How should I setup this sheep pen?

[Bossroo]

I've looked at a bunch of designs and measured my pen. What if I build something like in the design I made below. Red lines are exterior walls, black lines I would make out of wood, blue lines are various gates. Not exactly drawn to scale, just a rough drawing. Each square represents one foot.

I end up with a chute running around the exterior with two pens in the middle.

http://i.imgur.com/fjSd1.gif

Your funnel shaped crowding area will work much better than the other design as animals do not like to come to a dead end and will balk at a 90* turn. I would possibly utilise the dead triangular corners by making them into jugs. Also I would add an additional "man" gate between the 2 pens at the point of the 2 chute gates ( extend the end board on the end of each gate sticking "up" to use as a handle) for better and easier operation for anyone operating the gates in the chute. I would also include an additional cross gate as a block in the chute for treating/ vaccinating/ etc. at the junction between the two swing gates and " man" gate to the pens. I would make the chute narrow enough so that sheep couldn't turn around when they come to a halt at the stop gate in the chute. Otherwise one may use expletive deleated language. Measure the width of one of the larger sheep (Keep in mind that a sheep in full wool will have a width about 4" larger than a shorn sheep will). If shorn add about 2-3" , if in full wool use that measurement ( one may add 1" but no more). The chute side walls should be about 6" taller that the sheeps' head. However just a note of caution... the problem that you may run into building the chute as side walls to the pens is the fact that when the sheep are in a pen and one works them or they get spooked, they may jump that short wall and into the chute. They may get caught on top of that short side, between the side and barn wall, land on their side or back in the chute and possibly injure themselves.

 

[bocephus]

Yeah I saw all the designs online call for a 36" tall chute. The other problem there besides sheep jumping the chute is my pen walls would also have to be 36" tall. I could make a couple of the walls taller but anything along the chute side would be short. Maybe I could throw up some cattle panels when the chute isn't in use?

I am disappointed with the waste of space the angled corners create. I figure the one on the right I could use for feed storage or something. A man gate along the top would be a good idea. Otherwise I'd have to walk all the way around to the next chute gate.

I think most of the plans I saw call for a 16-20" wide chute.

As far as them getting used to the chute I read a tip saying to have them go through it with a food reward. With how mine have responded to sheep feed as a treat I think this would work pretty well. For a few days I get them to run through it through various gates with a bucket of feed at the end.

Here's some of the online stuff I've been looking at.

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/extension-aben/buildingplans/sheep - Probably the best I've found so far, older but I bet they handled their sheep just fine in the 50's.

http://www.blackbellysheep.org/articles/pens.htm

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/sheep/facts/02-057.htm

http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/25/01/2011/125212/Handle-with-care.htm

Here's an updated plan. The non angled blue lines are chute dividers. I moved the 2nd pen door further away from the first to allow more space for dividing them. I thought instead of having 2 large pens I could make 4 lambing size pens. If I want to go real crazy I thought I could double door the lower pen and use it as 2 5x6 pens or 1 5x12 pen.

 

[Bossroo]

Now you are starting to cook with gas ! I would make more of a funnel shape at the entrance to the chute (in the crowding area) by moving the corner wall at the chute side closer to the chute entrance ( steeper angle) otherwise, the sheep will tend to circle back on you . Also raise the height of those 2 corner walls quite a bit ( about 5') to prevent the sheep to try to jump into those corners. I would definately add the small "man" gate at the dividing wall of the 2 pens and chute to save you running around or jumping over that wall so that you could handle the chute gates between the pens. You could cut down the cattle panels then attach them hinge style to the top of the chute... raise them up when the chute is not in use. Lower them down along the chute sides when the chute is in use. I would make the pen walls about 5' tall , otherwise when sheep are worked in such close qaurters they will jump those 36" walls in short order (@#%^&*). No need to train sheep with a grain bucket... I ran hundreds of sheep straight from the truck from the range through chutes without any problems whatsoever.

 

[bocephus]

So at the entrance there's a left angled wall near the C in crowding. You're saying to angle that more towards the C or to move the right side angled wall so it angled tighter to the entrance?

 

[Bossroo]

Move it toward the "C" very close to the short gate at the chute. Think "funnel" !

 

[Southdown]

I am also looking for basic sheep pen designs. We have the barn built and a loft. Now we are ready to build the main pens.

 

[Bo Peep Soays]

Would a vet be able to get a hold of one in a 10x10 pen at this point? They follow me around, 2 will let me pet them but the others will only sniff my hand.

For catching our sheep, we use fencing that is like netting (fromPremier1) and slowly make it smaller, getting them into a corner. Then just grab them.