Are you in need of a quick and inexpensive shelter for livestock? Here is the perfect pallet shelter that can be put together in hours for around $100-150!
If you are a farmer or homesteader you know that sometimes things just need to get done. Sometimes you run out of time for fancy buildings. Sometimes money is an issue.
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But whatever the reason, if you find yourself in need of a shelter now, here is a way to make a quick, inexpensive pallet shelter for horses, goats, alpaca- whatever you need it for!
How to Make an Inexpensive Pallet Shelter
This is a relatively inexpensive project. The bulk of the structure is made from free, recycled, wooden pallets.
For the entire project you will also need:
wood pallets (9 standard sized for a 10×10, 3 sided shelter
t-posts (9, one for each pallet)
cattle panels (3)
a large tarp
hardware- such as nails, bolts, screws, etc.
To make a 10′ x 10′ pallet shelter you will need:
- 9 pallets (the standard ones that are 48″ x 40″)
- 3 cattle panels
- 9 t-posts
- a large tarp that is about 20 x 15 ft, depending on how far down the back of the shelter you want to go (We purchased this 16’x20′ heavy duty tarp).
You can adjust the size by adding pallets and cattle panels. Just remember to overlap the panels a little for stability and keep in mind that cattle panels are 16ft long when you are setting up your shelter’s width.
Related Reading: How to Make a Pallet Barn
You want to start by placing a t-post into the ground where you want one wall of your shelter to go. Pound it down until it’s about 4 ft tall and simply place a pallet over top.
Place a second pallet next to the first and mark where the next t-post should be placed. Keep pounding in t-posts and placing pallets until you have reached your desired length.
Once the pallets are in place come through with heavy duty screws or bolts to secure them to each other.
Next, measure out your width. You want a width of 10-12 ft.
Once you have that marked start the second wall parallel to the first in the same manner. When the 2 walls are constructed it is time to add the cattle panels. This is a 2 person job, so make sure you have help!
We use fencing staples
to secure the panels to the pallets. For security, make sure you place the cattle panels at least 6-10 inches down on the pallets.
Once the first panel is in place secure the second, making sure to overlap at least a couple of inches. You can use wire or zip ties to tie the cattle panels together.
Once the cattle panels are in place your can either lay the tarp if you are doing a 2-sided run in shelter or add more pallets along the back side to make a 3-sided shelter.
Depending on your climate, you may want to add siding to your shelter. If the slats of your pallets are far apart they will not protect your animals against wind, draft or slanting rain.
You can purchase wood for siding, dismantle more pallets, or use any free, scrap wood you can find. We used old barn wood as siding on our shelter. You can also purchase a longer tarp and allow it to hang down further and act as a wind barrier to protect your livestock.
Related Reading: 6 Stupid Easy Pallet Projects for the Homestead
Then you have the tricky job of stretching the tarp. You will probably need at least 2 people, and not very much wind to do this job. We use zip ties to secure the tarp to the cattle panel wire. And if you choose a tarp with grommets along the sides you can drill screws and washers on top and secure it directly to the wood pallets.
And that’s all there is too it! In our area the whole project cost right at around $100 for a 10 x 10 shelter. Cost will vary depending on where you live and how much of the materials you can get used.
We have 2 of these pallet shelters on our property. The first one is over year and a half old and we are just now starting to see signs of wear on the tarp. It has serves as a kidding stall for our does and as a kid pen for the babies when we keep them away from their mothers overnight.
Pallets are a great, free resource. We have made all sorts of things on our homestead- hay feeders, compost bins and 3 shelters. Have you ever made anything out of recycled pallets?
More Recycled Projects:
6 Pallet Projects for Your Goat Yard
11 Ways to Use Recycled Barrels on the Homestead
15 DIY, Pallet Shed, Barn, and Building Ideas
How to Make a Cheap Pallet Shelter
Make a quick and easy pallet shelter for livestock or storage using recycled wooden pallets and cattle panels.
Materials
- To make a 10 x 10 shelter:
- 9 standard sized wooden pallets
- 9 t-posts- one for each pallet)
- 3 cattle panels
- a large tarp (20' x 15' or so)
- hardware- screws, bolts
- Fencing staples
- Wire/zip ties
Tools
- T-post driver
- Drill
Instructions
- Start by placing a t-post into the ground where you want one wall of your shelter to go. Pound it down until it’s about 4 ft tall and simply place a pallet over top.
- Place a second pallet next to the first and mark where the next t-post should be placed.
- Screw or bolt the pallets together securely.
- Continue with the rest of the pallets- 3 pallets per side
- Now secure the cattle panels. This is a 2 person job, so make sure you have help! Use fencing staples to secure the panels to the pallets. For security, make sure you place the cattle panels at least 6-10 inches down on the pallets.
- Once the first panel is in place secure the second, making sure to overlap at least a couple of inches. You can use wire or zip ties to tie the cattle panels together.
- Once the cattle panels are in place lay the tarp on top. Stretch it tight (2 people) and use screws and washers and zip ties to secure the tarp to the panels.
Notes
This shelter will not hold up to a lot of snow. If you live in an area with a lot of snow you will need to support the center to keep it from collapsing
I like what you did here. I have used the pallets in the past to make composting bins and stacking bales of straw or hay.
This is great! We have build a compost bin, too. Well, partly from pallets. We also like to use wood and plywood from construction sides. It is worth to check there bins for useful free materials.
I never thought about checking construction sites, but I bet there’s a lot of scrap wood available!
Most construction companies because of insurance reasons wont let anyone ‘dumpster dive” or they have just one person they allow to take the scrap wood.I’ve asked before.Some are even keeping the dumpsters in fenced area now. best thing is to ask first if you can salvage scrap wood. Maybe even swap some work cleaning up the site in exchange for the scrap wood.
This looks great! I plan on sharing this with a few people:)
I love this! It looks great, and looks more durable than some of the pvc shelters I’ve seen. Thanks for sharing!
The first one we made it 1 1/2 years in and it’s holding strong. We get a LOT of wind too.
That was one of my questions about the cattle panel roof; does it hold up to the wind? It seems like it would flop around quite a bit. I’ve got the 3 sides in place but not sure about the roof yet.
We made one for our goats and the tarp lasted about three years but every thing else stood firm love them
Wow, I love this idea! I’ve read about so many uses for pallets, but not this one. I wonder if it would work to make a sturdier green house. Thanks for the tips! Found you from Dude, Sustainable, by the way, and I’m glad I did! :)
I would think it could work for a green house…just swap the tarp out for a clear plastic film instead. Thanks for stopping by!
I was also thinking of a greenhouse!
I was going to do that with a greenhouse, but I was gonna make my sides 2 foot high. Use 16 foot panels put a beam across the top for support. Here is hoping it works cause that’s where my chickens are gonna be for the winter.
This would also make a great wood shed or hay/straw storage, with more pallets on the ground to hold the materials away from ground moisture. I wonder if vertical 2x boards say every 2’ from ground to peak would be enough to prevent collapsing under snow load.
I’m thinking the pallets would block too much light for a greenhouse?
I’m in New Zealand and I’ve never heard the term “cattle panels” – can you explain what these are please? Are there other names for them?
I am not sure what an alternative name would be. They are fencing panels- here they are 16 ft long and 50 inches and made out of 4 gauge wire. If you look in the pictures you can see the metal wire acting as the ceiling support under the tarp.
They sort of look like the reinforcing panels they use in concrete, but those wouldn’t be able to be bent that easily as they are heavier steel. I’ll do some research and see what I can find.
they sell them at Tractor Supply for $20 each!!!
How much do you get for $20? Enough to do this whole project?
Cattle panels are usually around $20 each. I used 3 for this project.
I just bought four cattle panels from tractor supply for 19.99 each .
Our tractor supply said they didn’t have anything but the big metal gates and they don’t bend.
I just saw your article on building a run in shelter, & I have been trying to find a way to build one, between two tall, (approx. 5’+ tall), very heavy duty cattle run fences. In order to make it tall enough for the horses, I wonder if it’s possible to attach two panels together, end to end? There’s a hay barn at one end, so it would only be open on one side. Thanks or any advice you can offer. (PS: My daughter just got a job at “Tractor Supply”, & gets a discount, too).
I am not sure that would be stable without some sort of center support. What is the distance between the fences?
It is metal fencing panels used for cattle.
Different strength fence panels are used for different animals; poultry fencing is very thin; sheep fencing is stronger and cattle panels are strong and designed to be used to make a fence for larger animals horses or cows. Cattle panels are sold individually and can be replaced if damaged by an animal. Oh you need to use fence posts for structural integrity. Hope this helps :-)
Looks a bit like deer fencing, but maybe a bit thicker in gauge. Hope that helps. I’m a kiwi in the US and have seen this stuff around.
also called feedlot panels
How creative!!!
Wonderful! We shared with our FB readers at homesteadlady.com.
we made a complete barn out of ours just applyed plywood to the out side of the pallets as well as our pig pen has a pallet house and pallet fencing around it we make every thing out of pallets here
We have a goat barn and 2 run in shelters made out of pallets! We plan on using them for pigs when we get them too. :)
I built this and added plywood inside my goats love it I will be building another one soon just for hay storage
Oh, I love this concept! We are going to get a few calves this fall for our farm and this would be perfect until they’re a bit older! Thanks for sharing with us over at the Homeacre Hop! Please join us again soon!
Mary :)
Wow, what a great tutorial! You could use this for so many things, a greenhouse comes to mind!
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I raise mini horses and I took some larger panels, we got from a factory for free. Then we cut them down some in height as they were extra large and used them in our barn to make separate stalls for my horses. works wonderful and looked great……
LInda… could you post a couple of pics of this… sounds great!
Linda what type of factory gave you larger panels for free? I would like to see if there any any available in my area ! Sure would be nice to put up a quick horse shelter for rainy snowy days when they are not in the barn.
I wonder if this would be an okay shelter for horses on pasture in the summer, if I secured the sides up better so no feet could get stuck anywhere. Does anyone know how tall is it?
I haven’t measured, but one is probably 7.5-8 ft and the other a bit taller…maybe 9 ft? Our alpacas fit fine in them. If you place the pallets closer together you can get a taller arc in the cattle panels.
Looks a little low for horses. I would also be concerned that a horse could kick through a pallet and get cut badly. Looks fine for goats, cattle, etc., but horses have a whole different way of looking at the world
We put one up yesterday, just put your pallets a tad closer together for hight We drove our truck under to help get the trap in place and put wood over the pallets, to stop kicking through the slats. We will be putting a few more up today.
I’ve been looking for something large to house my peacocks….anyone have any thoughts??/ They sell these ‘cattle panels’ at Tractor Supply for $20 ea, btw.
I would think this would work for peacocks. Maybe extend it longer and only have partially covered for shelter and the rest just open with the cattle panels for a run?
We’re currently in the process of building this for the peacocks. We backed up 2 sides against one of our wood-fenced garden sides, so we can also secure these sides to the existing side rails of the garden. Going to run a 2 x 4 x 12 across the front over the 3-pallet-wide end, but use the middle pallet for the gate. Then use box wire to secure each open top end. And tarp only about 1/3 of the arch so they can get sun. Very excited about this idea and when I showed the folks at Southern States just what the heck I was building, they were blown away! Such a great idea and saving me hundreds in purchasing a tall carport and retrofitting it for the peacocks.
Also, because we left about 8″ of t-post exposed over the pallets, we are able to secure the cattle panels to this, and THEN put the staples in….added security.
I have used 48 x 96 pallets to make a fence for my horse pasture, If you can find a metal shop that works in metal stamping you can find the longer pallets there.
Where did you get your white tarp from? It doesn’t really look like its plastic.
It is a heavy duty, UV resistant tarp purchased from amazon.
I made this exactely how the instructions said. Ended up costing a couple hundred because I had to buy t posts, tarp,and the cattle pannels. First snow here in ky and it collapsed. Hoping we can fix it :*( I loved it but if it will colapse that easy I don’t know if its worth it.
The height of the arc makes a difference in the shelter’s ability to hold snow. The shelter we have that is wider looks much more likely to collapse under heavy snow, but the one that is about 10 ft wide is perfectly fine after 2 years. You can always support it in the center with some poles. We don’t get a lot of snow here, so I am not sure how this shelter would hold up in an area that gets more.
These are great shelters, but they can’t take much snow (heavy/wet/ice — we’re in southern NH). If the structure is only about six feet wide, they are fine. Or if it is ten feet wide, but the panels are raised so that they are at least half or 3/4 the way up the pallet above the ground, the arch is enough to handle some loads. We found that ratchet straps helped — as do notched 2×4’s as bracing.
Love this!! There is no end to the awesomeness that is free pallets!
If you have a Southern States in your area, they get TONS of pallets and will either give them to you, or sell them CHEAP! That’s where we get ALL our pallets from.
We got most of ours from the TN Farmer’s Co-op when we lived there. The feed/farm stores are a great place to get them!
We built an addition onto the goat shed – we now have a milking parlor and a stale for a min donkey and mule! It looks so cool – then for the roof we catted it out and I got “plywood” from shipping crates, covered it with rubber roofing material and viola! I think I spend more for the hardware for the gates than any of the rest of the materials. I troll craigslist for free or cheap materials etc.!
How do you think this would last through the winter and high winds? We are looking for something temporary to get us through to spring until we can build a nicer one.
Ours have lasted though a couple years of high winds, in winter if you get much snow you will have to support the center because it will collapse if the snow load is too much. We’ve had to go out with brooms to knock snow down during bigger snow storms- but we don’t get those very often.
There are called Hog Panels. Tractor Supply or Feed Stored usually sell them.
Hog panels are shorter than cattle panels, 32” or34” tall, and more expensive. Probably because they don’t sell as many.
I don’t quite understand how you attach each pallet to the other at the sides. Could you elaborate a little on that, please?
How does it hold up for Pigs? Especially at 200+ lbs. Perhaps two t-posts per pallet?
I am not sure about pigs. You would probably have to reenforce it pretty well.
This is a super idea!! Going to build one for our dairy goats in a couple of days. Thanks!
I live where there are high winds that will shred a tarp, any tarp in minutes. This is primarily caused by the whipping effect of a loose edge or sail effect of wind getter under a less than solid surface. This can be nearly impossible to prevent by securing the edges with rope, twine, staples, etc alone. To prevent this and improve on stability of design, apply cattle panels or other solid wired panels over the top of the tarp. This would be the final building step in this plan, that will greatly reduce the whipping or sail effect. The smaller the squares (of the panel), the less tarp movement you’ll experience. Now you’re longevity battle will be against the sun’s uv rays. Good luck with that ;)
I made one similiar to this last year for my mare. This year we added a plywood west end to it for winter. It has worked very well and is very sturdy. I might make adjustments this summer with the cattle panels to make it taller, right now it’s about 6 ft high, which is fine for my horse but if I ever get someone a little taller than 15.2 hands it would be tight.With the plywood, we cut it a little higher than the top edge of the cattle panel all the way around it to keep the tarp from rising up in the wind.Works great.
Mary – I am planning to do two, one for each horse and was wondering about the height. So you answered that for me. In order to get the 6′ height, how far apart are the sides? And did you cover the pallets with plywood inside and outside? Thanks for a response.
I made one of these and used three panels. It went up quickly. I used free tarps from a wood place in the area. If I would have thought about it sooner I would have put newspaper or some type of insulation in the middle of the pallets. I also think two t-posts are better than one.
I am looking for a suggestion for the ends. One end I would like a person sized door and the other end needs to be at least half of the opening. I live in Montana and it is cold so I need to be able to keep it as air tight as possible.
I currently have one end I wrapped like a Christmas present and used grommets to hook milk jugs to keep it from billowing. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.
I’ve built several of these for chickens and they’re great movable goat or pig shelters as well, as long as you use something stronger than chicken wire on front/back/doors. I like to put a door in both front AND back. That way I can butt several together to make one long shelter for winter. You do need to shore up the center with a 2×4 or two to keep it from collapsing under heavy snow. I’m in northern Idaho.
It is rainy and windy where we live, so I placed the sides close enough together to get a steeper ceiling. This should keep rain and snow from settling anywhere. Also I heavily secured the heavy duty cattle panels to the pallets then used zip-ties to further secure them together. Now if this can stand up to the wind that has been taking a lot of branches down, I will be so happy. My horses needed more feeding stations so they can eat with less competition. So happy for this option!
Ours have held up to a lot of wind. Make sure the tarp is extra secure- if the wind can blow it around any it will not last as long. In our pasture that gets hit the hardest with wind we have to replace the tarp yearly.
I’ll use pressure treated wood (2×4’s) under the pallets. Lots of water in our area = wood rots that stays on the ground.
Where we live at we can’t get a single pallet not even the old ones hopefully that will change when we move
Thank you for this wonderful design. Your pictures and descriptions are very helpful. We are embarking on building this for our two cows. We previously built something similar, but using two trees on either side with a beam connecting – making an A frame. On our new property, we don’t have that set up so I’ll be using the cattle panel. Thanks again!!
If you’re doing the tarp by yourself, you can fasten down the side the wind is coming from first. Then tie hay string through the end (and maybe middle) grommets, throw them over, and drag the tarp over from the other side.
I have a question: How would you strengthen the centre to support more snow load?
How tall is it at the center of it and how wide is it? Looking to build a 2 sided run-in shelter for a couple of horses.
Thanks for sharing this. We found out this month that when it rains it poors. Our house had a flood that seemingly destroyed some of our hardwood flooring and then a week later our stables were somehow destroyed. We’re still trying to figure that one out haha but anyway we ended up finding a hardwood floor refinishing service to take care of the floors, and your project should definitely help us keep the animals safe. Thanks again!