Longbourn Farm

Simple Homemade Recipes & Farm Tips

  • About
    • Press
    • Contact
  • Cookbook
  • Meal Plans
  • Work with Me
  • Resources
  • Blog
    • Recipes
      • 30 Minutes or Less
      • Main Dish
      • Dessert
      • Breakfast
      • Bread
      • Appetizer
      • Side Dish
      • Soup
      • Salad
      • Drinks
    • Gardening
    • Chickens
    • Farm
      • Beekeeping
      • Livestock
      • Land
      • Horse
Home » Animal and Land » DIY Sheep Trailer {Livestock Hauler}

DIY Sheep Trailer {Livestock Hauler}

07/10/18 | Animal and Land, Livestock

Save money by building your own DIY sheep trailer and livestock hauler! Large enough for multiple small animals and even a calf or two. #longbournfarm #sheep #goats #livestock #trailer #livestocktrailer #sheeptrailer #livestockhauler #goattote

Save money by building your own DIY sheep trailer and livestock hauler! Large enough for multiple small animals and even a calf or two.

Icelandic sheep inside of a DIY sheep trailer. This DIY sheep trailer is one of the best projects we have ever done on our farm! Why is that?? Because it has made hauling livestock SO much easier. We used to have to borrow a trailer, but now we never have to do that. {Also, we obviously took these photos earlier this spring, I’m just getting a chance to put together the tutorial now!}

DIY livestock hauler removed from truck bed.

Of course, this livestock hauler can be used for goats, even chickens, and calves. These are sold in smaller versions which are basically a tote that fits in your truck bed {usually called goat totes} for more than $400. This DIY livestock hauler cost us about $75 for the corner bars and cattle panel. Here is how we made it!

Corner bar in the truck bed for a livestock hauler.

First, we purchased these corner bars and inserted them into the corners of our truck bed.

Cattle panel against a corner bar for a DIY sheep trailer.

Then, we lined up the cattle panel, wired it in place {temporarily} and trimmed the top to be close to level with the bars, I wanted a full section on top with a top row of the panel.

Andy standing in the truck bed holding the cattle panel.

This gives you an idea of how tall it is, my husband is about 6ft. We wanted it to be high enough for calves.

We left the back panel secured with heavy duty wire so we could open it like a door, that way if the tailgate is down and the panel on the truck is moved you can get the animals in easily with a ramp.

Space under the tailgate in the DIY livestock hauler.

Back view of the DIY sheep trailer.

We added the cattle panel on all the sides. On the back, we left it just level with the tailgate so there was a small space when the tailgate was down. This proved handy for arranging things if there was already an animal in there.

Front of the DIY livestock hauler in a truck bed. We left the front panel long, all the way to the truck bed because I didn’t want anything to be able to wiggle up the gap between the livestock hauler and the window, but that’s probably not necessary.

Andy welding the sides of the cattle panel to the metal bars.

After we had everything in place, Andy welded the DIY sheep trailer all together. The cattle panel actually welded ok, but the welder was almost out of gas and not working super well so Andy is very embarrassed that I am posting a picture of these “terrible welds” online – ha! But it will give you an idea of how much we welded.

Welds holding together the DIY sheep trailer.

You WILL for sure need to put something on the top of the livestock hauler. Sheep and goats will try to jump, so if it’s a dark breathable cover like we used or more panel, you need to have something that will deter them from attempting an escape.

The wood you can see in the picture below is just a ramp we made to make walking in easier, although we usually just pick up whatever we are trying to move and set it inside.

DIY sheep trailer on the ground.

The other thing that is really nice about this DIY sheep trailer is how easy it is to remove. You just lift it off and set it down wherever you need it.

When we picked up our ewe, Fig, we bedded the truck bed with a stall pad and some hay. She stood the entire 2-hour drive, snacked, stared down big rigs, and didn’t seem too worried about anything, but she is a feisty little mama. Ideally, I would have liked her to lay down but this DIY livestock hauler kept her safe and secure the entire time. We have had it on and off a few times and it’s held up very well.

PIN this post on your HOBBY FARMING board to SAVE it for later! Follow Longbourn Farm on Pinterest for more great tips, ideas, and tutorials!

[et_bloom_inline optin_id=”optin_4″]

Let me know your tips and tricks for hauling livestock on your small farm below!!

Comments | 2 comments

« Easy Cucumber Salad Recipe
Garlic Pepper Steak Kabob Recipe »

Comments

  1. Christine says

    July 22, 2020 at 2:11 PM

    Hello there !!! We are about to buy a few sheep and came across your diy sheep trailer and we cant wait to try it out !! Although we were wondering what type of bars are those you used ?

    Reply
    • Alli says

      July 27, 2020 at 11:40 AM

      Hi Christine! So fun you are getting sheep. It’s just called angle iron, you should be able to find it at a hardware store.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Hi, Friend!


Alli Kelley is an Agriculture focused entrepreneur. She runs a successful food blog, a consulting and coaching business, and all the social media connected with an online presence.

She also owns and operates a small, diversified farmstead where she enjoys home improvement projects, experimenting in the garden, creating profitable mini businesses on the farm, and of course, riding her big grey horse, Zane.
Read More…

Agriculture

Side view of a full DIY chicken waterer.

DIY Chicken Waterer Tutorial

posted in Animal and Land, Chickens, Farm & Family, Livestock

(sponsored)Are you wasting $2500 a year on food? Learn how to reduce food waste in your home and get the most out of your dollar and reduce your environmental impact! @beeffordinner #BeefItsWhatsForDinner #NicelyDone #beeffarmersandranchers

How to Reduce Food Waste

posted in Animal and Land, Livestock, Main Dish, Recipes & Tips

pasture full of cows

Where Does Beef Come From?

posted in Animal and Land, Livestock

Meal Plans + Ad-Free Recipes

less stress save time prepare ad
FTC Disclosure of Material Connection: The way I provide you with free content is through affiliate links and some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links, they will be marked in the post. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to YOU. Read terms here.

Copyright © 2023 · Longbourn Farm • Tasteful Theme by Restored 316

Longbourn Farm
  • Home
  • Cookbook
  • Meal Plans
  • Work With Me
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Gardening
  • Chickens
  • Farm