# Plans for a barn



## r4eboxer (Feb 28, 2012)

DH and I are in the planning stage of a barn. I know a few things for sure. I want 3 12x12 stalls for horses, I want a 12' walk/driveway down the middle and I want 12' on the other side with stalls,  I want a hay loft (I think)

Is there a site I can design a barn? We want to raise our own food. I currently have chickens with a separate coop, geese, ducks and turkeys. The ducks and geese free range, I have 3 breeding pens with shelter for them at breeding time. I figure the turkeys will roost in the barn when not breeding in the pens.

I have a goat and will have a few dairy goats that will kid, weeder goats, a dairy cow and a calf, a few sheep that will lamb, a feeder pig, a pet pig and possibly an Alpaca for fiber. I know my son wants a horse so I figured I better plan for 3 horse stalls. I may want to do some horse rescue in my area if they need a place to stay for a while finding adoptive homes.

So how big and what types of things do I need to think about? Do I want a hayloft? I don't think DH has thought about getting all the feed and hay up to the loft. Will I need a piece of equipment for that?

I have a pole building that is 18x28 that will be on the left side of the barn, I am thinking of doing a small run area between the pole building and barn. We will most likely add another pole building on the right side of the barn as funds permit. We have 24 acres. 

I know this is a lot of questions but I know that just sectioning off the barn in certain size lots is not going to be in my best interest
.


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## carolinagirl (Feb 28, 2012)

your best bet is probably going to be getting some profssional designed plans.  Here's a pretty good site...looks like the plans are less than $100

http://www.barnsbarnsbarns.com/


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## SheepGirl (Feb 28, 2012)

Here's a thread I started a little while ago... http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15274

I found that link and I thought it was interesting...so I thought I had to share!


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## redtailgal (Feb 28, 2012)

Hi there.

At one point in my life, I had spare time and I liked to design barns and houses.  I used home design software, and I saw some at Staples for 10$.  I'd look into some cheap house plan software.

Or a straight edge and a pencil can be pretty good help.  I liked to draw stuff out on posterboard, cut it out and then rearrange the pieces until I had what I wanted.  You'd cut out three stalls, a walk way etc etc, making sure to keep everything to the same size ratio.  For poster board, I usually did 1 inch = 1 foot.

As for the hayloft, I wouldnt have one, not even with regular stairs.  My old knees whine and complain every time I climb up there. Plus, to store hay, you have to throw it UP there knowing that you will one day have to throw it right back down.  Makes no sense in my simple mind.  We do have a hayloft in our barn, but I like the easy way out.  We cut holes in the floor, allowing us to drop hay into the proper places without worrying about dropping it on someone's head or falling on our own head as we throw the hay back down from where we sweated and labored to get it up there in the fist place.  (I have a low opinion on hay lofts, can you tell? They create more work.)

I'd just use a lean-to for my hay.

If you are going to have horses, esp rescue horses, you may want to consider a wash stall.  You'd need it plumbed, and it would need a drain, but in the long run it would be helpful.  It may not be worth the added expense to you, though.

In any event, again esp with rescue horses, you will need a good handling area.  Rescues often have hoof and leg problems, will need treatments, major grooming etc to start off with, so you will definately want to consider putting in an area that will be comfortable to the horse while providing you easy access to all the horse parts.

Feed storage.........got with a concrete floor and finished walls to prevent rodents.  Use a solid door with a two latch system to keep horses and other critters out.  This also makes a good room to grow out biddies as it is rodent proof.

Windows....simple windows on a hinge that can be opened up in the summer will help ALOT with smelly wet barns and minimizing bugs.

Think carefully about where your water source will be.  You'll want a hose with a longer barn, but you dont want to have a hose out in the walk way for someones legs to tangle up in.

Pay attention to location, maximize your winter sunlight and summer shade.

12 x 12 horse stalls would be great.  You could easily take some plywood and create a division in one horse stall to give you two smaller kidding stalls for sheep/goats.

Also, a milk stanchion. We have a concrete and cinder block stanchion.  The cows go up two steps into the stanchion, and have a feed bin that is on a sliding door.  Once they have finished their milking and eating, someone can slide the door open, revealing their exit right back into the pasture.  I am in the process of revising it a little to accomodate my new found hobby of trimming goat hooves (which by the way, is about as much fun as a hayloft)

Our feedroom and milking area is on a concrete pad, with drainage, allowing us to just hose the area down.  Shoot, I'm so lazy that I figured out how to put bleach in the miracle grow hose attachment.  


With horses, you'll need an area to keep tack.  It's nice to have a small sink in the tack room.

We also intend to invest in a "hot water on demand" type water heater for our barn.  See?  thats more of my laziness showing thru.  It annoys me to have to walk all the way back to the house for hot water when I need it.  

Anyway, that it. Tips from the lazy chic.


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## Bossroo (Feb 29, 2012)

DO NOT even consider a hay loft ...   fire killed  many horses and other animals through spontanious cumbustion from improperly stored hay.   
As for rescue horses ...  due to the bleeding hearts imposing a NO SLAUGHTER rule , there are so many dumped horses now that you will have to have to take out a new MORTGAGE on your farm just to give that horse away.   ( Example:     About 2 years ago, someone dumped a 2 year old , badly injured colt into our pasture by cutting the fence with 6 open mares... all got out onto the highway,  7 hours to round them up with the Highway patrol stopping traffic that backed up for miles. Vet bills to pregnancy  check the mares 18 days later. Vet bills to tend to colt's wound. NO RESCUE group would take him as they were overcrowded.  NO law inforcement would take him.  NO ONE would take on a free horse.  Lawyer and court costs for having a legal right to give him away to prevent a future claim from a lawsuit from former legal owner ( *&^%$#@???) .  Possible 1,000 + mile trip to a slaughter house in Mexico or Canada if no one would take him for free...  Over 4 months of feed and care , etc. and over $3,500 later , I finally got some sucker to take him off my hands for free for the takeing and I had to haul him 75 miles at my expence.)  This is just one peronal example , and I can give you dozens of others as a direct result of this misguided fiasco.


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## KinderKorner (Feb 29, 2012)

I second the no vote on the hay loft. They are way more work than they are worth. I have one, and it was used one season. Now I put the hay right in the barn walkway and filled up my kidding stall.  I don't have a lean to to put it in, so now it's right in the way. But it's still better than throwing it up in a loft, then climbing up there to get it, then throwing it back down. Ick!

Also I agree with the above poster.

I 'rescued' a horse years ago when the slaughter houses were still open. She was unbroke and young. I was a tender soul, and thats were she was headed if I didn't take her. 

Well more than 5 years, and more than $6000 later I still have her.

She is a good horse, but not for me. 

She had been professionally trained, is registered, smart, and she is beautiful.

I've been trying to sell her for over a year with not even one person to come look at her. :/

The point is. You can have the best horse ever and your still going to have trouble finding it a home. 

I heard on the news yesterday about someone wanting to open a horse slaughter house in MO. I about cheered.

Although I truely love horses, and it's sad they get eaten. It has been more cruel to them, and completely damaging to the horse market since they closed them. 

I'll be watching this thread, as I also need some plans to build a barn that can house multiple types of animals.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Feb 29, 2012)

I was raised making and storing hay in a hay loft my entire life.  I have a hay loft and can store 250 bales in there just fine.  The issue is how it is built and how you stack it and teeh quality of the hay you purchase.

My barn is build with ventelation on both sides.  My hay is never stacked tight up against the walls.  The hay that I buy is good quality dry hay.  You don't want to put hay that is the slightest bit green with a chance of mold in any enclosed area.

When my hey arrives, it is unloaded directly into the hay loft.  I have  a ladder that is easy access.  I toss down 3 or 4 bales at a time.  Not really that hard for me.

That is my two cents for what it is worh.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Feb 29, 2012)

Not to get into the slaughter debate, but here in Maryland, there is a horse auction that operates every other week.  They will sell 100+ horses every other week and the Meat trucks (smi with trailers) come in every night and a good number of them are in for a long drive to Canada for processing.   I have to say, as much as I don't like the idea of a great horse being slaughtered, I am not sure what we are suppose to do with all of the unwanted horses.  And the hours on a truck Canada is no picnic.

My two drafts are from a rescue agency and fortuantely, if at any time I don't want them or can not take care of them, the rescue group will take them back.


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## r4eboxer (Feb 29, 2012)

Thanks for all the tips especially on the hay lofts. I'm thinking maybe we will not use the loft for hay and use it for personal office/party space 

I hear what you all are saying about horse rescue, and after hearing it, I don't think I'll be doing it. I subscribe to a horse resuce group on facebook and they are always looking for someone that can house a horse until they are adopted out. I don't like what has happened in the US with the slaughter houses either, and of course they still are being sent to Mexico and Canada in much worse shape. It's a national crisis and needs attention quick. I think there is an auction somewhere in KY that sends most if not all the horses there to Mexico.

redtailgal, thanks so much for all the tips. I am printing out this post and placing it will all my other "barn" related materials. 

One question about water. We have a creek that runs through the property, is there a good quality solar pump out there that would pump water to the barn? I have been throwing the idea around. I'd like to run plumbing from the creek to the barn and use a solar pump. I have a pond to the south, the creek is to the east and another stream to the west. I will invest in a hot water on demand heater too as I am lazy as well


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## Karma (Feb 29, 2012)

We found with moving and building a new barn that a hay loft would add to the insurance premiums a lot more than we wanted to pay however with our snow load the roof pitch needs to high enough that we will end up with extra room up there anyway and seems a waste to not use it. There are both benefits and not so benificial things that come along with storing hay in a loft do your research and then decide, for example they add insulation in cold climates that can keep barns warmer however haylofts often tend to make more dust and even fires not caused by them will be fueled by them. I intend to use it for grain/tack storage as well as putting in a dog bathing/grooming area. Do add dutch doors if you live in a cold place and small dry lots off/close to the barn, they will be worth it to save a lot of hauling hay/water in the winter. Other things I would add would be a grooming area, sure it can be done in the aisle,having vets/farriers feel like they are in the way/actually be in the way is annoying to both of you so an open fronted stall sized area is always good to have, especially if they make their appointment at mucking time and you're trying to drive equipment through the aisle they have to work in. I'd stick it on the end near the door so they can back their turck up for easy access to tools/equipment.


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## r4eboxer (Mar 1, 2012)

Karma said:
			
		

> We found with moving and building a new barn that a hay loft would add to the insurance premiums a lot more than we wanted to pay however with our snow load the roof pitch needs to high enough that we will end up with extra room up there anyway and seems a waste to not use it. There are both benefits and not so benificial things that come along with storing hay in a loft do your research and then decide, for example they add insulation in cold climates that can keep barns warmer however haylofts often tend to make more dust and even fires not caused by them will be fueled by them. I intend to use it for grain/tack storage as well as putting in a dog bathing/grooming area. Do add dutch doors if you live in a cold place and small dry lots off/close to the barn, they will be worth it to save a lot of hauling hay/water in the winter. Other things I would add would be a grooming area, sure it can be done in the aisle,having vets/farriers feel like they are in the way/actually be in the way is annoying to both of you so an open fronted stall sized area is always good to have, especially if they make their appointment at mucking time and you're trying to drive equipment through the aisle they have to work in. I'd stick it on the end near the door so they can back their turck up for easy access to tools/equipment.


I hadn't even considered insurance, I'm most likely not going to store hay in the loft, but a dog grooming area up there is a great idea. I have two Great Pyreneese and two Lhasa Apsos, my dog grooming chores never seem to end and having an area other than my basement is really tempting. We live in northern WV so we do have fairly cold winters, some worse than others. I will be sure to add a grooming area in for vets and farriers. 

Keep the tips comeing everyone, I have not thought about a lot of these things. It's our first barn, heck it's our first farm so I need all the advice I can get.

Thanks


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## goodhors (Mar 2, 2012)

I would suggest some reading material, first on farm layout, then onto barn and outbuilding designs.

There are things done in certain locations for reasons concerning the weather, ventilation or insulation, 
that are not what you would want in other places.  Looking at some of those very airy stall coverings
in Texas and CA, just make me cold in relation to horse keeping here in MI.

A couple good books are by a husband/wife team, and cover a lot of ground so you can see many 
options, know WHY the design works here but not over in another state.  He points out the benefits
of having a plan to follow over time.  You add on as you can do the work, have the funds.  Hilly land
needs to be considered differently than flatter ground will.  Think of how the water drains off after a rain
storm or if you have HEAVY rain for days and days!!  Having a GREAT driveway FIRST, then building the 
barn, keeps you from getting delivery trucks stuck, and if needed the fire trucks can get BACK THERE!  
I have a hard time listening to people who never build a decent driveway, then whine because they 
can't get the trailer in or out, the Vet can't get in, no hay delivery is possible.

So I would consider my property, how it drains, prevailing wind, shade, driveways, paddocks and field 
layouts, future buildings in relation to what I have now, and lay out the entire farm before going to 
building design. This book got good recommends from various magazines.

http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_books/Horse_Housing.htm

If you go to their website there are a couple other books or DVDs you can learn from.  Horsekeeping
on a small acreage and Building A Horse Barn.  Lots and lots of the details you don't think of or plan for
in how doors swing or slide, doing things in steps, to prevent having to redo them later on.

Here is their homesite:

http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_books/book_barn_facilities.htm

You might also do some hunting, like Ebay, Amazon, to find these books used or at a better price.

I know there is a lot of information I can offer, but it suits my area in MI, might not work well in your area.
I WISH I had a hay loft.  Hay stays drier if the ventilation is good, out of the WAY so you can more effectively
use the floor spaces.  It is cheaper to build barns taller, than it is to build with more floor area.  Elevators are 
what is used to put hay in the loft.  Anyone throwing hay UP is silly, get EQUIPMENT to do the work for you.
You just drop the bale on the elevator and IT CARRIES the bale upward to the storage area.  We use an 
elevator to get the bales on top of the floor storage of our pole barn.  I hate storing hay on the floor, there is 
always some mold.  This is even in a DRY barn, well prepared hay.  Cement floor just draws dampness.  
We store between 900 and 1400 bales of hay each year, and I would about KILL for a loft.  I don't know any 
lofts that get mold unless the roof leaks!  If you do build a loft, plan for NICE stairs as you would in a house.  
Wide treads, short height to lift a foot, so they are COMFORTABLE to use often.  There is no requirement that 
barn stairs must be high or narrow, or loft MUST be reached with a ladder!!  Old barns have that to save space.

Couple things I hate in a horse barn are Dutch doors with horse heads hanging out.  Horse makes the lower half
hang unevenly, take up aisle space by swinging out and they are easy to jump out of stall over.  Lots of horses 
like to nip at passing horses, which can add a LOT of excitment to a walk down the aisle.  We have full length 
sliding doors, none of which have ever needed any repair or allowed any horse escapes, in over 30 years.  The 
box stalls have large barred windows for looking out of, no biting possible.

We situated our newer barn near the old barn because we have limited space.  I think it is 16ft between, 40ft long.  I would
NEVER do that again, because it is too narrow for many things.  Aisle there gets a lot of snow collection during blizzards, 
so getting from one end of the barn to the other can be difficult until we plow out the snow.  Hard to drive the truck 
between and turn at the end, fence makes it narrow there too.  It LOOKED FINE when we laid it out, but then we 
got a spreader and tractor, use the truck to take things to the field and that area is hard to drive, especially when muddy.
You can do lime markings on the dirt, around your proposed measurements, see how easy it is to drive around or thru
constricted areas or with offset gates.  Real life needs may not be very visible on paper.

A suggestion would be to get your proposed site and add fill a long time before you can build.  You will want to RAISE
your building, whatever the purpose, from surrounding soil for better drainage.  We put in about 5ft of gravel and let
winter work on the pile.  Weather got the fill settled, air out, so things were pretty solid before we ever dug a hole for
the posts.  We had no settling issues, cement aisle floor has two cracks over that long time, one was a woodchuck 
and the other was from rats we had to remove from tunneling under the flooring.  Dog keeps out the varmints now.
I think that is pretty good for as much use as the aisle gets, lots of heavy loads because we back the semi truck in to 
unload the hay.  Our aisle in the barn is 12ft, a good size for many things.  I would not go narrower, reduces the things
possible to do in the barn with machinery.  Vet truck, Farrier truck, tractor and spreader, horse and carriage, all fit in 
the 12ft aisle easily, without hitting things so you can work in the dry barn, out of the wind.

Once you get plans drawn up, you might have farm or horse friends take a look to see what they see.  I would NOT 
want poultry in my barnn at all pooping on the hay and stored items.  Other folks don't care, but bird keeping would need a 
shed to happen on my farm.  And Turkeys are BIG, poop a lot for big messes, so totally UNACCEPTABLE to me for allowing 
them in the horse barn.  Poultry can carry disease, so you don't want to feed your animals bird-poopy hay.  Lots of wastage
because they probably won't eat it anyway.  Money wasted on that useless hay.  So you may want to rethink that part of 
uses for your new barn.


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