If you are in the process of growing your small farm, that often means investing in more livestock. Whether you're housing horses, goats, or cows, having livestock also means providing them with shelters. For livestock that spends a lot of time out in the pastures, you'll want more shelters than just the barns where you bring them in periodically. You'll want shelters in the pasture for them to seek respite from the sun, heat, rain, and other weather hazards. However, if you don't have the capacity to build those structures or to erect permanent structures, you should think about investing in portable livestock shelters instead. Here's what you should know about these structures.

Portable Shelters Preserve Your Grass

Anybody who has set up a livestock shelter in a pasture knows that, because of the cover overhead and the increased traffic from the animals, you will lose grass in those areas where the shelters are built. If you don't want to deal with dead, barren spots in your pastures, you can avoid this problem by investing in portable livestock shelters instead. Because these shelters are designed to be easy to move, you can relocate the shelter frequently to preserve the grass that's growing in your pastures. 

Portable Shelters Are Healthier

Livestock shelters are breeding grounds for a lot of bacteria and pest infestations. Animal waste accumulation in the shelters can lead to bacteria buildup, which can put your livestock, and your family, at risk of illness. While you'll want to clean your shelters regularly, just as you do your barns, you can actually better manage the bacteria and potential illness when you choose portable livestock shelters. Having the ability to move the shelter makes it far easier to clean up the area after the structure is out of the way. Even better, your livestock will already be moved into a clean area.

Additionally, when your livestock bed down and rest in fixed structures, pests (and predators) have plenty of time to scope out the structure, find their way in, and take up problematic residence. Or, in the case of predators, harm your livestock. Portable shelters allow you to move the shelter often enough that pests and predators are kept at bay.

Portable Shelters Simplify Pasture Fertilization

Chances are pretty good that you have a solid plan for routine fertilization of your pastures. After all, you want to ensure that your livestock has plenty of healthy grass for grazing. When you rely on fixed structures for your livestock shelters, animal waste must then be collected and spread in the pastures if you want to use it as fertilizer. That's an additional effort that you won't need to worry about if you choose portable livestock shelters instead.

Since you can move portable livestock shelters around, you have the ability to naturally fertilize your pastures simply by relocating the shelters periodically. Your livestock will do the rest. This can save you a lot of time, effort, and storage of animal waste for fertilizer application.

Portable Livestock Shelters Offer Flexibility

Another great advantage to portable livestock shelters is the fact that you can relocate the shelter easily with the livestock. If you have decided to swap the pastures that your cows and goats are in, for example, you can move the shelters with the animals. This is important since cows and goats have very different needs for shelter sizes and structures. You have the freedom to relocate your livestock as you need without having to worry about the shelters in each of those areas.

If you are looking for a way to simplify your options, portable livestock shelters may be just the solution. Talk with a livestock shelter company to explore the different designs that are available.