building a loose sheep shed... advice please.

derferjam

hi after the latest weather I am not going to get caught again next year with the lambing season about to start and all that maddness outside.

Ok I have 220 ewe's in lamb this year and intent on having same next year or more. max 300
Never going to lamb out door any more too much heart ache after all work in months previous,

So need advice from people on what I would be expect to fork out to build a shed best suited for these numbers for winter, and a lambing season.

If the shed could be used later in the year for other things great,,,
Design flaws to keep an eye on....
Modifications to make life easy when working it...
best source for material and what your opinion is on the tunnels????
My thinking is not how cheap but how well I can make it to help me and livestock over this period.
However, not loaded either.... all sorts of advice needed please,

Conmaicne Mara

I went through the process lately, albeit for a lot less sheep. A polytunnel worked out better for my budget so I am in the initial stages of site work now.

Ventilation will be the most important thing for the health of your sheep inside. Damp, muggy, warm, clammy are all things you want to avoid like the plague. Airy, dry, breeze/air circulation all good. All housing for sheep really does is keep the rain off their backs. How cold or windy it is doesn't matter once the bedding is dry, and the roof stays on they'll be grand and warm.

You'll need to segregate groups of sheep somehow, whether it's on body condition score or just managing not to get trampled while feeding. Pen design with emphasis on "feed space" will be important. A shallow long pen will feed a lot more sheep than a more square pen, which will physically hold more sheep.

Found a good thread lately here:

http://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/lambing-shed.17381/

Some good photos and you will see in some what I mean by having a pen long and shallow for adequate feeding space.

Lano Lynn

not teagasc square pens and narrow fallthrough passages.
what sort of gear do you have? diet feeder straw chopper?

Green farmer

Second hand poly tunnel is probably cheapest and fastest way to go. Personally I refurbished a old hay shed last year. I think it's 60 ft x 25 ft. I put in a concrete floor and built up block work walls. I bought 5ft penning that can be made into whatever shape I want. I also make use of heras fencing to block off an open side. I housed 100 ewes in it last year and found it crowded at times. Make sure you build something that you can get your tractor into. Poly tunnels can often be too low to get the tractor into .Another thing that can easily be overlooked is what direction to point the shed for best protection from the elements