OT-Need an opinion on cattle shelter

For yuors.. I'd make it more like 8x16 or 8x20. So.. just get 6 10' 2x4 or 3-16' for the long span, plus the 8' sides, and the timbers for the legs with a set on each end and in the middle.

way cheap and the cows apreciate it.

Soundguy

Are you going to have the bred cows and the young steers running together?

Concur on the gravel (if you can). If the ground freezes hard enough to drive on, you can clean it occasionally (say 1/month) and really help control the muck. If you pile it up where the cattle can walk on it, they will bed down on the muck pile, too.

A couple years we used 12' panels for the sides, with (3) 16ft 2"x6"'s to support the metal roof and (3) more 2x6's over the metal to "tie down" the roofing. We used metal fence posts to anchor the panels. It wasn't pretty, but it did the trick, and we had all the material on hand.

I think we had ~20 head of light feeders (400 - 600 lbs in the fall).

Nathaniel

My main cattle shelter is 16x60 and that is big enough for 40 stock cows. Now that I have more than 40, a few can't always get in, but at least they can stand out of the wind and they still get some body heat off from the other cows. I have a 15x18 for 5 of my wife's horses, and that is about right. I know what you're saying on the money deal, but what ever size you build, make it easy to add on to in the future. That way your shelter can grow with your herd if need be. I think the 12x24 size is a good way to go, but anything is better than nothing. I don't see how an 8x8 will be nearly big enough, 8x16 would be packed full with the animals you mentioned.
Yes, use a few inches of gravel in the floor. If you don't it is nothing but a mire hole in the spring. I just skim the manure off the top in layers in the spring as it thaws, and then stop at the gravel line. I am going to add a couple of loads to the 16x60 this fall, but I have not added any in 12 years so that's not to bad.
Good luck with your project!