The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Skyfall on August 01, 2014, 04:39:44 pm
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Heya everyone so my Lincoln Longwools come in 3 weeks I should have the fencing finished by then lol, I'm getting 4lamb ewes and a glimmer a few weeks later once she's been in with the tup and fingers crossed in lamb, I have 12 acres of flat land split into 3equal fields that I keep two horses on aswel, I'm having a few stables build ATM by me n my other half and poss have a couple on livery,mobs the gimmer will lamb in jan time so I want to make sure I have a mini barn stable types shelter for her and also so I can shut the lambs in if we have bad weather or on a night, what min size should I be looking at I've looked at a few smallholding shelters housing and they all lack in height my son is 14 and already 6ft so these 5ft high tones you can buy just are no good so I've got the other half onto it, we've lined the bottom 5ft of my stables with two sections of hardboard with loft insulation trapped between would this be a good idea for the sheep pen too or would they get too hot? Thinking ahead to a cold January possible snow and newborn lambs ,,sorry for the ramble excited and nervous at the same time want to make sure we get everything sorted before the weather turns, also is crushed and rolled chalk a good base? Obs with straw over the top xx
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Ventilation is as important as warmth :thumbsup:
As long as it's dry and draught free and well ventilated (at the top), they will be happy.
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So could do an overhang on roof with a long ventilation gap running down?
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The temperature inside a sheep shed should be similar to that outside except it should be wind tight which makes a big difference and water tight of course, wet things stay cold and they don't like eating wet hay either. A big overhang to keep the wet out and as much of a vent strip as you can give without the wet coming in should be do it. Make sure you use deep gutters as an overflowing gutter is as useless as a blocked one. A good idea is to connect a downpipe to a water butt so you have instant drinking water for your stock. Don't underestimate the need for lots of ventilation though, disease spreads quickly otherwise. Good luck!