A cheap rain,sun,snow shelter.

[pipe]

I have been thinking about a shelter for my birds during inclement weather for some time now.
My criteria are that it had to be moveable,easy to build and hopefully inexpensive.
So,last week(last week of November 2013)I was dismantling an old portable shelter or garage.It measured 12'x20'.
As I was pulling off the old torn and rotten plastic an idea began to form.
12'x20' seemed a little large.Maybe 12'x16' would be a better size.
What if I cut the bottom off the supports,leaving about 18" plus the rafters?
What if I attached this structure to a couple of 2x4's,pressure treated and reinstalled the bottom rail of the garage
at the bottom of the new structure?
This would give me something to attach it to.

Still a little wobbly?I used some 10 gauge galvanized wire and small turnbuckles top to bottom and bottom to top on each side.
It seems to be nice and sturdy.

I bought a fairly heavy tarp,12'x16' and 50 ball bungees.I kept the west side down to the ground to protect from the west wind
which is the predominant direction here and also the snow and afternoon sun.
I found that I had not squared the structure properly when I went to attach the tarp.This meant having to loosen and tighten turnbuckles until the tarp fit.Because tarps are about 6" smaller in both directions than advertised,I might use a 12'x18,next
time although it is just fine the way it is built.

A test came 2 days later in the form of a 8" snowfall and 40mph winds.Everything held up fine.

The girls are getting used to it

and I'm a hppy camper.Total cost,about $65.00.



Since we are talking about chickens,here is a chicken picture of my 24 week old Ameraucana and
her best friend a silver laced wyandotte.They are inseparable.






.

 

[Jerschicks]

so glad i saw this, i was just thinking the other day about putting a roof over the outside run between the hen house and the meat bird shed. This will be way easier than what i was thinking.

 

[pipe]

Thanks,
Glad it was of some help.

 

[MoonShadows]

Great idea! I saw a post recently where the owner uses empty file cabinets on their sides with no drawers. Each bird has her own "cubby".

 

[BrickWall Honey]

Great idea and good use. Thanks for sharing

 

[jorey]

Great way to recycle ! Looks wonderful.

 

[LTygress]

I had that same exact thought, but with an entire chicken pen. Amazon has a full-sized version of this (8-feet tall at the highest point), WITH THE SIDEWALLS for about $120. Of course, Walmart has one without sidewalls for $88. But I figured the sidewalls would help if I ever needed additional space from their current pen (made from an above-ground pool wall of sheet-metal).

I plan to buy one of the versions with sidewalls after the holidays are over - especially since I'll be focusing on getting ready for Spring breeding, and might need the extra space for the chicks that are growing out!

 

[pipe]

LTygress,
I found out that the covering on these temporary garages come in various qualities.The cheapest of these will
last three seasons at best while the better ones will last about 5 years or longer.If you read the information
at www.shelterlogic.com it makes the warranties pretty clear.

 

[Aunt Tat]

I have been thinking about a shelter for my birds during inclement weather for some time now.
My criteria are that it had to be moveable,easy to build and hopefully inexpensive.
So,last week(last week of November 2013)I was dismantling an old portable shelter or garage.It measured 12'x20'.
As I was pulling off the old torn and rotten plastic an idea began to form.
12'x20' seemed a little large.Maybe 12'x16' would be a better size.
What if I cut the bottom off the supports,leaving about 18" plus the rafters?
What if I attached this structure to a couple of 2x4's,pressure treated and reinstalled the bottom rail of the garage
at the bottom of the new structure?
This would give me something to attach it to.

Still a little wobbly?I used some 10 gauge galvanized wire and small turnbuckles top to bottom and bottom to top on each side.
It seems to be nice and sturdy.

I bought a fairly heavy tarp,12'x16' and 50 ball bungees.I kept the west side down to the ground to protect from the west wind
which is the predominant direction here and also the snow and afternoon sun.
I found that I had not squared the structure properly when I went to attach the tarp.This meant having to loosen and tighten turnbuckles until the tarp fit.Because tarps are about 6" smaller in both directions than advertised,I might use a 12'x18,next
time although it is just fine the way it is built.

A test came 2 days later in the form of a 8" snowfall and 40mph winds.Everything held up fine.

The girls are getting used to it

and I'm a hppy camper.Total cost,about $65.00.



Since we are talking about chickens,here is a chicken picture of my 24 week old Ameraucana and
her best friend a silver laced wyandotte.They are inseparable.






.

Just wish humans could see past physical appearance to be friends.