Love some input all~ working corral

allenslabs · #1 11/05/06, 08:03 PM

I am one of those people that with left with too much time or even just a wandering mind will think of stuff I have no money for and won't for a while now but nothing like plannin ahead right??

My plan is of a working corral setup. I am wanting to build my meat goat herd to about 100 someday and will need a good corral setup for that. I also have horses so when building a corral I want to have it big enough I can ride in it and also big enough that if the goats go asunder that it could easily go to cattle. My thought is a 96' x 48' corral and in that corral the main corral will be 72' x 48' and the other 24' x 48' will be the working area that will have a crowd gate and chute line and chute. I was thinking today that maybe I could enclose that 24'x48' area so that way no matter what we could work in there be it snow, rain, sleet or hail! HAHA!! Plus be able to have lights and maybe some pens if necessary. Granted keep in mind this is a thought that won't be a reality for a while as I'm making up the costs and for the corral alone it'll be like $11-1200. Not taking into account the cost of the metal on the barn (or would it be cheaper to use lumber from the amish?) but in the end I think that it would be SUCH an asset.

But I was wondering have any of you used those hoop barns? I was curious as to those and durability, cost? I'd love to hear on it.
Also on my corral I was thinking I would use for a fence those goat panels (cattle panels that are 4" squares and pretty stout) and then using cross ties (railroad ties) for the posts every 8 feet. I did 96 x 48' as that makes it easier figuring cattle panels. HAHA!! Plus I think that's plenty big enough. I'm hoping anyways. This'll take about 2 years to get done but boy I can't wait. The big expense is them dang panels and the gates I'll need. I figured I'll need about 52 cross ties (generally free around here) about 23+- of the panels (about $7-800) , 3 16' gates and a 2' gate.

Got any great ideas to make life easier on me when drawing these ideas out? I have the corral drawn out how I want but I have to make something for the covered area. I love having a braintrust like this!!

toomb68 · #2 11/06/06, 04:53 AM

why cattle panels? i used red brand goat fence for mine....but any more fencing i do will be electric. would electric not work in a corral?

chris

cjg24 · #3 11/06/06, 09:12 AM

I visited Premier 1, a company in Iowa that sells fencing and equipment for goats sheep and horses. They have a working farm and last time I was in Iowa I set up an appointment to see how they operated their farm. They have a wonderful set up for corral and hoop barn. You can see some of it in their catologue. They will send you a free catologue and it might give you ideas. They are pricey, but they have some wonderful ideas and products. www.premier1supplies.com

homebirtha · #4 11/06/06, 10:05 AM

I agree, I wouldn't use the panels for that much space. The goat fencing would be a lot cheaper and almost as sturdy. I would think it would hold in almost anything, except maybe pigs.

We have a hoop barn from Farmtek. We've had it about 2 years and so far, so good. It was fairly easy for the two of us to put up, and it has held up very well so far. It's about 26' x 30' (I think) and cost about $2000 at the time.

allenslabs · #5 11/06/06, 01:34 PM

Never heard of the goat fence. But if say a mad goat rammed it would it hold up?? Or a horse? I need something that is versatile enough that any animal would work ok in there. That way in case we ever put other animals in there there would be adequate materials to keep them in. Thanks all!!

homebirtha · #6 11/06/06, 05:05 PM

Goat fencing is like field fencing, but with different-size holes. I think the bigger factor on it holding a mad goat ramming into it is how close you put the t-posts. Don't know about horses, never had them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by allenslabs

Never heard of the goat fence. But if say a mad goat rammed it would it hold up?? Or a horse? I need something that is versatile enough that any animal would work ok in there. That way in case we ever put other animals in there there would be adequate materials to keep them in. Thanks all!!

annie716 · #7 11/06/06, 05:25 PM

Our goat fence is good & sturdy, we also had jersey steers in it this year. Ours is on wood posts set 10' apart. We use the goat panels inside the barn to partition the inside areas as they are easy but sooooo expensive. I don't know from my own experience but someone I work with had problems with horses getting their feet caught in the horse fence. Something to think about

annie716 · #8 11/06/06, 05:27 PM

Sorry, I meant horses got feet caught in goat fence.

Bearfootfarm · #9 11/07/06, 07:21 AM

If youre using field fence with horses and other animals together you can run a couple of "hot" wires , one near the bottom, to keep the goats off, and one at the top to keep the horses off. If predators are a problem a hot wire on the outside near the ground will help with that too.

If I were goiing to enclose an arena, Id think Id use a metal building. While it would be more expensive up front, I think it would be more durable than anything using a fabric cover. I just got a quote on a 20 X 40 with a "lean-to" type shed on one side for about $6350 including shipping and installation. If all you wanted was a roof over your area you could get one even cheaper, since mine was enclosed on both ends and partly enclosed on both sides. I got a simple 18 X 36 "carport" type shelter for $1800 about a year ago. That also included shipping and installation.