for those with a only a few cattle :)

RockyPhoenix · Jan 23, 2011

can you possibly post pictures of the shelters you keep your cattle in? I want to get a few cattle but im not sure how big to make my shelter..or how much $$ THANKS!

goodhors · Jan 23, 2011

You need to provide more information. Shelters in KY would be different than shelters in Wisconsin, New England, northern New York's deep snows or Wyoming! Do you have woods or hills, maybe out in the Plains country where the wind never stops. Will these be steers, heifers or cows calving?

jhm47 · Jan 23, 2011

I live in South Dakota. It has been below 0 here for the past few weeks, and our cattle are NEVER inside. They have protection from the wind, and a pack of cornstalks to lie on, but they are much better off outside. If we were to put them all inside, the air would be very humid from their breathing, and they would be very susceptible to pneumonia. We give them extra hay and they provide their own heat from the fermentation in their rumens.

Royd Wood · Jan 23, 2011

It depends on what your doing ??beef?? and which breed you go with and there's no guarantee they will use it :lol:

herfrds · Jan 23, 2011

Only time any of our cattle are inside a building is putting in the cows that "look" like they might calve and only over night. It also has to be at 0 or colder with snow and ice everywhere.

Oh the memory of the year we calved in shirt sleeves outside day and night.

glenolam · Jan 24, 2011

AGREED - there's no guarantee they'll use it!

We spent about $1500 on a 24x48 shed. DH helped a friend who's a carpenter so we basically just had to buy the material.

ETA: :welcome

animalfarm · Jan 24, 2011

Hey.. they will use it! My bull knocked the sides out and then started on the posts until he had them broken off. Can't put a value on a good sparring partner and why go around it when you can just go through it.

Royd Wood · Jan 25, 2011

animalfarm said:
Hey.. they will use it! My bull knocked the sides out and then started on the posts until he had them broken off. Can't put a value on a good sparring partner and why go around it when you can just go through it.