Cow Lean To / Loafing shed thoughts and plans?

CalG · Mar 7, 2020

Don't skimp on the posts! Cows like to lean and rub!

Timmer92 · Mar 8, 2020

Carl_NH said:
Timmer,

First, I assume you are buying 2 feeder steers - I year old in the spring, weighing 4-500 lbs? You have about 4 acres of grass for feeding and ample water via well/stream/spring on the property? Do you have trees for shade too?

Providing you have a water source, good grass growth, 4 acres can support two steers with the goal to gain 1.5 to 2 Lbs/day (400 lbs for the season) without a lot of extra corn or feed supplement. The shelter is shade, and coverage from the elements and if you have trees, water and grass, they will spend most of their time outside and not in the shelter.

With 120SF you don't have space to store feed, or hay bales unless you build a loft into the space - a higher lean to and a 4-5' loft area to store hay and grain. If you intend to grain feed them do this daily in a trough / area and store the feed elsewhere.

Thanks, all great points and questions! We live in sand so it's not the richest soil. However, with 4 acres and the right pasture mix for our soil, and the fact that we've been developing the pasture for 2 years, we think we might not need much supplemental hay, if any. More likely we'll just want some added grains. And also, this lean-to is really to pacify the city rules. Part of me wonders if the cows will ever step foot in it, but you bring up a good point about shade. We do not have any shade. We planted a weeping willow in the middle of the pasture 2 years ago, but it's still far from being able to provide cover.

I guess the ultimate question I should be asking is, how many sq feet do i really need to allocate in the structure for the 2 feeder cows?

EddieWalker · Mar 8, 2020

Timmer92 said:
I guess the ultimate question I should be asking is, how many sq feet do i really need to allocate in the structure for the 2 feeder cows?

I have 5 horses and 9 goats. When it rains, they all fit into a 12x12 stall. I used to have two stalls, but for whatever reason, they always used the one stall and ignored the other. So I closed the unused one off and made it my 3rd chicken coop.

With a 120 square foot limit, your only choice is to make a 10x12 structure. I would go 12 wide and 10 deep. Since you live in a cold climate, I would put a 4 foot opening on one wall and an opening for a window on the opposite wall for air to move through during warmer weather, and a shutter type door that closed over that window opening in winter.

I would set 8 posts, run purlins and cover the walls with Smart Siding 4x8 sheets. I would make the wall with the door 2 feet taller to create a pitch for the roof. For the roof, I would run 2x8 joists every 16 inches because I don't know how heavy the snow gets, then run 2x4 purlins on the flat over the 2x8 joists, and install 4 R panels for a roof. Each R panel is 3 feet wide. To me, this is fast, simple, strong and cost effective.

Carl_NH · Mar 8, 2020

I would go for a variance to build at least a 10x20 or 12x24 with a quarter (5x10 or 6x12) of that storage for hay/grain.

You will likely need hay in the early spring before the grass comes in, then grain in the fall to finish them.