How to Build Quonset Hut Sheep Shelters

Quonset huts, originally built as "Nissen huts" by British forces during World War I, are named after the first place the distinctive half-moon-shaped shelters were made in the the United States: Quonset Point, Rhode Island, in 1941. Common on Navy bases for decades after, the huts were made to be easily moved and assembled by unskilled hands. An even easier Quonset hut to assemble is one made to serve as a sheep shelter. Open on both ends, the shelter will protect your livestock from the sun and rain, as well as provide a covered area for feeding.

2 cattle panels, 16 feet long by 52 inches wide

Durable tarp (at least 8 feet by 16 feet)

6, 3-foot sections of metal T-posts

Circular saw

Rubber mallet

Measuring tape

Wire ties

Small-gauge rope or 5-50 cord

Mark off the area for your hut with a measuring tape. A shelter about 8 feet deep by 10 feet wide is suitable for livestock the size of sheep or goats. Mark your dimensions in the dirt. (These plans will follow those dimensions, but you can increase the size if you have some taller livestock or many mouths to feed. Just don't increase it by much or you'll have to add center supports.)

Use your mallet to hammer three T-posts into the ground along where you've indicated each side wall (the 8-foot-deep sections) will go. Insert two T-posts 6 inches in from the corners and the third directly in the center. Use your measuring tape to align these.

Place your two cattle panels, side by side and lengthwise, between the T-posts that are demarcating your walls, forming a half-moon arch. Secure the bottom of the panels to each T-post with wire ties that can withstand the winds your area may produce.

Connect the two panels together along their seam with wire ties.

Lay the tarp lengthwise over the roof. Secure the edges and corners with rope or cord to the cattle panels underneath.