The Best Animal Shelters for Small Livestock

By Ron Macher
Published on December 18, 2014
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Providing Shelter

Animals on pasture will use shelter only when needed, but it is good to have in rough weather — particularly for young livestock.

 

If you are on a small acreage and have no access to land with previously built shelters or naturally occurring livestock protection, you will have to build some sort of shelter. In my opinion, the best animal shelters are three-sided, open to the south, well bedded with straw, and portable. Some people even build shelters from hay bales. Smaller, portable shelters allow for multiple uses for crops and livestock, and will change as your farming operation evolves. A shelter under 40 inches high is best for small livestock — sheep, hogs, and poultry — to prevent rain and snow blow-in.

Multiuse barns should be avoided. They are harder to adapt, are fixed in place, and with multiple livestock types in one building, can increase disease problems. If your building cannot be portable or you already have one in place, and you use the building for birthing animals, do not use it again for birthing for 6 months or more. This will help to prevent disease.

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