# Have you any ideas and suggestions for making a quick, inexpensive, shelter for sheep



## soarwitheagles (Dec 10, 2016)

Hi everyone!

I would like to start this thread with good news: Our flock is growing!

Here's the background of what is happening here:

Last year we were able to install over 2000 linear feet of fencing and make 9 new paddocks for our sheep.

Also, we experimented with allowing the sheep to browse in our back forest area, and so far, they are doing well, eating leaves, wood, dead oats from last year, new forbs, and lots of new wild oats just sprouting.

My concern is we only have one covered shelter for our sheep.  We recently doubled the size to 10'x16'.  But now we are thinking about constructing inexpensive shelters in some of the larger paddocks and out in the forest.  Our winters are incredibly mild compared to many other parts of our nation.  I see lots of local ranchers here leave their cattle, sheep, horses, etc. out in the cool winter rainy season with no shelter at all.  But I am not comfortable leaving sheep out in the cool winter rainy season after losing a little lamb last winter to pneumonia. 

Please share any ideas or suggestions you may have!

We are all ears!

I am posting a pic of some junk metal we picked up recently.  I was thinking we could construct a three walled building with a roof using this junk metal.  I would simply place two metal pieces on each side for the walls, then throw two pieces up top for the roof, then maybe plywood the roof and throw a tarp of for temporary shelter.  I would brace the walls with dug in 4"x6" posts to keep the walls secure.  Have you any thoughts on this?

I was thinking it would be nice to find a used metal car port, but haven't found any good deals on one yet..

We will keep looking!


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## Goat Whisperer (Dec 10, 2016)

I don't know how windy it gets over there, but we have had good success with hoop shelters. 





You'd just want to make sure the lambs don't get caught in the panel. We use this in the heavy woods where building a shelter would be impossible.


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## soarwitheagles (Dec 10, 2016)

GW, nice shelter!  May I ask what material you used for the hoops?  Is it PVC?


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## Goat Whisperer (Dec 10, 2016)

12 ft cattle panels bent in a "U". Best to connect the panels with wire. 2x4's at the bottom to keep the panels from buckling & T posts to keep everything in place.

Its a very fast, easy shelter.


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## frustratedearthmother (Dec 10, 2016)

Our panels are 16 ft...    Seems like a 12 foot one might make a shorter shelter?  I dunno these things, lol....

For a really quick shelter in a hurry - rope between two trees with a big tarp thrown over it and secured to the ground with whatever heavy stick or rock you can find.

But, those hoop houses are awesome!


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## NH homesteader (Dec 10, 2016)

I fully intend to make some hoop houses like that.  With 16' panels...  Except tarps won't survive the winter snow load so they'll have to be decommissioned for winter or metal roofed. 

I really think thats the best way to do it!


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## frustratedearthmother (Dec 10, 2016)

I had a hoop house for a long time.  I just added new tarps to it every fall - no snow to worry about.  Just had to worry about the occasional smarty-pants goat that would try to climb to the top.


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## Goat Whisperer (Dec 10, 2016)

We get the 16ft and cut them down to 12ft. Either way would work. The higher the shelter the more wind it will want to catch. 
We did do a hoop shelter with 16ft panels to make the sides steeper.


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## soarwitheagles (Dec 10, 2016)

I am a little confused on your awesome design...

Please help me understand how you made that awesome hoop house...

1. How do you bend the cattle panels into a U?
2. What is the height of your pictured hoop house?
3. How many panels did it require to build it?
4. What type of tarp do you use with it?

Thank you!


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## Goat Whisperer (Dec 10, 2016)

Bending- push panel against Tpost/2x4. Grab opposite end and proceed to push inwards. Start bending. 

I don't remember the hight. We have taken it down since the pic was taken and haven't used it in years. It's appropriately the hight it looks in the pic  Sorry not much help there. 

That shelter was 2 panels. You can make them as long as you want. If you have some very dominant ewes it might be best to make several in different locations so the dominant ewes don't chase the less-dominant ewes out. 

Whatever tarp I picked up from harbor freight or TSC. The tarp in this pic was old and needed to be replaced. 

It's not an exact science, pretty flexible for how you want to do it.  Adjust as needed. 

You can bend the panels to get them close to the shape you want before hand. Just grab one end and start bringing it close to the other. 

Very easy to assemble


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## soarwitheagles (Dec 11, 2016)

GW,

Thank you very, very much!  I think you just saved me several hours by sharing your plans and pic on how to make a hoop house!  I am very fortunate because I purchased a pallet of used cattle panels a few months ago, not knowing what I would use it for!  Now I know exactly what I will do with it!

I often go to auctions, some times in the ghetto called lovely Stockton, CA.  Many times people are just simply trying to get rid of stuff.  Those railings in the pic were free because nobody wanted them.  I hope to use them as lambing pens one day.  The stack of metal studs was only $5, and the cattle panels were $15 for the entire stack.  Due to budget restrictions, I rarely pay full price on the material I purchase.  We cannot afford TS's prices at the moment.

I measured the panels a few minutes ago and they are 28"x16'.  So I suppose I will need to wire them with the wire as you mentioned.

Quick question: Did you also attach the foam on the end runners to prevent the tarps from tearing?  I was reading several DIY's blogs and several people were installing foam insulation on the end pieces of the hoop house...

Also, what are your thoughts on attaching the panels to the 2x4's?  I was thinking I could router the 2x4 similar to what I did when making our first sheep feeder.  Have you any suggestions?


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## Goat Whisperer (Dec 11, 2016)

I have used heavy duty staples (the kind you use with a hammer) to attach the panels to the 2x4 (some places call them U nails) 

Your panels look like hog panels. Cattle panel are 50 inches tall if I remember correctly. Those will still work, I'd use some 14 gauge fence wire to attach them. 

I don't add any insulation. My goats would try to eat it  You could grind down and sharp points if you thought it was needed. 

Super jealous of those deals! I could really use a pallet of hog panels!


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## Bossroo (Dec 11, 2016)

When you want to build a sturdy  roof shelter...  take those steel studs and screw them together with self tapping screws back to back so that they form an "I" beam and you will have a very sturdy roof frame and / or a frame for siding that you want to cover with plywood and / or steel roofing panels.  Like a steel car port but stronger frame. Too, You can use the red junk panels for sides and use the steel "I" beams to use as framing for a roof , and you will have quite a large sized  sturdy barn covered with steel roofing panels.


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## Bruce (Dec 11, 2016)

AKA poultry staples, fence staples. 

You can make lots of "hoop shaped" things with panels like that. Chicken coops, shelters, "arbors" for raising vegetables, greenhouses.  

One way to build your shelter: 
Pound the t-posts for ONE side in. Figure out how wide you want it and put in a few SHORT pieces of rebar or something for the parallel side, leave them sticking up a few inches. It will be about 7' high if 4' wide though I would think for a goat shelter, lower and wider would be better. 

Lay the 2x on the ground and staple the panel to it with the sides butting up against each other. As @Goat Whisperer said, lace them together with wire. Since they are only 28" wide, you might need a "ridge pole" to help keep them from shifting around. Lay a second 2x at the midpoint of the panels (8') and another at the other end. Once they are all connected to the 2x's push it to the line of t-posts. Now you most likely want help. One person lifts the ridgepole, the other moves the far end toward the one against the t-posts. When you get to the rebar but the 2x on the other side of them. Then pound in the t-posts for that side and remove the rebar. The panel really wants to be flat so its "spring" will keep it in a hoop shape. 

One person I know put plastic lattice over the panel to protect the tarp from chafing on the panels.


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## soarwitheagles (Dec 11, 2016)

Goat Whisperer said:


> I have used heavy duty staples (the kind you use with a hammer) to attach the panels to the 2x4 (some places call them U nails)
> 
> Your panels look like hog panels. Cattle panel are 50 inches tall if I remember correctly. Those will still work, I'd use some 14 gauge fence wire to attach them.
> 
> ...



Thank you for sharing great ideas again!  I appreciate you and the help you give.



Bossroo said:


> When you want to build a sturdy  roof shelter...  take those steel studs and screw them together with self tapping screws back to back so that they form an "I" beam and you will have a very sturdy roof frame and / or a frame for siding that you want to cover with plywood and / or steel roofing panels.  Like a steel car port but stronger frame. Too, You can use the red junk panels for sides and use the steel "I" beams to use as framing for a roof , and you will have quite a large sized  sturdy barn covered with steel roofing panels.



Great idea on using the steel studs Boss.  Believe it or not, I have been looking and waiting 3 full years for a good deal on the steel roofing panels and have yet to find a good deal.  I am still patiently waiting to find a good deal on some.  A rancher about 2 miles away had his old large barn torn down last month and it had over 8,000 sq. ft of the metal roofing, but he threw it all in the garbage before I had a chance to ask him.  I would have been set for life with that much metal roofing!  That metal works well for walls too.



Bruce said:


> AKA poultry staples, fence staples.
> 
> You can make lots of "hoop shaped" things with panels like that. Chicken coops, shelters, "arbors" for raising vegetables, greenhouses.
> 
> ...



Thanks for sharing Bruce!  I am limited on the 2x4's but recently found a great deal on 4"x6"s.  I may use them simply because we have a lot of em' and they may make the shelter even a little bit more sturdier!

BTW, if anyone is in my area, I am selling the 4"x6"x16' pressure treated posts for $1 per foot!

I am also selling 6"x6"x16' for $1.50 per foot.

Oh no, I deviated from the main topic again!  Ok, I will post the deal in the Buy, Sell, Trade area!

Have a great day everyone!


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## Bossroo (Dec 11, 2016)

Hey Soar --  looking on the last photo , you have some steel piping at the top of the wooden posts.  Those are for the top section for roof supports for mare motels.  Those would be very handy as a support for the steel roof "I" beam roof supports as well as for ventilation at the top of the wall ends and under a roof overhang.  With all of those wooden posts, you can build yourself a very nice and solid good sized barn (s)


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## Baymule (Dec 11, 2016)

I built a hoop coop using cow panels. Here's step by step instructions.

http://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/hoop-coop.18291/


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## Baymule (Dec 11, 2016)

I covet your junk piles! My DH thought I was nuts for dragging home used roofing tin, lumber, all sorts of things. I even made him drive 130 miles one way for treated telephone poles-I got 18 of them for $80!!! Since we moved and we are using all my "junk" he isn't laughing any more. We built a 36'x36' pole barn using....yep-you guessed it-my telephone poles! And we used my scrap lumber. I had to go buy 21 2x6x20' for rafters because I didn't have enough. (that hurt my feelings) We have a $30,000 barn out back that cost $8,000 including labor and brand new R panel metal with all the trim.


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## soarwitheagles (Dec 11, 2016)

Bossroo said:


> Hey Soar --  looking on the last photo , you have some steel piping at the top of the wooden posts.  Those are for the top section for roof supports for mare motels.  Those would be very handy as a support for the steel roof "I" beam roof supports as well as for ventilation at the top of the wall ends and under a roof overhang.  With all of those wooden posts, you can build yourself a very nice and solid good sized barn (s)



Thanks again Boss for the great info.  I wasn't sure what that metal was that I bought...but was hoping I could find a use for it one day.  Now I know what it can be used for!  Yes, I could build a good size permanent barn, but right now the concept of movable shelters is exactly what we need at this moment.



Baymule said:


> I built a hoop coop using cow panels. Here's step by step instructions.
> 
> http://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/hoop-coop.18291/



Bay, I am totally green with envy when I see such an incredible barn!  Wow!  I think to build something like that here would require a building permit and several other county "hoops" to jump through!  For now, all I can do is admire your nice barn!



Baymule said:


> I covet your junk piles! My DH thought I was nuts for dragging home used roofing tin, lumber, all sorts of things. I even made him drive 130 miles one way for treated telephone poles-I got 18 of them for $80!!! Since we moved and we are using all my "junk" he isn't laughing any more. We built a 36'x36' pole barn using....yep-you guessed it-my telephone poles! And we used my scrap lumber. I had to go buy 21 2x6x20' for rafters because I didn't have enough. (that hurt my feelings) We have a $30,000 barn out back that cost $8,000 including labor and brand new R panel metal with all the trim.
> 
> View attachment 25247



Your barn can be summed up in one word: BEAUTIFUL!

PS Thank you for sharing your post on how to build a hoop house.  Excellent pics and instructions and I will be utilizing your ideas.


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## Baymule (Dec 12, 2016)

Soar, the hoop houses are so easy to make that you might make several and just leave them in place. It would save you from having to drag them around. I built a hoop run off my chicken coop at our old house and I had some 8"x6" untreated timbers that I had dragged home. I set them up on blocks so they wouldn't rot and extended the cow panels to the ground. This was a permanent setting, but I bring it up so if you have untreated lumber and want to build a shelter to leave in place, such as your furtherest pasture you might want to do something like this. Let me go looking for that picture.....
















This was a run, so I didn't need to cover it with tin, I covered it with hardware cloth to make it varmit proof. By building the run frame up off the ground, it kept the rot and termites away and is still standing in our old backyard. In some of the pictures you can see something under the blocks. That was a Hardy Plank that was in a pile of reject lumber we bought at Lowes. I broke it up and used it for leveling the blocks. LOL


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## Baymule (Dec 12, 2016)

Thank you for your lovely compliment on the barn. I am proud of it. The inside is unfinished, but we finally stumbled upon a deal on treated 2x6x20' We got 11 of them for $8 each. They were on the reject/cull rack at Lowes, nothing wrong with them, a builder had returned them for a refund. This Lowes didn't stock them, so knocked the price down to $15 each, but when they were run up, the price had dropped even further. So we will use these to frame up the floor boards, then cover with the 3/4" plywood we have, then go up with walls to build a feed and tack room.

When we finish fencing our property, there is a section that will be across a gulley. I won't be able to drag a shelter across the gulley, so will probably build a permanent hoop shelter in that section for the sheep.


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## Bruce (Dec 12, 2016)

@soarwitheagles - @Baymule's design would be absolutely perfect for a sheep shelter. And you already have the panels and big timbers! Cost almost nothing out of pocket, now go find a good deal on the tarp to keep the weather out.


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## soarwitheagles (Dec 12, 2016)

Bay,

Absolutely beautiful coop house too.  Wow, people here make things so easy!  I had already begun digging lots of holes for the 4"x6" posts to make a super time consuming structured shelter.  Now I will fill those holes up!   Having such a mild climate here I much prefer a simple hoop house that can easily be moved if ever needed.

I hope to complete the hoop house this weekend and will do my best to post pictures too.

Thanks again everyone for your incredible help!

This forum is the best place by far to visit when in need of good help and advice for backyard ranching.

We appreciate each and everyone of you!

Thanks again!


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## Baymule (Dec 12, 2016)

@soarwitheagles you KNOW we want pictures! Do a tutorial as you build, someday you might be helping someone else with their building project!


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## misfitmorgan (Dec 13, 2016)

soarwitheagles said:


> Thank you for sharing great ideas again!  I appreciate you and the help you give.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



If you rip the 4X6 down the middle you can use them like really strong 2x4's we did that for making the uprights for our stalls walls in our barn in stead of buying 4x4's...so far no issues.


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## soarwitheagles (Jan 22, 2017)

Well, I thought it best to complete this thread by adding the pics as requested...

BTW, it took me MUCH longer to build this than I originally thought...

Hope this helps someone!

Enjoy!


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## Reindeermama (Apr 25, 2018)

Baymule said:


> I built a hoop coop using cow panels. Here's step by step instructions.
> 
> http://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/hoop-coop.18291/


I love your design! I am getting guineas, and that will be perfect to build.


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## Baymule (Apr 26, 2018)

Reindeermama said:


> I love your design! I am getting guineas, and that will be perfect to build.



Or you could do this,

https://www.sufficientself.com/threads/building-a-chicken-tractor.15638/


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## Ridgetop (Jun 6, 2018)

For a quick cheap shelter roof, call local garage door people.  Many people replace their wooden garage doors with aluminum and the garage door people have to haul the old doors away.  You can often get them for nothing if you go and pick them up.  You will need help lifting the  8x16' double size doors, so take people to help.  You can also use the doors as sides of shelters too for a 3 sided  shelter, etc.  If you find someone who really wants to get rid of them they might drop them at your place for the cost of gas.  If they have to take them to the dump, there is a fee.  You will want to check out the doors for damage though.

For a lighter weight shelter, you can get fiberglass panels and put them on a frame up on legs in the pasture.  I don't really like tarps for livestock since they tend to get torn easily and where we are on top of a ridge the wind just rips them to pieces.  I have seen stock panel hoop houses before, and always wanted to put one up with clear polyethylene sheeting for a greenhouse.  They can also be used for hay storage as long as the livestock can't get to them.

We no longer use our row of 5 12 x24 corrals for our horses.  My old TWH is 30+, mule is 14, they are happier just ambling around the pasture.  We had to put down DH's 30 year old TWH on Saturday so sad that they don't live longer, but they tell you when they need to go.  She was down and couldn't get up after being on arthritis meds for 18 months.  Stopped eating, we released her and now she is galloping in the sky with our other old friends.  My daughter-in-law has her daughter.

Enough of that!  Back to business.  We are going to wrap the 4 bar corrals with PVC horse mesh and lower the shelters onto several 5' high panels leaving it open at each end.  We have enough panels and shelters to make several of these shelters 12 x 16.  Then I want to arrange the rest of the corrals with gate panels so we can open the pens into a big one or separate into several smaller ones to segregate lambs, rams, and ewes, etc.  We are currently using the old round pen for a breeding pen with ram wearing marking harness. 

Sheep in wool don't really need much protection but we keep our lambing ewes inside the barn for first month with their lambs.  You have hair sheep though so I don't know how much protection they need.  My Dorsets wear wool and the new Dorpers do too in the winter.  Our new Dorper ram is a complete shed!  I'm so happy!  They look so pretty and clean after shedding out.


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## Baymule (Jun 6, 2018)

Ridgetop said:


> We no longer use our row of 5 12 x24 corrals for our horses.  My old TWH is 30+, mule is 14, they are happier just ambling around the pasture.  We had to put down DH's 30 year old TWH on Saturday so sad that they don't live longer, but they tell you when they need to go.  She was down and couldn't get up after being on arthritis meds for 18 months.  Stopped eating, we released her and now she is galloping in the sky with our other old friends.  My daughter-in-law has her daughter.
> 
> Sheep in wool don't really need much protection but we keep our lambing ewes inside the barn for first month with their lambs.  You have hair sheep though so I don't know how much protection they need.  My Dorsets wear wool and the new Dorpers do too in the winter.  Our new Dorper ram is a complete shed!  I'm so happy!  They look so pretty and clean after shedding out.



I have a 31 year old TWH that I no longer ride. She has lung/breathing issues, I sure miss riding her. I also have a 29 year old cremello QH (that's his eye in my avatar) I dread the day....... They sure wrap themselves around our hearts and become a part of our lives. Sorry about your DH's old mare, it's hard to let go, but harder to watch them suffer. Doing the right thing is a hard thing. Big hugs.


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## Ridgetop (Jun 7, 2018)

Thank you.  I have a painting at the foot of my bed showing an forest with a path winding through it.  Before I go to sleep and when I wake I visualize riding my dear friends through the cool woods and into the sunlit meadow beyond.  My idea of heaven! (Well that, and making a difficult 7 no trump grand slam in bridge, bid, doubled and redoubled or wait, new kids/lambs nursing after a difficult birth - no wait, my dogs gamboling around me as I do chores . . . .  I see I will have to refine my ideas of heaven - there are so many!  LOL  Hugs back to you.


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## Ridgetop (Jun 9, 2018)

Looking at the stock panel shelter with tarps, I think it might be a good idea to fill in the ground area with sand or DG to help absorb any pee.  The more I look at it I am tempted to try one to see if the tarps stay on in our heavy winds.  It certainly would be inexpensive to make.  I have seen them used as greenhouses before, also hydroponic garden with rabbits and chickens in it somewhere (Alaska maybe?) where the temps were super cold.  I think it was in an organic farming magazine years ago but can't remember.


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## Ridgetop (Jun 16, 2018)

Here is a shelter my DS designed from 2 unused 8' x 12' corral shelter roof panels.  At first DH thought they were all destroyed in giant windstorm years ago that flipped our 72' line of 12x24 corrals upside down and ended up about 30 feet downhill but read on . . . .   Luckily, the wind had woken us up and we ran out and turned the horses out loose on the field about 2 hours previously!  We were lucky there.  We had removed all the shelters so we could take the corrals apart.  We reinstalled the corrals, but never put the shelters back up because we were afraid they would blow off again and injure the horses.  The shelters had been stacked for years, and the top panel was pretty ragged.  It needs to be completely reroofed.  We went down to Lowes and priced the PVC and metal roofing to recover it.  To do 1 roof would be at least $100.  We couldn't even remember how many panels we had so came home to decide if using them made sense.  The dirt had blown up over the stack in the past 14 years, so we dug them out and were thrilled to find about 8 of these corral shelters.  When we removed the top panel we found that all the panels underneath were actually in excellent condition.  The corrugated metal sheets were not torn, just a few sheet metal screws needed to be replaced per panel.  The support poles had all broken off when the wind flipped the corrals upside down, but many of the brackets were still attached to the frames.  They were easy to remove.  We got the first 2 panels out and DS washed them down. 
DS, DH, DD and I (in my knee brace) built the whole thing relatively quickly - a few hours!  First, DH and DS measured out where to put the bottom edges and drove 18" metal building stakes in to hold the outside edges of the panels.  We put the top edges together and DS used butterfly corral clamps to  attach them together.  To keep the structure stable in case of heavy winds we tied the bottom pipe rail to the metal stakes.  DS wants to make several more of these but we have to plan where they can go where the horses can't rub against them.  He also has an idea to use the support brackets (we saved them) on the bottom of the structures to drive additional metal construction stakes through for anchors.  It was quick, fairly easy, and will give some shelter to our sheep. 



  
Here you can see the sheep being chased into the picture - they will treat this as some kind of hideous danger for a while but DS says he will feed them inside for a few days.  The shelter is in the round pen where we are penning them currently for safety.  It has no shade so they needed some shelter from the sun.  This is angled north south so will give shade outside in early am and late afternoon as well as inside.  There is enough headroom for my 6' DS to walk through, and we think enough room for most of the sheep to get in if necessary.  The panels were heavy, but the 4 of us were able to carry them and lift them into place even with my bad knee in a brace.  We clamped the top together with pipe corral butterfly clamps and DS says that if the shelters work out, he will put a roof cap over the top seam before the rains come.  We are trying to decide if we should bother spraying the panels with galvanizing compound to cover the tiny rust spots. 
We were very happy about the end result, and even happier that it looked like rain so was cool enough to work (June Gloom is what it is known as here in So Cal).


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## Baymule (Jun 16, 2018)

That is awesome! And you already had them, that's the best part! I love being able to reuse something and saving money. Good job!


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## Ridgetop (Jun 17, 2018)

Me too!  We really thought we would have to replace the corrugated metal on most of them since the top panel (which was only 6' x'10' for some reason) was so torn up.  What a great surprise to find that we had about 6-8 of the8' x12' underneath that were in great condition!  All we had to do was find the bucket of butterfly clamps in the lower shed and we were set up.  The entire cost for this was $30 for the 18' construction stakes we had to buy since the constructions stakes we already have are 30" long.  We attached the bottom pipe of the panels to the stakes with left over nylon webbing tie downs from the grandkids' trampoline.  We are going to replace the corrugated metal on the 6' x 10' roof panel and install it on the 10'x18' dog kennel.  It will give shelter to the dogs if we have to kennel them in hot or rainy weather, and we often use it for special uses for the sheep, lamb in a cast one time that wasn't supposed to move much, etc.

I saw some pallets on the street on the way home from church and would have stopped but they wouldn't fit in the car.  Could go back with the truck but it's Father's Day so DH is off the hook on this one!  LOL


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