[Oopsiboughtasheep]

I am very new to sheep ownership (3 weeks and loving it) and have been fortunate to have started off in good weather to spend time observing them, their behaviours (very funny on the whole!) and to notice where they rest (different during the day and at night which is interesting). I am just a bit concerned about what, if anything, I should provide in the way of shelter as the weather is going to turn this weekend. I know that sheep live out in the hills etc. but although my 2 texel x Ryelands are now about 8 months old and large and woolly, the 2 Zwartbles are much smaller and not as woolly (one was a triplet so even smaller than the other one). They were late lambs, born end June) and only weened 3 weeks ago. They all seem bright and happy and have plenty of grass but do my little ones in particular need to be able to get out of the rain? I can hear the experienced ones amongst you laughing already and can take all comments on the chin in good heart....I just want to check that I'm doing the right thing that's all and would value your advice.
Many thanks.

[Fleecewife]

I'm certainly not laughing    We have shelters in all our paddocks for the sheep, and they're all Primitives.  One of their survival behaviours is to know how to seek good shelter, and make use of it.  It isn't so much the cold, as they love dry cold and will not use a shelter then.  More of a problem is heavy, endless rain - wet fleece can use up a lot of body heat, therefore energy, to dry, so keeping it dry in the first place seems a very sensible approach.  Also, if you're lambing outdoors it helps for them to be able to get in from the rain.  I would think that Ryeland blood would make it more important to keep the fleece dryish, as it must hold a lot of water.  Some fleeces are better at dispersing rain than others.
A shelter doesn't need to be complicated and if you have plenty of natural shelter such as walls in your paddocks, then that could be sufficient.  You can see our shelters on our website - they increase in poshness from the first very rough and ready things made of pallets, to rather upmarket pavilions 

[Melmarsh]

I wouldn't laugh at you either, I have been mocked by farmers who think I'm soft because I have always had shelters in all my fields and still do. I have had corrugated tin on poles with slab wood up the sides and wooden sheds and now have plastic calf hutches ( large ones ) in two of my fields, the third field they can come into the end of a building. My sheep have always used them, in heavy rain or in the heat of a summers day. Unlike horses that I have had in the passed who went into the sheds in the sun and stood with their bums to the wind in wet weather. Enjoy your sheep I always, even after 28yrs, enjoy just standing and watching them whatever the weather !!!!

[mowhaugh]

It is a very sensible question.  We have several hundred sheep living out on the hill, but there is abundant shelter create by undulating terrain, wee caves, woods, and also man made stone walls and stells, built just for that reason, to provide shelter.

In a field, it is unlikely that there will be this type of shelter, so yes, it is a good idea to provide them with something.

[Slimjim]

I would endorse these two posts and perhaps add that if you intend to breed from your youngsters one day, you might find a roof useful at lambing time. My ewes lamb outside, but once delivered I bring them into a shed for a day or two. Made of pallets with a corrugated roof and walls wrapped in a tarpaulin. Total cost  (and much scrounging )of £40. It's 15' square  for 6 ewes, but I managed last year with two thirds of that floor space. Carry on enjoying your sheep!

[Oopsiboughtasheep]

Thankyou all very much. I will go out and rearrange their fencing so that they can have access to a small field shelter that we've got. I need to have this clear for my donkeys in a weeks time, so will get the sheep something else just for them for the rest of the time. I'm so glad I asked this question. I really did feel that you would think I was a bit daft when I posted it!

[Womble]

I'll ask a related question then.  I made a sheep shelter frame out of wood a few weeks ago with the plan of screwing some old sheets of wrinkly tin on top. The trouble is, when I tried them for fit, it looked like a cross between Soweto and a contender for the Turner Prize  .

Does anybody have any ideas on what I might be able to clad it in cheaply that's not going to look too terrible?  I've tried all the usual places for metal cladding, but it's going to cost a fortune, even in second-hand.

[Porterlauren]

Just a cautionary note . . . . .

Although shelter is good, they just need out of the rain and some of the prevailing wind.

Creating snug little shelters, well insulated from draught etc, can also lead to creating little germ pits, where wet, warm, lambs congregate. They become a breeding ground for disease.

[Fleecewife]

I agree with Porterlauren that you don't want the shelter to be at all windproof.  Ours have sides of sarking or Yorkshire board, which are both pretty cheap, but with a good gap between the boards for the wind to whistle through. The shelters also have a completely open front, which helps with keeping them ventilated and allows the sunshine in to dry them and help sterilise the ground.  We also lay straw which can be changed and put on the compost or muck heap.
Even if rain does get into the shelter, the sheep are still protected from a drenching.  We probably wouldn't have sides at all except that here the rain comes in horizontally not vertically 

[Melmarsh]

I have never had problems with the old germs, always one side completely open and as the others had slab wood, the outside edge with bark still on so only one flat side, there was plenty of air coming in between each slab of wood. I also used secondhand galvanised sheets that had some air holes in them !!! So plenty of vents !!!!

[Backinwellies]

slab wood, the outside edge with bark still on so only one flat side,

cheap and obtained from saw mill.  Our whole sheep / lambing shed is this ... lovely and airy and easy to mend.

[Carolswoolies]

The Gotlands that i keep make full use of shelter. Who wouldn't given the choice!
When the weather clears they are back out again. i think it a good option to offer.
Good to hear that you are enjoying your sheep.

[Marches Farmer]

When you have your shelter in place try hitching a small hayrack to one side, so they associate it with food and shelter. Makes them easier to grab if you need to.  Our sheep handling area has a thick layer of rounded stones about 3-5 cm long.  These are too large and too rounded to cause damage to the feet, not very comfortable, but urine drains through them.  I think a dry lie will be highly desirable for the younger sheep - getting wet through then chilled makes them very susceptible to pneumonia - one of the varieties not covered by Ovivac P Plus.

[Oopsiboughtasheep]

Thanks again to all who have responded to my post. It has been very helpful. I gave them access to the donkey shelter last night....they all stayed out in the rain! They seemed fine but I worried about the little ones. I appreciate that things 'new' might be approached with suspicion at first so am keen to get on and set them up something more permanent asap. need to rope in OH. I do have a hayrack so will do as Marches Farmer suggests and put that next to any new shelter. It has a feeder bit in the bottom so could put a few sheep nuts in there to make nice associations with it all.

Wombles 'Soweto/Turner Prize' efforts gave me a good laugh.

Thanks all again.

[farmvet]

trampolines make great temporary shelters except in extreme wind. Easy to move around to clean ground & you get to play too!