OkieJenna Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 I am new to the board and in the process of buying a new acreage. We are currently on 3 acres and our horses have destroyed the grazing so we are moving to 5 acres that we plan on dividing and managing. We have 2 horses now and currently 3 head of sheep. 2 pregnant ewes and a ram. We also have 5 Border Collies. I am looking for suggestions on a setup for a round pen for training my dogs and a place for my kennels, as well as a pen to keep my sheep in at night to keep them safe from predators. I don't plan on having more than 10 sheep in the future so how big of a shelter should I build them. I also have a 10 X 14 grooming shop/whelping house that I will be moving to the location. The drawing isn't that great but hopefully it will give you an idea of what I have to work with. Any suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieJenna Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 I also wanted to note that the building in the northwest corner probably isn't salvagable. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 A big consideration should be the drainage, and how wet the ground is. Horses will quickly destroy any pasture that isn't pretty dry- as well as suffer from myriad foot issues- and so will sheep for that matter. When I worked with horses, we had lots of separate paddocks, and we also didn't turn out in heavy heavy rain. This is a relatively small parcel. It would be really helpful to see real pictures of the place. Congratulations on the bigger place! Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Watch Debatable Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Originally posted by kelpiegirl:A big consideration should be the drainage Ditto. Animals: downhill and downwind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieJenna Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Thank you all for replying! We were there to look at the place shortly after a decent rain and there wasn't anywhere that was holding water that I could see. Definently not the case with the place we are currently. The grass is excellent about shin-deep in mostly bermuda. Part of me wants the dogs close to the house, but the other part wants them farther away. I also want to make it to where the dogs can't see the horses anymore. We were considering putting the kennels over by the building in the NW corner since there are existing utilities and water. We will also be keeping the horses corraled around the lean to at night and after heavy rain. I'm thinking about turning one of the stalls in the shed into a tack/feed room and then building a seperate little shed for the sheep, but I would like to keep them close to the feed room and horses for convenience. We are planning on fencing the entire place with a welded wire fence definently with hot wire on top for the horses and then cross fencing to rotate paddocks. Is it true that sheep will clean up alot of what the horses are too picky to eat? Also, do you think I should put my grooming shop/whelping room up close to the house or down by the kennels? I can't make up my mind for anything. I spent alot of time thinking about all this last night. I just really want to think things through and be sure of were I want to place everything so I don't regret something in the future. I don't have very good pics of the place, but here are the couple that I have. This is from the crumy building in the NW corner back of the lean-to shed and towards the road and this one is a shot of the building and the lean-to I think if we do decide to demolish that building all the metal from the add-on is still useable, so most likely we will take it down and use that for a sheep shed and a cover and possible wind block for the kennels. How large would a shed for ten sheep need to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Well, here is what I think (fwiw). You don't have that many dogs. The further they are from the house, the further it is to take care of them, and the liklihood of them barking (and not stopping) when they are further away goes up. Second, you don't have tons of land, and if you keep the dogs close- do you have a garage? Then you could free up the land for the livestock. I would definitely look at keeping the horses near running water- and the sheep too- or at least within hose reach. In the end, look at it from ease of animal husbandry. There is nothing worse than having to break ice from buckets on a frigid morning.... Where your power/water is is where your animals should be stationed. Figure out the livestock first, and then the dogs.... Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieJenna Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Thanks for your reply. That was what I was thinking. I don't want them too far from my house because it would just be more work to take care of them. My husband wants them as far away as possible, but that's because he doesn't take care of them. They don't bark very much. They all pretty much know it isn't acceptable because they are right by our bedroom window. I think the barking will pretty much disappear when we make it to where they can't see the livestock at all. That's the only reason they bark is if the horses get to running and playing. We will be moving on Jan. 26th. I will have to post some pictures of the finished product when we get there. Thank you so much for the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 You`ve got me confused with the 10 X 14 grooming whelping area. Do you have a comercial grooming business? It would probably be good to have that near your house. As a whelping area, does that mean that your dogs will all whelp out there, and not be in the house with close attention? That would be a dangerous distance to have to travel so often. Then is the grooming and whelping each take a 7 X 20 nice little room each, where will you be putting the dog kennels? It is hard to follow the plans. Each of my dogs has an indoor pen of 8 x 10, connected to an outdoor pen of 8 X 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieJenna Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 The 10 x 14 was originally built here for me to start my own grooming business from home because I was traveling so far to groom at another shop, but since my daughter was born I have choosen to just be a stay at home mom. It is the most important thing right now. We have pretty much decided to keep it on the north side of the house so that I can be close to puppies. Also, I have a surveillance camera and monitor so that I can watch mama before she whelps and keep an eye on those precious babies 24/7. I wish there was somewhere I could keep them in the house, but even if there was I think my husband would serve me with divorce papers. He isn't as crazy about the dogs as I am, especially not in the house. So the shop is the next best thing since it is climate controlled and there is a doggie door so mama can go in and out as she pleases and the puppies have a nice yard to play in once they are old enough. It was really nice to have last time. I haven't finished the grooming part, basically just insulation and all the electricity ran and the wallboard in place. I'm still not sure where I will put the kennels. I want to keep them close to the house, because I'll just feel better about having them as close as possible, but my husband wants them as far away as possible. If I put the kennels down by the building in the NW corner we could build a nice size fence for them to run in and put my kennels down there to keep them in at night or when we aren't home, but then that would be so far away from the house. See how I'm so torn on what to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pax Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I saw your post on the other board, too, and just thought I'd add some things for consideration I haven't seen addressed on either board. How do you intend to deal with the muck? Don't forget to allow a place to heap/spread/compost. It should be far enough away from the house so you don't get bugs/odor blowing in the windows. Make sure you can get a fire truck through all access ways to buildings. Your feed guys/farrier/vet should ideally be able to drive right up to the barn without having to go in and out gates which might allow animals to escape and/or wasting time fumbling in the dark during an emergency. It helps to be able to access all areas of the property with a tractor. You never know when you're going to need to haul something out of a field..a downed animal, a tree that's fallen over, fence posts that need to be reset. Make sure you aren't constantly driving over a drain field. I haven't seen any mention of a ring/riding/dog training area. Maybe you trail ride? I think it's a real challenge to balance that many animals on that acreage. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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