2 Hoop coop cattle panel questions

[Krugerrand]

I used landscape fabric on my hoop run in the warmer months. It offered shade, let in water, but blocked hard downpours. In the winter I switched to plastic. It took WAY more effort to secure the plastic from wind. The landscape fabric lets wind though, so it was no problem.

 

[affacat]

Exterior, 4 ft hardware with one foot of it skirted and staked with cheap garden stakes (grass now grown over and makes it invisible)

Simple chicken door to let them freerange. Cut 2x2 out of panel and covered with a zip tie hinge 4x4 panel scrap covered in hardware cloth. Locked open with a scrap cross of panel, we also use this to lock close.

Dropped down (but not locked in position yet)

All coops also skirted

From back window of alpaca shed looking down first run. The black sewer pipe is me prototyping easy ways to feed from outside (probably going with a gutter system) but we currently freerange and give supplement food outside the run so....

Endless wheelbarrows of dirt. Garden is 36x46. I am standing near the gate, to my right will eventually be another run

Inside of garden we used chicken wire, but instead of skirting out to prevent predators, we skirted in to prevent chickens from digging up stakes. We are not sure if this will be an issue yet, if they start to do it on the exterior hoop side we will skirt that going in too.
Grapes will grow up hoops.

We were originally going to chicken wire the whole thing but I don't think we need to. I would if we had more issues with, say, racoons.

As it is there auto door opens in the morning and they have the run. Our kids then first put out feed outside the run and then open the run door so we can feed them unchased. We close the run every night

 

[3KillerBs]

This has come out wonderfully well!

 

[Blooie]

I used landscape fabric on my hoop run in the warmer months. It offered shade, let in water, but blocked hard downpours. In the winter I switched to plastic. It took WAY more effort to secure the plastic from wind. The landscape fabric lets wind though, so it was no problem.

And it’s cheap to toss the roll over for replacement on the hoop if the shade cover gets ripped! We put our fabric on in sections…that way we can roll individual sections up or down like window shades. Here it is with the center section rolled up. We’ve had the best luck with the one that is black on one side, brown on the other, and has millions of teeny holes in it. The fibrous black kind is harder to maintain.

 

[affacat]

And it’s cheap to toss the roll over for replacement on the hoop if the shade cover gets ripped! We put our fabric on in sections…that way we can roll individual sections up or down like window shades. Here it is with the center section rolled up. We’ve had the best luck with the one that is black on one side, brown on the other, and has millions of teeny holes in it. The fibrous black kind is harder to maintain.View attachment 3083856

I like the idea of some shade cover but am concerned if I do it wrong I'll pay for it. I do have a couple functioning 2 hoop constructs that I used a 6x8 tarp on. The 6 feet provides general rain cover but doesn't catch wind (or, at least, not enough to do anything). Snow was enough to compress it some but I just brushed it off and the hoop retained it's original shape.

I might try the garden cloth trick for some run shade but right now we are free ranging our flock anyway. I designed this system for full run life because we were worried about predators, especially hawks and eagles. But everything seems fine as is

 

[Brooks_]

The 6 feet provides general rain cover but doesn't catch wind

I used 12'. It offers great rain protection and hasn't caught wind. It is not really in a wind zone though. 10' might be the sweet spot for you.

 

[Brooks_]

Or a section that has 6, 8, 10, and 12' to offer variable levels of rain protection.

 

[3KillerBs]

Or a section that has 6, 8, 10, and 12' to offer variable levels of rain protection.

I am all about giving chickens choices.

 

[Brooks_]

I am all about giving chickens choices.

They always make the right choice, even if we don't understand it. Except styrofoam.

 

[affacat]

They always make the right choice, even if we don't understand it. Except styrofoam.

Our trouble rooster (now stew) ate a nerf bullet once. My son said it happened so fast he couldn't stop it.