# Those interested in a ShelterLogic type shelter



## ezekielsgarden (Nov 2, 2009)

We've had nasty winds all day long. Our shelter has started falling apart.  I'm hoping it makes it through the night. We don't have the money to get/build a new shelter right now (worst case scenario, we'll figure out a way to bring them into the garage at night). When we do get the $$, we're looking at the Super Hutch from RSI Calf Systems. http://www.rsicalfsystems.com/calf_hutches.php I can't remember exactly how much they charge, but it's approximately $600-750.

I just thought I'd let you know. It is NOT standing up to the winter winds. One side's zipper just ripped out today. The back is getting a tear in it. We've had sustained winds of at least 20 mph for nearly 24 hours now.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Unless you have zero carpentry skills, and I don't have to pay for labor...my buck barn was $400 and it is a 12x14 with a 8 foot sidewall and 10 foot peak. I was able to use old fencing 8 foot pickets for the exterior walls, which turned out really pretty...so that part was free. It also has a 4 X 12 foot overhang in the front, also sided in so I have a place to keep hay and grain and they put their heads through the 'wall' to eat on my side. Metal Roofed. It was going to be $550 if I had to pay for siding because I did not want metal again with the bucks. 

We have to be super careful with our heat using calf huts like this. Vicki


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## ezekielsgarden (Nov 2, 2009)

DH and I are thinking of a simple 3-sided plywood box (and roof), about 4' high (one sheet of plywood on its side) and 8' wide across back and 4' sides (3 sheets of plywood total) on a treated 4x4 frame. Either that or round hay bales with a plywood roof. Just something to get us through the winter. It necessarily has to be as cheap as possible without sacrificing the goats' health & safety due to budget constraints.

For our area, the calf huts are great. It sometimes gets so very cold in the winter. They don't use it much in the summer from those we've seen in use.


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## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

I have seen good huts cobbled together with pallets and t-post - or you could use two cattle panels staked and bent over with a tarp coveeing over - just a couple of ideas if your budget is limited.


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## Painted Pony (Apr 12, 2009)

Oh Amy, I'm so sorry your goat shelter is falling apart. I appreciate you sharing your story because I was looking at buying one of these and we get winds at 30-50 MPH in the winters regularly. The high winds are the reason I held off buying one. I have looked at the carports with sides that come to the ground and then build doors for the front and back of it that can be opened and closed depending on the weather. 

I know a woman that has a bunch of the calf hutches and she LOVES them. She got them at auction so they were a good price. She has enough hutches to house about 100 goats in weather similar to mine. If I could get them used I would but the new ones with shipping are as much as building another barn addition so I am holding off still. 

To get you through the winter could you repair the current tarp cover and then stretch another covering over it? Maybe some heavy duty glue on a big garden netting or tarp patch? Can you put some large hay bales around the outside of it to help protect the tarp from the winds? Maybe a few cattle panels bent over the current shelter so the tarp is sandwiched between the cattle panels and the regular frame so it holds up better? Seems one of those may help it last through the winter. I hope you get something worked out for the goaties.


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## billinohio (Jun 24, 2009)

I don't know if thee is a difference between some of the Shelter logic models....???? I have had one for abot 3 years. It has been through 60 mph winds.......and we have windgusts up to 60 mph today......and it seems to be doing fine. Mine is an "Instant Garage," and it is 12' X 20' in size.
Another friend of mine has 2 of them. One of them she has had for about 8 years, and just replaced the tarp covering this year.


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## luvzmybabz (Sep 15, 2008)

ezekielsgarden said:


> DH and I are thinking of a simple 3-sided plywood box (and roof), about 4' high (one sheet of plywood on its side) and 8' wide across back and 4' sides (3 sheets of plywood total) on a treated 4x4 frame. Either that or round hay bales with a plywood roof. Just something to get us through the winter. It necessarily has to be as cheap as possible without sacrificing the goats' health & safety due to budget constraints.


My husband and I are talking about an extra shed in the girls barn. Similair to one of our chicken coops, I had headr of people getting shipping crates and adding plywood to the sides. We were able to get 3 wheeler shipping crates these are metal tubingso framing took all of 10 minutes, when put together they are 7 1/2 by 4 feet. We sided it with siding off craiglist 2 dollars a sheet, put a little slope to the roof, and doors on both ends makes for much easier cleaning. Going wood to metal the screws were a little more $ but the way that they work actually makes them much more secure then just wood tapping screws. Call around to some three wheeler dealers We got ours for free.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

16 foot cattle panels, arched between well-anchored t-posts and secured with zip ties have been the cheapest and best shelter for us for our bucks. I used two cattle panels, which I already had, plus t-posts I already had. The only thing I had to buy was a tarp. If you secure the tarps down very tightly with bungee cords, they will stand up to most any winds. Put rocks/cement blocks, etc. along the outside edged, sitting on the tarps if possible for even more wind damage prevention. 

I've lived on leased land for the past few years and we just bought our own farm. I could not invest money in permanant structures, although thankfully my landlord did build me a well made barn. Several folks on this forum told me about the cattle panel shelters and I am so glad I used that advice. At the new farm, we will be using the same type shelter for the bucks until we build the buck barn. The only change will be to add another panel since I now have two bucks, or possibly even put up two shelters, side by side, mostly for feeding out of the weather. 

I did put a solid pallet in the shelter too so that any water that wanted to come in would go under the pallet and I could bed the shelter and it would stay dry. The biggest mistake I see some people make with these shelters is trying to make them wider by making the arch too low. You want both sides to be straight up and down between the t-posts. This will be nearly impossible for the goats to jump on or to collapse under a snow load. Another good thing about them is that even if your tarps blow off, the structure will stay put, insuring that the goats will not be caught under a collaspsed shelter. (We've had terrible, sustained winds here, and I've never lost a tarp.) 

Good luck. I know how you feel. When we first moved to this farm I had to build my own shelters with pennies to spend. I wish I had known about the cattle pannel shelters then, I'd have saved money and made better shelters. 
Anita


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

We started using the portable carports with the legs buried about two feet. Plywood on the sides, tarps on the top. When set up west to east they withstand our winds, which can be up to 50-60 mph. The only draw back was this Sunday, we got NorEastern winds, blowing straight into the houses and ripped one tarp off. Our cost for the main one was about $350.00, cost of carport (which is about ten years old now), plywood, and tarp. They work really well and stand up to those abusive goats. We took one the wind got ahold of and split it in half and made a nice sized house for Theo and Demi.
Tam


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## ezekielsgarden (Nov 2, 2009)

billinohio said:


> I don't know if thee is a difference between some of the Shelter logic models....???? I have had one for abot 3 years. It has been through 60 mph winds.......and we have windgusts up to 60 mph today......and it seems to be doing fine. Mine is an "Instant Garage," and it is 12' X 20' in size.
> Another friend of mine has 2 of them. One of them she has had for about 8 years, and just replaced the tarp covering this year.


Ours is the 8x10x10 model. It is still there, but we had to put a cattle panel on the north side because the silly goats would go out the back instead of using the door! It is ripping on the north side where the wind kept beating it against the cattle panel. The door zipper also ripped on one side, and we had to zip the good side & then we used binder clips to fasten the loose part up out of the wind so it wouldn't rip the other zipper. We've got a few ideas now, so that's good. Hopefully we can make this last just a little longer, if we can repair it or even get some big round bales (which the goats will probably try to eat, lol) to help protect.

FWIW, the augers that hold it down seem to be holding. It's mainly that one zipper and the back. Even if/when we have to replace this one, it is still usable for a covered hay feeding area, which is what we'd do. TG for that! 

My main concern now is that they don't miscarry. The two big girls have been bred since October 4/5 (I think that's 60ish days?). Ruthie doeling has been bred for about a month, and Esther doeling has been bred for about 2 weeks.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

I have used the three sided plywood shelter idea several times. Some free standing and some using pallets or shipping crates. Keeps them warm and dry and probably could have been more eye-appealing than I made it if I had cared about that at the time. And, of course, time will tell about the pregnant goats but they are usually pretty resilient.


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## chewie (Jul 26, 2008)

around this area, dairy cows are no longer making money, most guys sold out. also hogs aren't worth much either--just go scouting around, i have 3 huts, free. and there is another fella nearby that has, i bet, 100 of those "A" shaped hog shelters, and i am sure i could get a few of those for little or nothing. i have an older gal friend (she 65 or so with bad arthitis) and she built all her own sheds with pallets, old tin, etc. and they are nice!! just a few days ago i turned one of those big tank holders (some are using them for hay feeders, not sure what they are offically called) into a shed--put plywood on bottom so they aren't stepping on the metal, and to keep them up off ground, tarp around it like i wrapped a sandwich, and straw inside. just the right size for a couple yearlings or the small buck.


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

Sorry the shelter didn't work out for you- our is thankfully doing okay, despite our 80mph winds. I think it is a model thing, my dad's isn't doing so well after a year...maybe the one piece cover design on his.

Do you have access to straw? You can insulate a hoop house with straw, I can take some pictures of what they look like today with insulation if you want. I use 10" spikes & washers to hold the tarps to the straw bales. I have one that is 8X16 that I special ordered a tarp for, I have to replace the tarp this year, but it lasted 2 years. I don't lose my tarps off of them until the bales get older.

If you don't luck out with a cheap used hut, you might want to check out this company: http://www.port-a-hut.com/goat-shelters.cfm They are reasonable, and may be close to you (Storm Lake, IA). They are portable- on skids, and ventilated. I plan to get some for myself in the future


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## VickiLynne (Feb 8, 2008)

Vicki, 

I would love to see a picture of your buck barn if you please.

Thanks,

Vicki in NC


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## Hollybrook (Jul 17, 2009)

Also look at homedepot they have a decent looking all wood shorage shed complete hardware hinged doors ect in the $400 range.

Dave


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## mill-valley (Feb 22, 2008)

Calf hutches work great for shelters if you bed them down well and face them south. Lots of folks around here use them and our climate is similar to yours. The link you posted looks like a nice big one. We put pallets under ours to keep them up off the ground/mud.


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## Narrow Chance (Oct 29, 2007)

We have 2 of the Calf hutches.. mine are similar to the ones in the link.. except it's a CalfTel. It has ventilation vents at the top.. with a ridge peak.
I absolutlely love them. I have been wanting some for years.. and did a trade for two this past spring. 
I have one outfitted with eye bolts to strap in the back of my BAT. I have to leave the tailgate down.. but for just a goat or two.. it's a haulers heaven. 
Even hauled that great white elephant of Tamera's from MI back in it. 
If you can place them in the shade.. they don't get to hot in the summer.. and they are a good size.. even for the two big bucks I have.. although my boys have a 'suite' all to themselves. 


I bet if you think on it hard enough.. you'll come up with some sort of shelter. I know they won't be to choosey. It might not look great.. but as long as they have somewhere dry and warm.. they should be fine. (heck.. we used tarp over a round hay rack, cut in half, after Katrina took everything that had a roof)


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## Feathers-N-Fur (Oct 4, 2008)

http://thebarrelman.biz/275_gallon_totes

We take the tote out of the cage, cut a hole in the side for an opening and use them for shelters in dog runs (my kidding pens), or to haul goats in the back of the truck (piece of hog panel for a door) or you could just put them out for a shelter. They stand up to anything. We even have on bolted to the fence in the pig pen. I have seen a 400 lb. sow in it. This guy sells them for $100, but if you look around you'll find them a lot cheaper. I get mine free, but also know some one that sells them for $25. My BIL gets them free and sells for $50. They will comfortably accommodate 2 full size does, or more small does.


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## stacy adams (Oct 29, 2007)

Hey Vicki! do you have pics of your new buck barn? I remember the old one, what did you do differently?


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## Faithful Crown Nubians (Dec 5, 2007)

I use the cattle panel/tpost/tarp shelters. Works great here...and we just had two-three does of wind and they are still standing!!


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## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

"If you secure the tarps down very tightly with bungee cords, they will stand up to most any winds."Ours stood up to a hurricane--they just didnt stand up to the goats eating them!


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