Hoop Run

[Blooie]

We did a hoop run for our coop and we simply could not be more pleased with its appearance and its performance. It's exceeded all of our expectations! We live in town and our setup is easily visible from the street, so we wanted it to look nice as well as be functional. We got 3 panels, arched them and attached them to 4 metal fenceposts on each side (driven deeply into the ground) then covered the panels with chicken wire to deter overhead predators. We also "sewed" hardware cloth to the bottom 2 feet, then extended that out another 2 feet to deter diggers. Worked, too - I guarantee you that our persistent English setter gave up quickly after she broke and bloodied a toenail. We put a little white vinyl lattice fence in front of it to make it look nice, and this winter we put the same lattice over the entire run then covered it in greenhouse plastic. The draped over lattice keeps little pokies (inevitable when attaching chicken wire to the panels) from ripping up the plastic in the wind. It's held up through our wild Wyoming winds and not even an 8 inch snowfall distorted the shape of it. Love it! This spring the plan is keep the draped lattice on the run for shade and then to add one more panel for a little additional length, which will be a snap to accomplish!


Motel Chix

Notice that the run is offset from the coop. Had to do that to allow for a tree Ken did not want to remove. There's also more room for expansion going that direction. We have a three sided tunnel, right there where you see the pop door cover, which serves as a wind break against winds blowing into the coop.

Ken finishing up the winter protection. We like the look of the run completely covered in the white lattice so we're keeping that up.

Standing inside the run looking toward the South. We're so glad we went with the hoop run!

 

[Free Feather]

We did a hoop run for our coop and we simply could not be more pleased with its appearance and its performance. It's exceeded all of our expectations! We live in town and our setup is easily visible from the street, so we wanted it to look nice as well as be functional. We got 3 panels, arched them and attached them to 4 metal fenceposts on each side (driven deeply into the ground) then covered the panels with chicken wire to deter overhead predators. We also "sewed" hardware cloth to the bottom 2 feet, then extended that out another 2 feet to deter diggers. Worked, too - I guarantee you that our persistent English setter gave up quickly after she broke and bloodied a toenail. We put a little white vinyl lattice fence in front of it to make it look nice, and this winter we put the same lattice over the entire run then covered it in greenhouse plastic. The draped over lattice keeps little pokies (inevitable when attaching chicken wire to the panels) from ripping up the plastic in the wind. It's held up through our wild Wyoming winds and not even an 8 inch snowfall distorted the shape of it. Love it! This spring the plan is keep the draped lattice on the run for shade and then to add one more panel for a little additional length, which will be a snap to accomplish!


Motel Chix

Notice that the run is offset from the coop. Had to do that to allow for a tree Ken did not want to remove. There's also more room for expansion going that direction. We have a three sided tunnel, right there where you see the pop door cover, which serves as a wind break against winds blowing into the coop.

Ken finishing up the winter protection. We like the look of the run completely covered in the white lattice so we're keeping that up.

Standing inside the run looking toward the South. We're so glad we went with the hoop run!

How bright is it in there?

 

[Blooie]

How bright is it in there?

It's actually very bright in there on a sunny day - the evening I took this shot it was snowing like crazy and close to sunset! It's also warmer in there than the ambient air temps.

 

[paintedChix]

So, we built a feed storage room at the ponies temporary quarters. It's about 8x10? It worked really well for what it was used for. Here it is...



We knew that when we moved into our new place, we'd need to use it again or something similar. So, the main one went up again w/ new panels for the roof (caught the horse trailer on the one when we were taking it down, severely damaging the panels - they will be used elsewhere).... The new one is larger - a full 8x12. The old door that was at the back is also used again, but another pallet (48"x48") is inserted int he back as well as in the front. Our boarder got a larger tarp at no charge and put it up in place of the much smaller blue one... Eventually, we'd like to bolt it together instead of just having it tied up with haystring, put a metal roof (red to match the house and outbuildings) and put up sidewalls in white OR paint the pallet walls white. When we bolt it back together, we need to turn the pallets so that the inside slats can be used as shelving. For now, this works wonders!! Stores feed/hay/tack for our boarder's mini horse and pony and feed for our 6 pony boys... Have the supplies, just need to built the one for the pony girls and then another for our equipment that needs to be covered.

 

[Oatbucket]

Mine are doing great it in. We did extend it to make it bigger. I wish I could have a huge area for them, but we're in town so there is only so much space for chickens, geese, dogs, garden, and space for children to play.

 

[Oatbucket]

We did a hoop run for our coop and we simply could not be more pleased with its appearance and its performance. It's exceeded all of our expectations! We live in town and our setup is easily visible from the street, so we wanted it to look nice as well as be functional. We got 3 panels, arched them and attached them to 4 metal fenceposts on each side (driven deeply into the ground) then covered the panels with chicken wire to deter overhead predators. We also "sewed" hardware cloth to the bottom 2 feet, then extended that out another 2 feet to deter diggers. Worked, too - I guarantee you that our persistent English setter gave up quickly after she broke and bloodied a toenail. We put a little white vinyl lattice fence in front of it to make it look nice, and this winter we put the same lattice over the entire run then covered it in greenhouse plastic. The draped over lattice keeps little pokies (inevitable when attaching chicken wire to the panels) from ripping up the plastic in the wind. It's held up through our wild Wyoming winds and not even an 8 inch snowfall distorted the shape of it. Love it! This spring the plan is keep the draped lattice on the run for shade and then to add one more panel for a little additional length, which will be a snap to accomplish!


Motel Chix

Notice that the run is offset from the coop. Had to do that to allow for a tree Ken did not want to remove. There's also more room for expansion going that direction. We have a three sided tunnel, right there where you see the pop door cover, which serves as a wind break against winds blowing into the coop.

Ken finishing up the winter protection. We like the look of the run completely covered in the white lattice so we're keeping that up.

Standing inside the run looking toward the South. We're so glad we went with the hoop run!

That looks great!

 

[Blooie]

That looks great!

Thank you! It functions even better than it looks! We just added a chick brooder to the inside so it's serving double duty.

 

[Oatbucket]

That's a great idea!

 

[PapaChaz]

really enjoyed this thread and all the pics! I am currently building a new coop, and the run will be a hoop run built of cattle panels. I have a thread with pics and the drawing on it, 'future coop and run'

I was telling my son in law about how I was going to do it. They have a mare about to drop a foal, and over the weekend we had all the kids over here for a birthday dinner for the youngest daughter. He and I were talking about his horse, and he was stressing over they've found out the birth is way closer than they originally thought. He wanted to look at my plans again, then today they stopped by and he told me he used some panels, built a pen to separate her from the rest of the animals, and used a few more to build her a hoop house shelter. I am going over there tomorrow to look at it, His dad helped him build it, but until they got a couple of them in place, he just wouldn't believe it was going to work, LOL

 

[Catnip5]

That looks great!

Someone just mentioned a hoop run and I found your post - tell me, what were the 4 panels you started with? I have an electric fence for ground predators but am now dealing with hawks so I need to whip up something quick. Dog kennels are both expensive and ugly but your hoop run I could live with. Info on materials please What would you say it cost you to put together? Thanks!!!