# Market Lamb pen for barn



## Zach Reasoner (Aug 2, 2018)

My son is going to be showing market lambs in 4-h next year.  I will be building a pen inside our barn for them to be in part of the time.  Will it be ok to use non-treated pine to build the pen.  I just wanted to make sure they wont want to nibble on the wood or if they do, it wont harm them.  Thanks


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## Latestarter (Aug 2, 2018)

Greetings and welcome to BYH from NE TX! So glad you joined us and finally posted. I'll tag a few folks with sheep knowledge for you. I don't know but suspect it shouldn't be an issue... @Sheepshape @Mike CHS @mysunwolf @Baymule @goatgurl @Ridgetop and there are many others. Best of luck to your son and family with 4H. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself.  Old folks like me  will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes.  Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!


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## Mike CHS (Aug 2, 2018)

We used cattle panels mainly but we do have some wood framing.  I know of several farms that have wooden stalls and I have seen no sign that our sheep have chewed on wood in their stalls.

Also would like to welcome you to BYH and I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us do.


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## Baymule (Aug 2, 2018)

My sheep have never chewed on lumber. But the horses.....

Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here!


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## mysunwolf (Aug 2, 2018)

I agree with the others, sheep generally don't chew on lumber (though the dairy breeds sometimes do). Your plan sounds just fine.


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## goatgurl (Aug 4, 2018)

have never had the sheep chew on wood in the barn or any where else for that matter.  I don't see a problem with using the untreated pine but as @Mike CHS said you can also use cattle panels.  I use them a lot for temporary pens.  good luck to your son with his lambs.


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## mystang89 (Aug 4, 2018)

mysunwolf said:


> I agree with the others, sheep generally don't chew on lumber (though the dairy breeds sometimes do). Your plan sounds just fine.



Thank you! I was hoping it wasn't just my sheep who chewed my barn up. Darn things.


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## mysunwolf (Aug 4, 2018)

mystang89 said:


> Thank you! I was hoping it wasn't just my sheep who chewed my barn up. Darn things.



Yeah, not just you! I went to tour a sheep dairy (where I bought a ram) and all the lambs were gnawing on the fences, barns, and had chewed a hole in an old barn. I was appalled, but I don't keep mine in wood areas so I never knew. Mine chew on the cattle panels, eat tarps, etc. I have seen other folks' Friesians, Lacaunes, and Awassi/Assaf chew wood as well.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 4, 2018)

mysunwolf said:


> Mine chew on the cattle panels, eat tarps, etc. I have seen other folks' Friesians, Lacaunes, and Awassi/Assaf chew wood as well.



I had been assuming our Akbash pup was destroying tarps on hoop houses till I saw the sheep chewing on them.  We switched over to shorter tarps so they still get shade but they can't reach the tarps.  They need to get rained on anyway so every once in awhile I will close them off in a paddock that has no shelter if it looks like some rain is coming.


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## mystang89 (Aug 5, 2018)

I wonder if they think they are just missing some mineral or if they are simply like infants and like putting anything they can in their mouths.


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## Zach Reasoner (Aug 8, 2018)

Thanks for all the replies.  I had read somewhere that mineral deficiencies can lead to odd behaviors, such as chewing wool and possibly wood.  Probably going to use the cattle panels as we already have some and this setup should be temporary as we plan to build a new barn next summer, fingers crossed!


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