Show barn

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Starting to get idea"s for a multi purpose functional show barn. Looking for no more than 6 stalls nice tie wall and wash rack. Does anyone have a good functional plan? What would you suggest are the must in your barn that If you built another one you would do it again. Also any pictures or videos will be helpful. Does anyone have barns that there kids show both hogs and steers and house in same barn? If so I am interested in that type set up as well.

Thanks in advanced

Gizmom
 
I'd build it with a concrete stub wall, and able to be re-purposed. Say for a calving barn, shop, or working facility. So that down the road if who ever is living there isnt showing cattle, they still have a functional building.
 
Ours is multi-purpose (40 x 100), 4 sides and two large roll up doors. We have a 100 foot wall that is lined with tie rails (bought in 16 foot sections), and on one end of the barn we have the wash rack (with holes to drop poles to keep animals from swinging, but removable so we can drive through the barn). In the show season (march to sept) we bed it deep in chips from the lumber mill so animals can be tied and under fans in he heat (6 feet out from the wall, along the entire wall from washrack to other end). After show season, the chips are removed and it is put back to dirt and made into pens for calving or for loafing of calves when they are in the sacrifice pasture over the winter. On the other wall is our working pen and chute, along with a concrete pad for the fair pigs (6 x 12 foot pad). We have pigs in there from Feb to June, and the rest of the time the pad is used to store good square bales or other things. It is not perfect, but can easily be converted to a show barn or working facility for halter breaking. This year I hope to spray foam the west wall (100 feet), it absorbs some major heat and heats up the barn in the summer... the only fault I have with the facility.
 
A few points to consider-
*Keep air flow in mind. A well ventilated show barn can have a drastic impact on energy costs and cut down on fans needed.
*Have pens that don't have concrete floors. As FSSR said, using mulch/fiber over natural flooring is best. Putting one on concrete is a sure fire way to kill their joints.They have to be on concrete plenty as it is with clipping, washing, ect.
*Make areas dual purpose. A wash rack (with the set up FSSR mentioned) can also be excellent for clipping. I also like a wash/clip area that you can easily roll a steel fitting chute into. That way, they are a bit more secure for that first bath or two.
*Keep lighting in mind. Especially in your clipping area, where zero shadows are the goal.
*Plan for pleny of power source points, that can carry the load of blowers, fans, clippers, ect. all at the same time. The best thing we ever did in our barn was wire in extension cords that hang on retractable spools from the ceiling! They are easily accessible everywhere in our barn, and provide power without cords laying on the ground. No worry of them getting tangled in a calf's legs, shorting out in a puddle, getting in the way of cleaning, ect.
 

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