Building Round Two: What We Learned Designing Our New Valais Blacknose Barn
Good barn design isn't about looks. It's about workflow, animal well being, and saving your back.
Excavating for the new barn is officially underway, and honestly, it feels surreal.
We started our Valais Blacknose journey in 2019 as a small farm with big hopes. Since then, our flock has grown steadily, year after year, and we've had to keep growing right alongside it. That growth is what led to our biggest project yet: designing and building a new barn from the ground up.
Our first barn was built over 35 years ago for our 4-H livestock. That old barn was good to us. It helped create a ton of memories for our kids from farrowing pigs, raising our sheep, goats and steers. Late nights, early mornings, filled with laughter, and sometimes tears. That barn more than served its purpose. Crazy, but we literally picked this barn up and moved it when we built a new shop for our business. That ole barn still wasn't done, it gave us even more years when it was introduced to the Valais Blacknose back in 2019. By 2023 she just wasn't enough anymore so we built another barn, while still using the old one.
We built something we were proud of: an insulated barn with cement floors, a wash station, a big garage door, an overhang, and barn doors leading to a small but efficient pasture. We really thought that was it. This barn would carry us through this next stage of our journey. Three years later, we know better. We needed bigger. So here we are, starting over, and this time we put even more thought into every detail of the design.
Every Square Foot Has A Purpose In Our Valais Blacknose Barn
This build isn't just bigger. It's smarter. The main structure is paired with an attached lambing barn, and while the overall footprint gives us the room we need, the real difference is in the layout. Every detail was planned with one goal in mind: making daily chores easier on us (we're no spring chickens) and life better for our sheep.
Here's a look at the design choices shaping our new setup.
Seamless Pasture Access
Door placement was our top priority. We positioned large access doors to create direct, stress free lanes straight into the pastures. No more herding sheep through tight corners. Pasture rotation will be effortless, and the flock can move in and out safely no matter what the weather is doing.
A Quiet, Dedicated Lambing Barn
Lambing season is intense. Ewes and newborns need a calm, draft free space, but we also need fast access for late night checks. Our attached lambing barn gives us both. We're right there when we need to be, but the mothers and their new lambs stay protected from the everyday hustle of the main barn.
Built for Fast, Efficient Cleaning
Clean bedding matters, for herd health and for keeping those incredible fleeces in good shape, especially once autumn turns to mud season. We built in wide entry points, high clearance, and open interior spans so equipment can pull straight through. Deep bedding management and mucking out are going to be faster and safer, plain and simple.
Fresh Air and Real Ventilation
Airflow is everything for respiratory health in sheep. The building's orientation and openings are designed to pull moisture out and keep air moving year round, without creating harsh drafts where the sheep rest. Ceiling fans and ventilation screens along the top of the barn will do the heavy lifting.
Monitoring
Built in from the start being able to see what's happening in the barn matters, especially during lambing season. Our security cameras are being hardwired in now, so we're ready before we need them.
Watching It Take Shape
Seeing this barn go from our design to clearing the land has been a milestone for us. We're not building something to look nice. We're building something that works with our daily routine instead of against it, so our flock gets the healthy, functional home they deserve, and so we can keep doing this work well into the years ahead.
More updates to come as the build progresses.
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