sheep housing/bedding questions

[watchdogps]

I think I am going to use a room in the barn, about 10x30 for my sheep (i dont have them yet, they are two adult southdown babydolls). The floor is dirt (well packed). There is an area near the door that was low that the previous owners set broken pavers in. They are fairly flat but not totally even and not set, kind of loose. do I need to remove those or are they okay?

What kind of bedding is best? My sheep will be in there for a few days to acclimate to the weather change (I will be bringing them from FL to OH in December), and to get used to me. After that, they will only be in there at night. can I just throw the bedding on top of the dirt floor?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Sounds like a good plan. If the pavers are hard to walk around or have gaps that a hoof could get caught in, I'd remove them. Straw is a really great bedding for sheep. I don't like shavings because they get caught in the fleece.

 

[patandchickens]

If it were me, I'd be inclined to pack some stone dust down on/among the pavers, rather than removing them entirely. It is sooooo nice to have a reasonably mudproof entryway. I have a feeling that if you remove them entirely you will soon discover why they were there and end up having to replace them with some other solution anyhow

You might consider partitioning off a smaller area for the sheep, i.e. not the whole 10x30 area but maybe a third or half of it at most. It will save you a lot of aggravation with sanitation.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Bossroo]

I always used wood shavings for bedding instead of straw as it saves you HOURS of hard labor. With a couple of sheep, straw may not be as bad, but unless you clean the barn floor at least weekly and before it dries out completely. You will need a pic axe as the tool of first choice, then a 3 tine pitch fork and a strong wheelbarrow. A hot soaking bath with jets is recommended immediately afterwards. Ask me how I know ! (daily clean out barn with 100 mature rams in a barn + corral) Immagine brickmaking... mix in straw in wet mud, apply pressure, let dry , then try to move a 10 ft.x 30ft. brick

 

[aggieterpkatie]

If you have wool sheep the shavings are a nightmare!