Alternative Hoop Coop?

[Lucky KY Chicks]

I'm looking into building a turkey hoop coop, but the design I have isn't really a "hoop". It will be used as a breeding pen and for brooding bought poults as well as hens with poults. I'm looking into using 14 ga, galvanized, welded wire fence, 2x4 inch holes, instead of the cattle panels. Hardware cloth will be wrapped around the bottom two feet of the coop and up the sides in the place where the roosts attach to the wall. The 2x4 welded fence is half the price of the cattle panels per sq foot. The fence would be attached to 4 different braces that run the length of the coop (rough sketch below). Do you think this will be strong enough to keep raccoons out? There will be two foot of the 2x4 welded wire against the ground underneath the coop to prevent digging underneath. Would you have any concerns about this coop? We seldom get more than a foot of snow and that is rare but the frame will be made of 2x4s so it should be very sturdy.

This is my design. The dotted lines to the outside indicate that those points will have a 2x4 running the length of the coop. Below is a typical hoop coop design.

 

[bargain]

Hi a couple of suggestions on design please. With the turkey poults there is a problem with their vision and they have a natural condition called etanic torticollar spasms which basically make them look skyward when they sense something different. They don't seem to exhibit this as much when they are older. but we did have some that literally got sick after staying looking upward in a rain storm. Love our turkeys but you really have to guard their behaviors like this. our poults did this outside of the brooder, and I'm sorry I don't remember when they matured out of this behavior. We had to make a covering that extended all the way out in a square pattern for them so they couldn't stand out and get sick. I would put some sort of underground wire or something to protect more from predators if you don't have a guard dog. So, I would do a tent type of covering for the side that you could prop open like an extended covering that you might see on tents where there is a cooking area outside the tent. Good luck

 

[Lucky KY Chicks]

Sorry didn't specify. This is just the wire frame and it will have a tarp covering on three sides and the roof for shelter. These coops will be moved daily so buried wire is not an option.