Quick and easy cattle panel hoola-hoop house

[Goat Whisperer]

Thanks Bay… now it's stuck in my head too!
At least I like that song!

 

[Latestarter]

It's not that they're over rated... it's that they are from before your time. Many of the artists my parents thought were tops, I have no desire to hear, and it will be the same when your daughter gets to be your age. Works in the other direction too... a lot of what they call music today, I don't consider to be.

 

[NH homesteader]

I like a lot of old music. Just not the Beatles. And we can agree on how terrible most music is today!

 

[soarwitheagles]

Boy did I create a huge bunny trail again...somehow went from Hoop Houses to the Eagles to the Beatles! So sorry, but I must admit, it was kinda fun!

UPDATE: the sheep do not like our hoop house. Last night, during a fairly large storm, they chose the base of a number of Eucalyptus trees several hundred feet away from the hoop house.

I have decided to remove the Hotel California sign and paint a sign that says, "Nobody home." Then I would like to install a poster. The poster will have a pic of one our our American Blackbelly Sheep riding a Harley Davidson through the Eucalyptus forest. The title will be, "Born to be Wild!"

All humor aside, this as been an incredible learning experience and also a huge eye opener for me.

I mentioned it before, but I would like to say it again because it is the biggest lesson I took home from this experience:

American Blackbelly sheep mimic outdoor animal behavior that is much closer to deer and antelope than other species of domesticated sheep.

 

[Latestarter]

Life is good, we live and learn, happy sheep makes for happy shepherd

 

[farmerjan]

All the "semi-wild" breeds of sheep will prefer to be outside rather than in a shelter. Often times the lambs will learn to go in but as they get older, the outside is where they want to be. Saw it in the Am blackbellies we had, and the Mouflons, and the Dall sheep we have now. The ewes have learned to take their lambs inside but they had alot of time to get used to the shelters. We use calf hutches....got some of the fiberglass type ones and they have been in the field for 6 months before they decided that they were "SAFE" to use. You are giving them a place to go and that is great, but it is strange to them, the tarps will make noise no matter how tight you have them fastened, and they are stressed with the water anyway. So it is not a safe haven in their book; just a strange thing in their field that might trap them. If you leave them, they will get used to them, especially if you feed them in them. They might never love them, but they will get accustomed to them.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Jan,

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, you open my eyes to see a completely different angle to this entire adventure...

Shelters take some getting used to....

And now I see the truth behind your statement...we built the 3-walled shed last year and then added more square footage to it. At first, the sheep did not go in very often, but after a few months, it was their go-to place for shelter from the hot sun in the summer and shelter from the rain and cold in the winter. For a while it appeared as if it was their favorite hangout.

Unfortunately, even though we built up the 3-walled shed floor nearly 12 inches, it is now totally saturated with water...and I dare not even open the gate to that paddock. It is so wet and soggy... and I am nearly certain it is a breeding ground for all sorts of terrible germs...so it is off limits until it dries out!

What a wonderful website BYH is to come to for learning. Wisdom truly is found in the multitude of counsel.

Thanks again everyone for helping this city slicker!

 

[farmerjan]

If you ever have some time, try reading some of the books by Temple Grandin. She is a HIGHLY functioning autistic with "Aspergers" ?sp?. She will make you look at things from the animals perspective and what frightens them and stuff. Mostly consults with slaughter facilities and such; also helping farms to set up working pens. Have listened to her speak and she is very smart. Makes you look at things thru the eyes of the animal you are trying to "help". But we had learned the shelter thing from just having the different breeds of non-domestic sheep. And their propensity to go through fences....

 

[NH homesteader]

Love Temple Grandin!

 

[norseofcourse]

x3 - I just finished "Animals in Translation" and it was excellent. I need to process it for awhile and then read it again.