Sheep Pen

I built this pen on our property so that I could manage the sheep a bit better. I needed to get the sheep sheered but I didn’t have any sheep pen to make this possible. The need was to have a smallish yard so that the sheep can be held in and for the sheerer to be able to get the sheep and … well … shear them.

The basic design is a bunch of fence posts and some rails with a chute into the pen. The pen I designed is 6m x 6m and high enough so that the sheep don’t just jump over the top of the pen.

I had to use a bobcat to level the land first and then it was out with the auger to drill holes in the ground for the posts.

With the posts in the ground, I set up a simple guide that I clamped on the posts to set the rails while I screwed the rails in place.

Our donkey, Jimmy, decided that the pen was a great place for a good old scratch. So before the posts could “season” into the ground, they got wobbly.

I fixed this, somewhat, by fixing some corrugated iron sheeting. This has the additional benefit of providing the sheep with some shelter from the wind and shade from the heat.

When the sheep are being sheared, it’s high summer, so shelter is certainly appreciated.

Since putting the pen in … it has weathered well and the design is quite satisfactory.

Of course I still need to put in fencing to help direct the sheep into the pen.

The pen is close to the feed shed so that there is access to water and electricity. The shearer likes the setup and, with his approval, I’m happy.