# Has anyone built a goat bridge?



## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

So I have about 14 Nubian does right now and of course going on a couple dozen kids this time of year and I have an issue I've been contemplating. The pen that's around 5,000 sq ft where the girls stay most of the time is attached to the barn where they sleep inside at night. The barn is on one side of the long driveway that goes back to our house from the road. On the other side of the driveway is the 2 acre front pasture that surrounds our lake where I like the goatees to graze in the summer. Previously they've had to go through the cow pasture and enter that lake pasture about 100 yards behind the house on the lake dam. I put up a board about 3 feet high and it keeps the cows out from around the lake (they will stand in it all summer and destroy it). But I don't really like running the goats with those cows who can get ornery at times and the fencing in the back of that cow pasture isn't as solid as I'd like. 

So to make a short story long I would like to get the goatees from the pen on one side of the driveway to the pasture on the other directly. So I'm going to build a bridge over the driveway for the goats. The issue of this bridge is it has to be very tall. I haul loads of round hay in and out the drive and I'm not sure how tall they are but I do know an overpass on the highway has to be 13.5' so that's how tall I'm making the underside of my bridge so any road legal vehicle can still come down the drive. I got some long used telephone poles from the power company for free to put up a hay shed last year and I have a few left over. This weekend I erected two of them 16' apart on either side of the driveway. They are around 18' tall. My idea is to make this thing about 2 feet wide with cattle panels on either side where it goes over the driveway so they can't jump off. 

I'm thinking to make it deck style with long treated 2x10 or 2x8 joists going across (affordability is an issue .. the wife doesn't seem to think this project is as essential as I do) and short 2' decking boards going cross-ways. The issue I'm having are that a 16' bridge ends up being around 64' long when you account for ramps on either side at around 30 degree angles of elevation to reach that height... well that adds up to over $400 in treated lumber. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with making a structure like this for goats. I've made several decks for people and I'm wondering if I'm overdoing the load calculations based on the needs of 120-150 lb 4 legged patrons who are very good climbers.

Basically I don't know what my question is... has anyone attempted something similar and have any tips or pics?

Thanks!


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## RichV (Jun 2, 2013)

Sounds like a fun project. With the size you're talking about wind loads could be a concern though. I'd worry about getting my posts anchored well enough and making sure corners are braced well. I'm not sure that ramps are much better for goats than steps. Seems like the bridge is tall enough you could save a little on footprint, posts and foundation (but not on cutting and calculations) with spiral ramps/steps.

I've never built a goat bridge, but based on what I've seen at random farms, goats aren't too picky about what they'll walk across to get to food so long as their feet stay dry. Tanners Orchards near Peoria has something similar to your sort of goat bridge. Here's a picture of it I stole from the internet:


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Gosh this is just so fantastic! 

So my only input is that a 30 degree ramp on either side does feel enormous. I would try to incorporate stairs or a switchback ramp design to make the climb more vertical. I bet your ramps could be quite a bit steeper than 30 degrees if you include horizontal "grips" (strips of wood) to give the goats more traction on the way up.


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

Following just to see updates!! Sounds really cool. I agree that they can climb a lot steeper than 30 degrees and that stairs of some kind seem more practical.


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

Just another thought...

Old roof shingles help them wear down their hooves, less trimming, more traction!


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

only thing I see as a concern would be to look at C-channel or I-beam to span the 16 ft (they come in 24 foot normally) and there are calculators on line to determine size and wall thickness etc

2 of them would be cheaper and lighter than all wood construction for say a 3 ft wide walkway, there are calculators online to help with this

maybe calculate wt of steel, I beams and say 2500# of goats should be good numbers


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## Mac's Rainbow (Jul 30, 2012)

Did you think about making it shorter and making a draw bridge or not doing the bridge at all and just putting 2 gates across the drive from each other? Just some things to think about.

Ggg
SKM


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

I built a 17 foot bridge across a small creek for my goats. Nothing like you're planning just flat straight across. I used straight tree branches, wired them together & nailed whatever scrap wood on top. It's only about 18" across with no rails & can hold 3 goats without sagging. I use it too. I suppose I spent $6-$7 dollars on materials. I guess my point is that goats are not picky. Also your bridge could be shorter if you dug the driveway lower, sort of like an overpass. Drainage could be a problem though.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Mac's & Catharina responses are spurring good ideas here! What about a tunnel versus a bridge? I was actually out on a construction job today where a pedestrian bridge is proposed over a new road and the contractor worked out rough numbers... going under is WAY LESS expensive and complicated than going over! A 4-5' diameter corrugated culvert and some earth work and fence repairs and your goat herd could be trotting along underneath the driveway from pasture to pasture!

The only possible issue is if cattle have access to either pasture... wouldn't want a cow stuck in a culvert.

Or... a set of two "bump gates" that create a channel across the roadway from pasture to pasture, but cars can drive through. It would have to be fairly wide to allow for the swing of the gates... But price wise I'm not sure how it would compare to your bridge project
http://ramrodbumpgate.com/
http://www.bumpndrive.com/howitworks.html


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

I kind of like the tunnel idea, just make sure no standing water possibility to drown any kids


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Why not put long gates in both sides that you open up to create a channel across the driveway. Shoo the goats across then shut gates.


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

ksalvagno said:


> Why not put long gates in both sides that you open up to create a channel across the driveway. Shoo the goats across then shut gates.


Now, now...keep that common sense out of here :stop:

we want to see bridges and tunnels in this thread :stars:


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Yes, the tunnel/culvert idea sounds the most simple--it wouldn't have to be that big even. Goats are almost like cats--if they can get their head through the rest of them will usually fit too! Maybe only a 5' diameter metal culvert pipe? If your water table's high you could have it up a little & the driveway have a hump in it. Do you have a tractor? I think some tractors can have digging attachments.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

*Wow*

There's a lot of great input here and I missed a couple days and don't know where to start. I thought of a tunnel and honestly that would require a whole lot of digging to put a culvert that size in an otherwise flat area and maintaining the entrances and keeping out the water and mud would be a mess. Also I hate digging but love working with wood plus I sort of like the spectacle that folks can see the goatees up there crossing above.

Yes I'll admit the motivation is not purely pragmatic if it was the double gate chute across the driveway idea would be by far the cheapest and easiest. The other problem with this good idea is that my goatees are completely spoiled and will only lay down in the barn. They will head out into the pasture 5 or 6 times a day and browse for up to an hour but they always head back to the barn for nap breaks in the sun! So I'd like to have them not locked out of the lot but to have continuous access.

The one idea that has gotten my brain turning is the drawbridge. It would seem to be a lot more complicated engineering feat, however, due to all the moving parts and the extra suspension support I'd have to provide in the center since it would be split and not solid.

I also considered stairs and that would limit materials somewhat and perhaps they'd take up less horizontal space but the reason I'm leaning toward ramps is that they are so much easier to construct you only need beams on a slant and cross boards whereas stairs require cutting all those risers. I agree ramps could be steeper if I tack on some 1 inch foot holds every foot or so... how steep does anyone think full size nubis could manage without much trouble?

One way or the other I should have some pics for you guys soon the main supports are already set and they yell at me to build something between them everytime I drive in the driveway. Also the front pasture is getting long already and I don't want to let any cows in there to muddy up my lake which I just built a homemade aerator for this year due to the nutrient load from my wife's muscovy ducks.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

My best guess is that you could go with a 45-50 degree ram with footholds and they will have no trouble at all


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

SalteyLove said:


> My best guess is that you could go with a 45-50 degree ram with footholds and they will have no trouble at all


Thanks Saltey... also I forgot to mention some of my girls are fat :-?


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## RichV (Jun 2, 2013)

jaycee said:


> I also considered stairs and that would limit materials somewhat and perhaps they'd take up less horizontal space but the reason I'm leaning toward ramps is that they are so much easier to construct you only need beams on a slant and cross boards whereas stairs require cutting all those risers.


If I were doing it I wouldn't put riser boards on the bottom (maybe up to fence height)--goats would enjoy poking their heads through and the wood would stay dry/clean up better.

If you're like me you have a barn full of lumber scraps leftover from old projects/teardowns that wouldn't be useful for building much of anything but a two foot wide project. The best design probably partly depends on what supplies are already on hand.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

RichV said:


> If I were doing it I wouldn't put riser boards on the bottom (maybe up to fence height)--goats would enjoy poking their heads through and the wood would stay dry/clean up better.
> 
> If you're like me you have a barn full of lumber scraps leftover from old projects/teardowns that wouldn't be useful for building much of anything but a two foot wide project. The best design probably partly depends on what supplies are already on hand.


I agree Rich I think the word I should have used is stringers not risers thats what I think would be a pita to cut for wood stairs that are 15-20 ft long.


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## top_goat (Sep 16, 2014)

following...fascinating!


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

The one idea that has gotten my brain turning is the drawbridge. It would seem to be a lot more complicated engineering feat, however, due to all the moving parts and the extra suspension support I'd have to provide in the center since it would be split and not solid.

A drawbridge is a really fun idea! In the old days when I was a kid, there were a lot of small wooden draw bridges in the Netherlands. (Holland) They crossed medium sized canals-maybe as wide as a car is long. They were one lane wide. I'm pretty sure they only took one person to operate-certainly no motors involved. One wide enough for a goat, no problem. They still have some in the tourist towns, & I'm almost thinking there's one in Holland, Michigan. To provide continuous access it would have to be down all the time & raised for vehicles to pass. Somebody a lot smarter than me could probably figure out a hand crank you could operate from your car window. Your driveway would be the local tourist attraction!


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

The rigging isn't hard but does involve a cable above the bridge. If I can catch my dad when he can remember, I'll get him to tell me how. He spent his life doing this stuff, he's pretty foggy now but, still quite clear at times.


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## top_goat (Sep 16, 2014)

catharina said:


> The one idea that has gotten my brain turning is the drawbridge. ...a hand crank you could operate from your car window. Your driveway would be the local tourist attraction!


I'm definitely not laying claim to the "someone a whole lot smarter" position, but I do think weird. An algebra teacher in high school told me once that if there was a complicated way to solve a problem, I'd miss the easy way and be the one to suggest it! OK...that said...

Would a solar powered electric motor work? I thought about all the gated farms and ranches (and upscale urban communities) with electric gates that you drive up, punch in a code, and "open sezame". Given the vertical lift, you'd have to figure out the proper pulley and gear setup...


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

top_goat said:


> I'm definitely not laying claim to the "someone a whole lot smarter" position, but I do think weird. An algebra teacher in high school told me once that if there was a complicated way to solve a problem, I'd miss the easy way and be the one to suggest it! OK...that said...
> 
> Would a solar powered electric motor work? I thought about all the gated farms and ranches (and upscale urban communities) with electric gates that you drive up, punch in a code, and "open sezame". Given the vertical lift, you'd have to figure out the proper pulley and gear setup...


Ooooh, like the cat doors that have a sensor that goes with the cat's collar!!

I mean, I know that's absolutely ridiculous and probably kinda impossible but, how awesome would that be!!?!??!!

Actually that would make a cool way to build a creep feeder...


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## RichV (Jun 2, 2013)

top_goat said:


> I'm definitely not laying claim to the "someone a whole lot smarter" position, but I do think weird. An algebra teacher in high school told me once that if there was a complicated way to solve a problem, I'd miss the easy way and be the one to suggest it! OK...that said...
> 
> Would a solar powered electric motor work? I thought about all the gated farms and ranches (and upscale urban communities) with electric gates that you drive up, punch in a code, and "open sezame". Given the vertical lift, you'd have to figure out the proper pulley and gear setup...


I'd think that the key to making it work is getting the right counter weights, so that there's almost no additional force needed to raise/lower the bridge.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Absolutely! Like the big rock on the back end of the long pole that is sometimes used to bring buckets of water up from wells back in the "Old Country."


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

*here's an update*

Well I've been working on the bridge a few days and I have most of the frame completed... tomorrow the framing will be done after I do the ascent from the pasture side. Then I'll just have to deck the surface and fence the sides. Those will be the easy parts I hope. Here's a few pics of what I have so far, it doesn't look like much yet but the scale of it is pretty large it has a clearance of 13.5' so erecting 20+ foot telephone poles and hoisting 16' 2x10s up there by myself was a bit of work...




























Oh btw if you look close in 1st pic you can see Indie and Fozzy our 2 Anatolian/Pyr dogs lazing under the pines waiting for the bridge construction so some goats can come out in the pasture and they can watch 'em


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Wow! It's looking great. They're going to love it


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

Here's some more pics of the bridge since I had really great feedback here. The frame is finished and ready for decking. This part will be easy but involve a lot of sawing of around 130 or so little 2 ft 5/4 deck boards. Hope by the end of next weekend it will be open for business the goaties have been watching construction and they are ready. They especially enjoyed the part where I had to cut 4 or 5 big low boughs from the big white pine that were in the path of the bridge. Mmmm fresh pine needles.. delicious!


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## jaimn (May 16, 2015)

I am enjoying all the pictures! Thanks so much for sharing your progress.

Good job! :fireworks:


Inquiring minds want to know, will you name your drive, Goatberry Falls?


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

That's awesome!! I have a feeling you'll see some goaties up on the roof of the barn, too!


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

deerbunnyfarm said:


> That's awesome!! I have a feeling you'll see some goaties up on the roof of the barn, too!


Yeah that's what I'm afraid of... I'm going to have to make a little fence up on the roof in that corner I think I didn't realize the slope would take me withing jumping distance over there until I put the boards up:-|


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Wow, that is something. Looks great!


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Wow! It's going to look SO COOL!!!! Please keep showing photos! I want to see the goats using it!! You should have a ribbon-munching ceremony when it's ready. Do you have children to make you a daisy chain? Or you could buy some of those weird fake friut snacks that unroll into a long strip. They stick together well & the goats would surely enjoy "cutting the ribbon!"


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Very cool, might consider enough railing up high so they don't butt each other off playing king of the bridge :lol::fireworks:

I LOVE IT!!!


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Just to give everyone a nice laugh, here is my seven dollar bridge! It's almost done, needs a couple more boards.

Catharina


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## Crazy4Goats (Jul 18, 2015)

catharina said:


> Just to give everyone a nice laugh, here is my seven dollar bridge! It's almost done, needs a couple more boards.
> 
> Catharina


It works! Lol


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Yes it does! It holds me & 2 goats. They won't cross the creek when it's flowing, & I didn't like having to scramble up & down the banks at my age, with osteoporosis too. It was fun & quick to build.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

*well here's the bridge pretty much finished*

Unfortunately the girls are hesitant about using it I opened it up for them this afternoon when I finished the railing and 3 of them made it about 2/3 of the way to the top before turning around. Hopefully they will learn to use it, I think they will, just like the milk stand has a learning curve so does this.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Looks great!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Wow! It looks awesome. I'm sure they'll come around and use it


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

That looks fantastic! I am highly impressed with your dedication.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

I can't believe how fast you built that!!! It's so professional looking too! It's fabulous!


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

So awesome! Did you walk it in front of them to encourage? My gals always need me to be the first into a new section of forest, after that they are happy to do it themselves! Once they realize it involves MORE PASTURE they will be so good at it!


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

Hi thanks for the kind words guys. I did walk in front and try to lure them with grain and leafy branches. I got a couple yearling girls to go maybe 2/3 up but then they turned around. The last couple days was raining so they barely came out of the barn. Im going to try to work with them this weekend. Its funny I had a very adventurous girl named Lucy who was half toggenburg ... She was small but fearless even climbed trees! But I reluctantly sold her last year because she was my only unregistered goat. I wish I had her back now for a few days to teach the rest of the girls about the bridge! Oh well it just takes patience probably.


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## Nab58 (May 8, 2016)

Will be looking forward to pics of your goats on the bridge!


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

So I haven't updated this in awhile. It's been more work teaching the girls to use the bridge than I expected. I sort of expected them to take to it right off but they've needed quite a bit of encouragement. In fact I spent the first week or so trying to entice them over with treats and that failed miserably. Then I started pushing them over from behind one at a time and they gradually have gotten more comfortable with it. They don't have any problem climbing it but the heights I think scare them (its about 15' in the air). After 4 or 5 times pushing them over and back they have started to go back and forth on their own. They still yell when they are climbing it and on top then going down which I think means they are still nervous about it, but I think in another week it will be a piece of cake... anyway heres some shots of the girls on the bridge...


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Very nice... I figured it would be a while before you got them to try it, especially with Nubians


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

It's really wonderful. You built it so fast too! I never would have thought there was ANYTHING goats wouldn't want to climb on though!!!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad they are finally using it.


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Sweeeeettt;-)


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

*Here is an update*

Sorry I've been off the forum for quite some time and had lost internet for awhile. Well I was having fun reading some goatee posts here today and it occurred to me I never updated about my bridge and I sort of think its important that I do. The reason is because I made one unfortunate design flaw and I want to correct this in case anyone ever decides to build something similar and finds these old plans and pictures.

The bridge was finished in late May and by the 1st week of June I had trained all of my does and kids to use it. They didn't take to it right away as I thought they would but I literally just got them started on it then shoved them up and over from behind one at a time. After about twice over and back with help, they all had it and crossed at will the rest of the summer. The only issue was occasionally someone would stop at the top with the whole herd behind them and if it was a big enough doe then traffic was pretty much backed up indefinitely because at 2' wide its mostly single file except for the smaller goats. No big deal it was built strong enough to hold the weight of at least 30 goats or so.

Then at the very end of August after I had started back to work teaching for the fall we had a sudden rainstorm and I suspect they were all scrambling to get back to the barn from the other side in a hurry. When I got home I found that Mindy, one of my friendliest does and best milkers, was caught up there 14 feet in the air all wet with her hoof wedged in a gap between the decking and her weight pulling her down the ramp. Her leg was broken at the lowest knuckle.

Well I was crushed because my own creation had done this to her. I had built the ramps at about 38 degree angles as you would a deck on a house with short 2' cross boards 2X6s spaced 1/2-3/4 inches apart. I figured the gaps would give the goats extra toe holds. That was a very big mistake... when the boards were wet her hoof slid between and with her weight on the down-slant, she couldn't remove it and broke her leg... :tears:

This is not a sad story thankfully...









Here was Mindy the next day after I set her leg and casted it. Five weeks later I cut the cast off and she was very sore so I wrapped it with cotton inside Coban for another month. Its now been 10 weeks and shes back in general population sparring with other goats and running after leaves. If you didn't know to look you wouldn't even notice her slight limp.

So I basically tore off the whole surface of the bridge and started over. This time I pushed all of the boards flush so there are no gaps anywhere and I doubled the 1" toestrips to every 6" so they get more traction and there's no way to slip through. So I wanted to post this update just to say that if you build a ramp type structure for goats to climb or a bridge like this, DON'T LEAVE GAPS ON THE SLOPED PARTS. Too dangerous for the goatees.

So there's the story of the bridge and the goatees cross it a few times each day. It usually gets me some strange looks when people see it for the 1st time because it stands 14' above the driveway in the center and spans 65' end to end. One old guy came to buy a an Angus bull I was selling and he looked up at it shook his head and said:

"Well that'll be there forever."

Not sure it was meant to be a compliment but I took it that way anyhow.:laugh:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad she is OK and your bridge worked out. It really is cool!


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Yep, glad she is okay.... Thanks for the gap warning... Love your bridge though..., good job


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## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Great to hear, any finished pictures of the bridge?


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

This is the finished bridge Bansil. Not much different than before that you can see, the difference is the surface which is now solid instead of having gaps like a deck.


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