This week I feature a loose sheep shed which is working well for its owner. It is on the farm of John Fagan of Crookedwood, Co Westmeath, who runs a large flock as well as cattle. It was put up by Kenneth Dunleavy Engineering.

Picture one

The lean-to shed is five bays long with a roof span of 22ft plus an 8ft overhang over the feed rail.

It was designed to mirror the 25-year-old existing lean-to shed that it faces. In addition to providing additional accommodation, the new shed provides shelter to the older shed in this exposed site.

Picture two

While the new shed is similar in size and shape to the existing one, it’s more modern and more useful. It has shuttered concrete walls on three sides.

During cleaning out, the tractor loader can be pushed against the walls for speedy work. For the same reason, the shed is also called into use for holding bulk feed such as acid-treated barley, etc.

Vented sheeting at the rear means ventilation is good but rain does not get in on bedding, etc. The sliding door is a step forward on the hinged doors of the older shed, eg it’s safer on a windy day. The clear roof light sheeting lets in natural light. The overhang provides more shelter than the front sheeting of the older shed and doesn’t interrupt the view into the shed.

Picture three

Stock are fed with a 4t capacity diet feeder. The wooden troughs eliminate fork work and were not expensive. The feed rails are simple steel tube slid through box iron sleeves welded on to the shed pillars. John said the passage space and the turning room at the end are quite tight for the diet feeder, necessitating more moves when turning, but it’s all manageable.

Picture four

The floor of the shed is 9in below the level of the passage, allowing a good depth of bedding build-up without sheep going above the feed troughs. The sliding door is convenient. Internally hinged gates allow the shed to be divided but don’t interfere with cleaning out. There are a number of sockets in the floor slab to hold removable gate posts.

Picture five

The site was a hardcore area. It required just scraping back to give a base for the new shed. The walls are reinforced with steel and can withstand the push of a tractor loader, etc.

John Fagan told me he values this shed for its flexibility. “It’s great to have a loose shed available at a time when you can’t turn out ewes with lambs and you need to keep them in for a few days. It will comfortably hold 120 ewes although feed rail length can be tight for that number.

“I use it mostly for sheep but occasionally put cattle in it for a short length of time. It’s a cozy shed for any stock but it has good ventilation. I can clean it out in an hour.”

Cost

The steelwork cost approximately €12,500 and concrete work and plumbing about €12,000, both including VAT.