Dennis Red’s homemade mobile sheep shed. Dennis’ homemade portable hay + grain + mineral bin Thanks to Dennis Red, low-labor hair sheep husbandry just got easier! Dennis moves the shed using the tractor bucket under the front. The shed can be moved very quickly.

Dennis and Karen Red of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania raise Barbados BlackBelly sheep, and also Katahdins and mixed Shropshires.

Hair sheep are “low labor” animals, but as we all know, certain chores always take more or less work no matter what breed you keep-like mucking out barns, and getting the sheep onto the next grazing area.

The homemade devices shown here are what the Reds use on their farm to make sheep care easier.

Dennis Red kindly supplied photos of these two efficiency-oriented conveniences, and sent us a brief description. There would be little point in actual plans, since they were made mostly of scrap materials, to keep down the costs. sheep! readers who are skillful with tools may follow his example and build it from whatever’s at hand.

Dennis writes:

• “Mobile hay + grain + mineral bin. (The sheep move wherever it goes!)
• “Mobile shelter, 16 feet by 16 feet.
• “The portable shelter is easily moved 20 feet per day. It saves clean-up during summer and warmer months when I kick the sheep out of the barn. They stay clean and healthy.
• “It takes two minutes to move. It’s made from 16-foot fence gates, plywood, scrap lumber, and discarded tires, plus rubber roof material. It houses 25 sheep.”