Many years ago I read an article about temporary shelters for sheep.  I modified it slightly & our "Llama Condos" were born.  I give credit to whoever come up with this ingenious idea.

The Llama Condos can be built as long or as short as you want.  Our shortest one is 3 panels deep, while our longest is 24 panels deep. 

The construction materials needed for one 3 panel condo are:  3 - 53" x 16' cattle panels available at most feed stores or livestock centers, 8 - 5.5' heavy duty t-posts, 4 - 2x6x8, duct tape, newspaper, heavy duty wire, twine or cable ties, 3 pieces of metal siding 2'x7' and 1 tarp.  Construction supplies needed:  t-post driver, wire cutters, pliers, drill, and drill bits.

It will require 3 - 53"x16' cattle panels to accommodate 1 tarp.  We use 5.5' heavy duty t-posts driven into the ground 2 feet.  The t-posts are 7 feet across from each other then, 53" apart on the long side that the cattle panels will be attached to.  So the cattle panels hoop up with the 16' side going from one side of the ground up and over to the other side, which is 7' across on the ground.  We use a chalk line to determine roughly were the condo will go, then place the first 2 posts (starting from one end) then measure over with the cattle panel to place the next post in the ground.  By placing the posts one at a time with the panel in near approximation then you can ensure that each panel fits into the groove of the t-post.  We wire the panel to the t-post and also to the adjacent panel.  When all of the t-posts are in with the panels wired on, it is time for the next phase.  Next we cover the top of each t-post with folded newspaper and duck tape to prevent the post from wearing a hole into the tarp.  Since it occasionally rains in Washington (heh, heh), we place a strip of clear plastic down the center of the condo (just to the top of the t-posts) to ensure that the rain doesn't leak through the tarps and onto the animals, rather it runs down the side.  NOTE - do not run plastic from the ground on one side to the other, because this will not allow enough ventilation inside the condo.  Next come the tarps, again my ranch is on a windy hill, so we tie the tarps tight to reduce the wind from flapping the tarps and destroying them. 

Lastly we cap one end of the condo's in the winter to provide further protection from the wind and snow.  The caps are made from 3 pieces of 2'x7' metal siding, sandwiched between 2x6's.  During the summer we simply remove the tarps & plastic, replacing them with shade cloth.  Additionally, we turned one end of a condo into a creep feeder by adding a gate with a block to hold it open.  We have gotten so good at putting up and taking down condo's that it takes 2 people less than 2 hours to put up a stud condo, which is 3 panels deep - complete with tarps and an end cap!  Our $22,000 new barn is nice, but I couldn't have survived without the Llama Condos!

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Last modified: 07/22/08