The imminent arrival of my first llama prompted me to research an inexpensive way to expand my existing shelter. I wanted to be able to accomplish this project myself as it needed to happen quickly and I did not want to have to depend on other people’s schedule. It felt important to jump in and rise up to this DIY challenge. I searched on the web for shelters made from used pallets and cattle panels and found something I thought would work…
First, driving the T-posts and sliding in the pallets. I tied the pallets together with wire at first and added screws when all was in place and aligned. The distance between the two rows of pallets is approx ten feet.
First cattle panel installed. That turned out to be the most difficult part to do by myself – getting it inside the two pallets – but I managed. I wired the cattle panels to the T-posts in three places and then tied each end to the pallet. It felt surprisingly sturdy.
I got no help from the sheep!
This is a twelve by twenty feet heavy-duty tarp. I was able to install it alone using a two by four.
There!
Took me a while to figure out the best way to secure the tarp to the pallets. Drilling a whole and using some wire worked really well.
All done! Llama seemed pleased with the result too!
Spirited Ewe 
What are the dimensions of the cattle panel?
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Omg! I guess I missed your comment! So sorry! It’s just a regular cattle panel so I think 16 feet by 50 inches
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Well done!
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Thank you!
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NICE. Is the cattle panel the metal stuff. I have everything I need except that wire stuff. I’m going to erect this for my miniature horse.
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Yes it is! I have 3 cattle panels narrow side touching each other. It’s been many years now and the pallets are getting a bit rotted at the bottom but it is still up and as strong as it was. Hope it does great for you too!
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I am starting this project myself but was wondering about the tarp coming down the sides over the pallets, how do you keep the pallets from tearing the tarp?
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I think that having the tarp really secured tightly so it does not flap around or slide is what does it and using smaller T Posts that won’t touch the tarp. Crossing my fingers but as of today that first tarp still stands strong! Some of the pallets lost a board at the bottom and probably need to be repaired and at some point I would probably change the tarp proactively but it’s all still holding up great! Oh and make sure to use the thickest tarp available! Hope this helps!
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How did you use the 2 by 4 to.lift the tarp over the cattle panels.
Thanks
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So sorry! I missed some replies! If I recall I either simply folded the tarn a little over the 2X4 and slid it over the panels until it je tarp was far enough for me to grab on the other side and pull down. I guess you could use the eyelets to tie to the 2X 4 to help too…
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Its ok. Thanks.for.answering me back. I helped my daughter and son and.law build one. They really like it.
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I am starting this project this week for my barbado sheep looks like a great idea
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Thanks! I’m glad it has inspired you! It still works very well for me and I replaced the tarp for the first time last week ( that’s almost 9 years!) Ideally I would have had to fix some of the pallets at the bottom but I will get to that later. Still holding up well. What is really helping me here is the sturdy structure behind and the tree. It helps protect from wind and sun.
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