Sheep Pen Construction Standards and the Cost of a Pen for 100 Sheep, Plus Points to Note

A sheep pen, also called a sheep shed. It is generally made by enclosing a circle or a shape with wood, and some rely on walls to form an enclosure, penning the sheep in to serve a protective function. So how do you build a standard sheep pen? How much does it roughly cost to build a sheep pen for 100 sheep? What are the points to note for raising sheep in a pen?

How do you build a standard sheep pen?

The pen requires the ground to be higher than the surrounding area, so that rainwater cannot enter on rainy days. If conditions allow, it is best to lay a sheep bed 30-50 cm above the ground, which keeps things clean and hygienic and makes the sheep less prone to illness. The surrounding walls can be built with hollow bricks, and ventilation holes should be left on all sides. The roof can be built with asbestos tiles or colored steel tiles, at a height of more than 3 m above the ground. The overall requirement is warmth in winter and coolness in summer, and it is enough if it can resist wind and rain.

How much does it roughly cost to build a sheep pen for 100 sheep?

A pen for 100 sheep needs an area of 100-150 sq m. The surrounding walls are of brick construction, with asbestos tiles on top, and it is enough if it keeps out the cold and wind in winter and keeps out rain and heat in summer. This kind of structure costs between 6,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan, and is economical and practical.

Appendix: Points to note for raising sheep in a pen

1. The sheep shed should be built facing south: each room of the shed is preferably 15-20 sq m, with a large frame nailed together from wooden strips, and the pen floor raised to a height of 30-40 cm. Such a shed is helpful for cold protection, warmth, moisture protection, ventilation and feeding management.

2. Carry out crossbreeding improvement step by step: the base ewes for crossbreeding improvement should be selected from local ewes of larger body size that have had three or more litters, and the stud rams can be fine breeds such as Boer goats.

3. Avoid inbreeding: in each sheep farm or sheep breeding area, stud rams should have more than 3 bloodlines to avoid inbreeding depression.

4. Ewes must be marked: breeding ewes kept on breeding farms should wear ear tags, which is helpful for mating, breeding and file registration.

5. Do a good job of basic infrastructure: for every 3-4 sheep, 1 cubic meter of ammoniation pit is needed. Seize the favorable opportunity of the autumn harvest to ensile, ammoniate or microbially ferment the straw, ensuring the flock has enough forage to get through the winter.

6. Combine green fodder and straw: in spring, summer and autumn, use green fodder as much as possible, and where conditions allow, plant 1-1.5 mu of high-yield forage grass for every 100 sheep to reduce the cost of raising sheep.

7. Combine coarse and concentrated feed: while supplying coarse feed (green fodder and straw feed), a certain amount of concentrated feed needs to be fed according to the sheep's body condition and nutritional needs. Each sheep should be supplied with 0.2 kg of concentrated feed per day, and the crude protein in the concentrated feed should account for 18%. Ewes in late pregnancy and lactation should also have their nutrition appropriately increased to meet the needs of pregnancy and lactation. Lambs begin to be supplement-fed with concentrated feed and high-quality forage at around 15 days of age, to ensure the lambs' nutritional needs and smooth weaning.

8. Divide into groups at the right time: according to age in days, divide the flock into lamb groups, young sheep groups and breeding sheep groups. The number of sheep kept in each sheep shed should not be too many, with 15-20 being appropriate. To avoid food scrambling and fighting, pregnant ewes, lactating ewes and stud rams should be tethered or kept separately, so as to avoid fighting and collisions that cause miscarriage and external injuries.

9. Deworm regularly: the flock can use Afuding and albendazole to expel internal and external parasites. In addition, when a group is switched from grazing to housed feeding, attention must be paid to ventilation and air exchange in the shed and keeping the shed dry, otherwise eye diseases in sheep are likely to occur. For sheep that develop eye disease, autologous blood can be injected subcutaneously around the eye for treatment, and they generally recover in 5-7 days.