This is an old thread but very inspiring.
Question: How much bend does a cattle panel need to shed or withstand a heavy snow?
Question: How much bend does a cattle panel need to shed or withstand a heavy snow?
Hoop Run
- Thread starter Oatbucket
- Start date
OlympicChick
🌞East of the Sun and West of the Moon🌝
@Blooie I'm glad this thread got resurrected because I think putting putting lattice over the coop is brilliant. I've been puzzling over how to attach plastic sheeting over mine without creating big tears, and I think this is the answer!
Um, is it okay if I don’t know? When we built ours we each had an few rocks in our hands, we just arched the panels between us and when we liked the height/width ratio we dropped the rocks to mark placement of the posts. Not real scientific, but it worked!
It’s still standing, and the vinyl lattice has held up beautifully. It hasn’t needed any repairs or modifications of any kind to handle this:
What? Haarrumph and fiddle faddle!!!
I guess thats what I woulda done too if, and eventually when, I were building an actual hoop house. Presently I'm toying with the idea of a hoop top for my current run. I better include a picture so it makes more sense.
As usual I messed up. I extended the chain link run. Then I covered the top with hardware cloth only to realise it is all going to collapse under snow. My son in law offered to build a lean-to over top. Yay! Great idea!
This is as far as he got. Then he injured (more like re-injured) his back. So now he's in therapy and can't lift over 10lbs.
I have been toying with the idea of getting some guineas next spring (don't worry, my rambling will all make sense in the end. I think.) I imagine a hoop house would be an appropriate coop for them. This got me thinking. Could I top this run with cattle panel hoops maybe as a temporary fix till next spring when sil can hopefully finish the lean-to? The hoops could then be repurposed for the guineas and probably have enough to make a greenhouse too. And I think I could handle putting it together with hubby's help.
The questions are many. Do I connect the panels to the fence which is 10x30x6? Or to the poles which are about 13x32x?? ? If panels are 16 ft long how do I get an arch and how much of an arch is needed? And do I need to deconstruct the bracing platform sil so lovingly built if I attach to the poles? I'd be covering with clear plastic letting it hang down over the current run in areas that need a windbreaker.
I'm hoping somebody out there will let me pick their brains.
OlympicChick
🌞East of the Sun and West of the Moon🌝
If I had a truck and a way to get the cattle panels to my house, I would have used them instead of what I did (1/2" PVC used as "ribs" all covered with hardware cloth). I think it may be possible for you to connect the cattle panels directly to the chain link. Take a look at this site: https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/201...ong-attractive-and-inexpensive-growing-house/
Basically, you would be creating a "high tunnel hoop house" (a type of greenhouse). Just google that with cattle panels and you'll see lots of ideas.
Basically, you would be creating a "high tunnel hoop house" (a type of greenhouse). Just google that with cattle panels and you'll see lots of ideas.
OlympicChick
🌞East of the Sun and West of the Moon🌝
Oh, based on all the research I had done a while back, you will need help bending the panels into an arch. Not so easy I think.
Cryss - Yes, you should be able to hoop cattle panel(s) there. Might have to do individual sections ie: w/i or on top of each chain link pen.
Here's how I did our standing pens. When we moved into this place - it had 4 standing pens in a row. 2 have roofs (flat) - 1 is tin and 1 is just wire; 2 were completely open. This year, I finally hooped the first two - I can use them and I can stand up in the pens (yay!!). The other 2 haven't been done yet - but I have purchased the panels and have plans to purchase more. Like "Blooie", I really haven't measured - everything built on this place when we moved in (besides the manufactured house, carport and steel shop) are different sizes - I think based on what he had, not on what he measured/cut.
When we moved in - you can see the flat roof on the end where the water bottle is sitting on top of it. Don't have a clue how the previous owners fed their birds - bending over to feed/water & collect eggs in those last two roofed pens is MURDER on the back!! Grandkids are a good thing, but even they now have to bend over to do things in those last two pen/coops. They are 7 & 8 yrs of age.
Before Hurricane Florence -
After Hurricane Florence (not nearly as nice - but then survived the much harsher winds of Hurricane Michael, so I guess OK, LOL)...
So what I did - the first one, I did pretty much by myself... I overlapped 2 panels INSIDE the pen. That means that they don't extend all the way to the ground as these pens are more like 10' wide (again - haven't actually measured them). I used haystring to secure them to the 2x4" wire on the pens and to the 2x4's at the top of the pens. The reason the wire is "sloped" above the door is because the panels sit inside the wood framing.
The 2nd pen had a support board (2x4) in it. Not sure if it's really needed for support or not but we decided not to chance it. So we DID measure the height of the 1st pen's panel hoop ABOVE the 2x4 top. Then we strapped the panel down to the 2x4's using haystring again and cut it so that it is the same height as the first one & strapped it down on other side. This is as far as we've gotten. I did have some help with this. Haven't done the last two pens yet, but will have them done before true winter hits in January - then we'll see how it holds up to the snow/ice we get...
The panels are overlapped on the first pen as they wouldn't fit in the pen otherwise. On the 2nd pen, the 2 panels are "stitched" together in the middle using haystring - the two panels span the frame w/o overlapping (each panel is 50" tall, so the pens are 100" from front to back on the 2x4 frames).
You could also span several pens, I think, by over lapping the ends of the panels and tying them together with zipties, rope/haystring or wire. You would want to overlap by a several squares, i would think, to have more strength to hold a snow load. I haven't tried this yet, but on a shed that I'd like to make wider, that is the plan for us to do...
If you look back at my pics - I'm thinking I could have hooped the 1st 2 pens together - just would have needed to put up a divider fence between the two above the original 2x4s to keep the birds separated. May do this with the last two pens - haven't decided yet...
As far as bending them - I do this a lot. As long as you have something to brace it against, it's not hard at all to "walk-up" into a bend. I've put it into a bend in both directions in my truck bed (8'). That freaks out TSC personnel, LOL!!
Here's how I did our standing pens. When we moved into this place - it had 4 standing pens in a row. 2 have roofs (flat) - 1 is tin and 1 is just wire; 2 were completely open. This year, I finally hooped the first two - I can use them and I can stand up in the pens (yay!!). The other 2 haven't been done yet - but I have purchased the panels and have plans to purchase more. Like "Blooie", I really haven't measured - everything built on this place when we moved in (besides the manufactured house, carport and steel shop) are different sizes - I think based on what he had, not on what he measured/cut.
When we moved in - you can see the flat roof on the end where the water bottle is sitting on top of it. Don't have a clue how the previous owners fed their birds - bending over to feed/water & collect eggs in those last two roofed pens is MURDER on the back!! Grandkids are a good thing, but even they now have to bend over to do things in those last two pen/coops. They are 7 & 8 yrs of age.
Before Hurricane Florence -
After Hurricane Florence (not nearly as nice - but then survived the much harsher winds of Hurricane Michael, so I guess OK, LOL)...
So what I did - the first one, I did pretty much by myself... I overlapped 2 panels INSIDE the pen. That means that they don't extend all the way to the ground as these pens are more like 10' wide (again - haven't actually measured them). I used haystring to secure them to the 2x4" wire on the pens and to the 2x4's at the top of the pens. The reason the wire is "sloped" above the door is because the panels sit inside the wood framing.
The 2nd pen had a support board (2x4) in it. Not sure if it's really needed for support or not but we decided not to chance it. So we DID measure the height of the 1st pen's panel hoop ABOVE the 2x4 top. Then we strapped the panel down to the 2x4's using haystring again and cut it so that it is the same height as the first one & strapped it down on other side. This is as far as we've gotten. I did have some help with this. Haven't done the last two pens yet, but will have them done before true winter hits in January - then we'll see how it holds up to the snow/ice we get...
The panels are overlapped on the first pen as they wouldn't fit in the pen otherwise. On the 2nd pen, the 2 panels are "stitched" together in the middle using haystring - the two panels span the frame w/o overlapping (each panel is 50" tall, so the pens are 100" from front to back on the 2x4 frames).
You could also span several pens, I think, by over lapping the ends of the panels and tying them together with zipties, rope/haystring or wire. You would want to overlap by a several squares, i would think, to have more strength to hold a snow load. I haven't tried this yet, but on a shed that I'd like to make wider, that is the plan for us to do...
If you look back at my pics - I'm thinking I could have hooped the 1st 2 pens together - just would have needed to put up a divider fence between the two above the original 2x4s to keep the birds separated. May do this with the last two pens - haven't decided yet...
As far as bending them - I do this a lot. As long as you have something to brace it against, it's not hard at all to "walk-up" into a bend. I've put it into a bend in both directions in my truck bed (8'). That freaks out TSC personnel, LOL!!
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That's exactly what I was thinking of trying! Thank you! Nicely done.
Now to show this to sil and see what he thinks.
Since you've experienced working with the panels I'm wondering, do I need to add supports other than where it connects to the fence or poles so it doesn't collapse or is it strong enough even if it isn't quite as bent, a bit more spread, not flat but not 6 ft high?
Blooie shakes hers so the snow slides off, I am not sure if she gets heavy wet snow.. I know she gets a ton of dry snow. Someone in VA or W VA had one collapse from heavy wet snow when they didn't clear it off.
I have a 2x4 ridge that holds up when there is heavy wet snow... as soon as the sun comes out it slides off the clear tarp. mine is 8 wide at the bottom and just over 6' at the top. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/mos-cattle-panel-hoop-coops.73385/
I have a 2x4 ridge that holds up when there is heavy wet snow... as soon as the sun comes out it slides off the clear tarp. mine is 8 wide at the bottom and just over 6' at the top. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/mos-cattle-panel-hoop-coops.73385/
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