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Skidable Sheep Pen

 
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Hi there! I am looking at renting some land not terribly close to me but not too far; I figure checking on the animals once a day is doable. That being said, there is no fencing to keep predators out and I REALLY don't want to deal with polywire if I don't have to. All that to say-

Does anyone have ideas for building a skidable sheep PEN that they can safely graze in for a day or so? How big would it have to be?
My thinking is about 12x12' per sheep per day? That's a pretty big structure for 2+ sheep... I thought about buying 1, possibly 2 of the 10x10 dog runs and linking them together on skids. Any other ideas?

What about portable water? I'm not big and strong, so even a full 50gal barrel might be too much for me to pull myself. And I am planning on having to do everything myself.

Next up, skidable milking parlor! I don't want to put the cart before the sheep, so to speak; but if anyone has ideas I am all ears!

Thanks!!!
 
Rusticator
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Location: Missouri Ozarks
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This is an idea I've been mulling over for a few years, now. I haven't acted on it, because our tractor isn't working, and I know until it is, I won't be able to move it.

I use hog panels, connected with spiral joints, for my goats, because we have no way to set fence posts. One of my ideas, to make them less floppy, was to shorten them from 16ft to 12ft long. But the loss of square footage was more than I was happy with.

But, I've been looking into ibc totes, overturned, with a door cut out, for shelters, and on thinner, ski-like skids, those would be movable, even without the tractor. I've seen folks put a (food-safe) ibc tote or 55gal barrel on the back of a trailer, set up with a spigot, to fill a small trough. Rain-protected mineral tubs could then be attached to the trailer, too. But, I know I can't pull that, by hand.

I haven't gone so far as the milking parlor, because I want my milk in the fridge or ice, within minutes of milking it, so I bring my girls to the stand, on the front porch of my house, to milk, lol.

 
Isa Jardinera
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How do you move your panels? Do you put your goats in a barn overnight?

I've had problems with big cats overnight, so I'd be worried about using just fencing, even electric netting, knowing cats can clear the height easily. But if others' experience is that it's not an issue, I might sleep a little better if we choose an open top.
 
I agree. Here's the link: http://stoves2.com
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