A lot of people ask us what they need to do to set up a pen for their market lamb project. Luckily, this isn’t rocket science, and in many cases, a pen can be set up and made ready for lambs in an afternoon.

The most important thing you can do to set your lambs off on the right foot is to set up a safe environment, which will keep your lambs contained and also keep dogs or wild animals out. There are several ways you can do this. You can use steel livestock panels. If you only have a few lambs, you can even use a dog kennel. The lambs will need some sort of shelter, whether that’s a barn, a shed, or even a large dog house. They’ll also need plenty of room to exercise. You’ll want to be sure there is adequate ventilation. Because you’ll be walking your animal often, you should have an easy way to get your animal in and out of the pen. The pens pictured are images pulled from Google.

Once you have the pen set up, you’ll need to think about how you’re going to feed and water your animal. Water is the most important nutrient you can give your animal. You’ll want to be sure your animal has access to clean water at all times. You might use a bucket or pan to water your animal, or if you plan to expand your investment in sheep, you might even consider an automatic water fountain. Of course, you’ll also need to feed your animal, so you’ll want to have an easy way to feed your animal. Your lamb will need hay, so you’ll want to think about some sort of hay rack too.

Hopefully, you’ve selected your animal now, and you have a pen set up for it. The next blog will look at how to care for your animal daily.

–Rose