Barn advice

[familyfarm42]

Hello everyone.  We are looking into getting a structure/ shelter for our animals.  We are a very small ranch and currently only have trees at shelter.  We want to build a 3 sided pole barn.  Our pasture will be split with the center line going in the middle of this pole barn.  That way half the barn is on one side and the other half is on the other.  I want it to be large enough to have about 2 cow/calf pairs on each side.  Possibly space for about 10 to 20 bails of Hay as well.  We are pretty new to all of this and getting a little sidetracked researching online.  Before we know it the cost is 25,000 LOL.  Our budget is much lower than that.  I plan to have dirt or gravel pad built up for the pole barn to be on.  No concrete.  I'm considering wood and metal still.  Just looking for any advice on size for the needs we explained, height (Want it tall enough to use for horses if we decide to sell it will be more attractive), and maybe expected cost.  Any pictures are welcome also.  If anyone has used any kit companies please share.  Any and all input is much appreciated.  Thank you everyone.

[jenergy]

Have you considered a shipping container barn?

I must note that I am slightly biased, but you can do a lot with a container and some creativity. These are just some ideas.









If not for a barn, shipping containers make good storage.




I can get you a good deal on containers if you are interested. I have 20' and 40' delivered to you.

Let me know if you want a quote. I'll need the size, qty, and your zip code.


- Jennifer

[littlecowfl]

A pole barn design is a good idea. We are looking at doing the same thing at our new farm. In our case, we are doing a bigger roof over a working area (where our Cattle chute will go), a half wall with hay storage behind it and the rest will be shelter for the cows to eat the hay out of the weather. We lose a lot of hay in the outside hay ring, plus, it leaves weeds behind in a perfect conditions to grow. With a half wall separating cows from hay, we can hang feeders and drop hay in them more easily from the hay storage area. The walls behind the hay storage will be solid to keep out weather. The chute ends in a large stall we can set up for milking. It will also have gate out, a gate back to the catch pen, and a gate to the pasture.

If you don't have a chute, consider space for a headgate or cattle chute and a narrow lane leading up to it from a catch pen. Only the chute or headgate area need be covered (it will last longer). Your vet will thank you and it simplifies life during vaccines and tagging calves.

Right now, our cows use trees as shelter and our cattle chute is degrading faster than we'd like because it doesn't have a roof over it.

I'll see about uploading a picture of our design ideas, if you are interested. I would love to take pictures of a finished product, but I'm afraid that won't be the case until this fall.

Fencing. Metal is most expensive. Wood is good, but second in expense. Wire, even woven wire 'no climb' type, will get a bit rough by the cows leaning and shoving each other into it in a tight space. You can put a board about shoulder level to reduce this. Also, a board on top helps with leaping steers (how do they know why we are loading them?). Maybe others have ideas about fencing?

For your lane leading up to your cattle chute/head gate, it will need to be more solid because cows are stressed when going through it. Solid walls are best, but some prefer air flow in hot climates. Our old one is 1/2 inch plywood mounted on very thick posts and slightly curved. It works great. Our new one will be curved, but we are recycling old flat metal farm gates (the kind you can't buy anymore) to use as the walls of our lane. The air flow will be appreciated by all and our cows are gentle enough to not balk from the shadows. We have sizes ranging from 8 feet to 14 feet. All the short ones on one side and the longer ones on the other will give us a nice curve. I've also seen people use recycled guard rails.

Biggest thing to do is to have more gates than you need now. Consider doing your barn in phases, but leaving room for improvements later. Neighbors laughed when we built our perimeter fence around the new farm because we had so many gates. That is until we explained what each one will be used for. SInce gates require braces on either side, It's nice to know where they will be, especially when using wire fencing that has tension on it. If you are using wood fencing, it's not as big a deal. Just make sure the boards are on the inside of the posts and are close enough together at the bottom to keep calves in and stray dogs out. Big pet peeve on mine is driving around seeing how many fences have boards on the outside for beauty, but that means more chance of an animal breaking through. Once upon a time, it made sense for horse people to have boards on the outside so their horses would be less damaged if they broke free. Now, fast drivers on busy roads are far more dangerous than your loose horse eating your neighbor's flowers.

[littlecowfl]

Floor. We use rubber mats over clay/gravel. But you need a boards around it to keep the mats from shifting. Our barn will be just a roof at first. The metal walls will be done at the same time, we hope. The half wall, gates, stall and corral will be done by us. We don't have the cash for a complete barn either.