Hoop house for wintering livestock?

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Saw Joel Salatins article on using hoop houses as winter livestock housing in the May/June 1998 issue of Countryside. Does anybody else use a method like this? We are located in Wisconsin and would like to know if it also works well for our colder climate.

-- Calvin Kalmon (calvin@dwave.net), August 23, 2001

Answers

Greenhouse barns are getting to be very common in the dairy industry. I used a regular green house frame with a tarp on it for 7 or 8 years quite successfully for heifers before I got around to building a permanent structure for them. You have to protect the sidewalls from the animals and you have to be sure that it's draft free---do a good job getting the tarp on and secure it really well against windstorms. I used a "silver" hay tarp and put ropes over the top of it in three places (it is 18' w x 48' l)to keep it from ballooning in heavy winds. Being from WI you know how much lift there is to heavy cold winter winds! Well, we get them here in NNY state, too. No fun! If you had any idea of using it permanently, I'd also put them on cement to make cleaning easier. The first few years I just had gravel and it was no fun cleaning out in the spring. But with fewer animals it might not be too bad. A high quality plastic tarp will last several years, the cheapest ones maybe 9 months, so if you go cheap, wait until late in the year to put it on so you are sure it's in good shape going into the winter. I would use one again with no hesitation. Just think of them as a rather delicate normal building, that you have to do a little extra to protect them from the animals damaging them.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), August 23, 2001.

I used a 14X28 hoop house years ago for a lambing shed, (in western NY) That was a year of very heavy snow fall and the whole thing caved in, mostly from the snow the slid off the top and piled up on the sides. the next year i used a silver tarp and that lasted until I abandonded it. I too used ropes over the sides for wind protection. I cut 6" lengths of black plastic pipe and slit them lengthwise for clamping the tarp over the end hoops and built me ends out of plywood.

-- hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), August 23, 2001.

We have also used cattle panels to create temporary hoop housing with a tarp, for goats choose canvas. These hoop up nicely are very light weight, lasted the whole season, though I was afraid high winds would sail them away like a kite. Worked excellent on young/growing stock. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), August 23, 2001.

We've wintered the laying flock in a 12x24 hoophouse the last two winters. We set it up in a different spot in the garden every fall as it's easily movable and bed the chickens in leaves and grass clippings from our yard and from town. The chickens have plenty to keep them occupied scratching around and I get a very nicely sheet composted spot on the garden. In the spring we take the cover off (regular white greenhouse plastic), allow any spilled grain to sprout and pull it up before planting. We've been very pleased with it.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), August 23, 2001.

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