The coop is almost finished, but I want to move it!

[Fenika]

I stupidly placed my coop near the base of a hill (that will teach me to give in to my visiting mother). I'm thinking of pulling it across and into the woods. It's 8x10, no floor, and the base is 4x4s. I would have to reinforce the base with some cross bars, but then what? Hitch it up to my truck and haul it as far as I can to the edge of the woods? I'm not sure the best way to hitch it up aside from drilling a heavy eye-hook-screw in to the base and praying. And after that would I have any luck getting it on EMT pipe (1/2") and rolling such a large structure or am I delusional? I rolled a VERY heavy wood trunk uphill on my driveway and I can't imagine managing a coop in the woods...

I'd also like to not totally tear up my sad grass on that section of lawn. Hopefully it stays dry. Any pro tips?

If anyone is wanting more info to guess weight: Plywood sides, minimal 2x4 framing, one glass window, 8' tall in the front, 6' in the back, plywood and tar paper roof with a few 2x4 rafters.

Cheers!

PS- Anyone install a sunroof? I'd love a simple sunroof... Maybe a 'bubble' type...

 

[Firtle]

if you want to move it I would suggest putting something under it then dragging it with your truck.

 

[hemet dennis]

Put some wheels on it they are not to much at harbor freight
drill a hole in the 4 x 4's and use a 1 inch pipe if you don't go to far just use hose clamps to hold tires
or you could use some peeler logs need min. of 3 when one comes out the back put it in front
how far do you need to go ?

 

[Fenika]

I actually have a pair of the 10" (or so) wheels from Harbor Freight (courtesy of a tractor tip and this forum). I never did put them on my little tractor. Will they support an 8x10 coop or is that tirecide?

I have to go roughly 50' to the edge of the woods on fairly flat ground (I'm going east and the ground mostly slopes south). Then I'd like to go about 20' into the woods (can't go much further than that anyways without major clearing and thus I'll never get my truck in there.

 

[jeff spahn]

Just drag it on the 4x4. Your yard won't suffer that much. Grass grows back. If you are super worried, get some fence posts that are wider than the coop and use them as a rolling road with some helpers. Coop will roll on top of the fence posts and your helpers will shuffle from the back of the coop to the front. Like the Egyptians did to move the super large blocks of stone. They didn't drag them across flat ground, they rolled them over logs.

 

[hemet dennis]

Quote:
do they have a 1 inch hole for the pipe in them ? If you put 4 tires on 2 or 3 people can push it 50 feet

good luck

 

[Ole rooster]

I do agree if you intend to use poles to roll is on, use anything larger than 4 inches. Anything less will eat up the yard and probably bury itself.

If I were going to "drag" it I would be sure to put a support beam across the front so the two runner beams or seal beams don't try to pull into each other. Don't pull in any way but straight line. If you do need to turn be sure to make a sweeping radius turn. That's really going to be a pain too. And most of all keep a good sight range on the coop for a clean shot. You probably will have demons coming out of the woods.

 

[cva34]

Quote:
X-2 You can use a few round posts 4"+ or go to Junk you use and tell them what you want to do with steel used pipe 4" or so.Just borrow them and bring them back when you get through and give him 10.00 or so and thanks.Might could set it on a couple sheets of tin and drag it also..cva34

 

[Fenika]

Thanks folks. Now I just have to convince my uncle to come help me even though he didn't get homegrown guinea for Thanksgiving

Yeah, the woods aren't ideal for predators but it's not that much further to the coop now (and the coop is also by a strip of woods that wraps around to the main section of woods.) I've got the coop pretty darn secure and I won't have a flock until the spring since I sent all my jumbo guineas to freezer camp.

Cheers!

 

[Dutchess]

My DH and I moved ours, a 4x8 coop, by dragging it with the truck. First, DH took a piece of 4x8 plywood and drilled a hole big enough for a large rope on one of the short ends about 6" away from the edge, centered. Then we lifted one side of the coop slid it under, then the other side to slide the piece of plywood under it evenly spaced each side and front and back.
While I "guided" it, pushing on one side that had a small hill DH drove the truck to our destination approx 20' away. It worked really well even though we had to deal with the hill.
I didn't think this would work as well as it did. My DH was a gill-netter (fisherman) and knows his knots and rigging!