Interactive lesson

A sheep shed and fold, step by step

Interactive lesson: a site for the shed, measurements for 10 ewes and a ram, bedding, hay racks and water, the night fold, protection from dogs and predators, and a catching pen.

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The whole lesson as text

1. A site for the shed

A good site solves half the problems before the first nail.

Dry and well drained — Choose a gentle slope, not a hollow where water and cold air collect. Dig a ditch round the shed for water from the roof and the slope.
Close to the house — You need to hear the sheep at night, especially at lambing. But not by a bedroom window, and at least 20–30 m from a well, or as far as local rules say.
Back to the wind — Turn the entrance and open side to the south or south-east. The solid wall faces the prevailing wind: in the UK and Ireland mostly south-west and west, plus cold north and east winds.
Near pasture and hay — Sheep go out to graze the same way every day, and hay is carried every day in winter. You also need access for a vehicle or tractor for straw and mucking out.

Why: A sheep in full fleece sleeps through a frost of −15 °C (5 °F), but in a damp shed she coughs, goes lame and loses lambs. So it matters more that the shed is dry, airy and free of draughts than that it is warm.

An old stone or timber barn is often a good start. Check the roof, the damp in the walls and the floor, and open it up for air and light.
Plan for the flock you'll have in 3 years: from 5 ewes and the ewe lambs you keep, you'll soon have 10–12 head.

2. A shed for 10 ewes

The example is a 6 × 5 m shed (about 20 × 16 ft) for 10 ewes, a ram and lambs.

Space per ewe — A ewe needs 1.2–1.5 m² of shed, a ewe with lambs 2–2.5 m². The ram gets 3 m², in a pen with a strong 1.3 m partition.
Wide doors — Doors are 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft) wide. Sheep push, and narrow doors break ribs in pregnant ewes.
Lambing pen — The pen is 1.2 × 1.5 m, one per 6–8 ewes, draught-free with deep, dry bedding. The heat lamp hangs on a chain, never by the cable, away from the straw and with a guard.
Air without draught — Walls are solid to 1.2 m, with spaced boards above (1–2 cm gaps, Yorkshire boarding). The shed is at least 2.5 m high; open to the roof with no ceiling is even better.

Why: Without enough room, stronger ewes push the weaker and pregnant ones. A main area of 5 × 3.5 m gives 17.5 m² for 10 ewes, with hay racks along the long wall and a 1 m feed passage.

Wooden hurdles 1–1.2 m high can be taken down and moved: you get a lambing pen, quarantine or weaning pen whenever you need one.
Insulate a metal-sheet roof or use tiles. Bare metal sheet heats up in summer and drips condensation in winter.