had people ask if they can bring their kids/grandkids/whoever and i tell them straight out "No." 

having a fenced property, a gate, and 2 huge dogs help also. 

if this is really a problem, you might want to have a frank talk with these folks and tell them they cant bring visitors or just wander around, ever, because its on YOU if someone gets hurt. you could probably also have a waiting area for clients and such. 

i think a lot of people have a 'disney' view of farm animals....and its all fun and games until the gander chases the delivery guy. dang that guy ran fast too....


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## Emmetts Dairy (Nov 18, 2010)

ohiofarmgirl said:
			
		

> i think a lot of people have a 'disney' view of farm animals....and its all fun and games until the gander chases the delivery guy. dang that guy ran fast too....


I totally agree...I had the fed ex man running like a little boy from my rooster.  I told him I would meet him at the gate...for signature and he opened up the gate and came in and started to walk right up to the hens sunning in the dirt...well my rooster did not take to kindly to that and ran after him.  I then reminded him why the rooster was here on the farm..which is to protect his girls!!!  And there was good reason why I told him to wait.  Thankfully he did'nt get kicked by my roo...

I kinda laughed...and said..what were you gonna do..pat the chickens???  Its not a dog..its a chicken!!!  

Now he beeps and I come out!!! LOL   Same with UPS!!! LOL..But thats fine by me....Its a working farm..not a petting zoo...it annoys me to...Some people have No respect sometimes...its hard.


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