Calculating wind load/tipping risk

8x4 yes. My husband doesn't like the walk in coop style, thinks it's harder to clean. We're making coops we can rake out into a wheelbarrow or cart that fits under the coop. We're making our chicken set up in a large oval shaped area divided into 4 quadrants. We can keep 4 flocks or rotate as needed to improve the quality of forage by not letting them destroy the grass etc.

I see.
That 4' depth really is about as deep as you can go with a raised coop that's not a walk in or reaching everything gets to difficult.

Needing to fit a wheelbarrow under makes the 3' kind of necessary too. Maybe measure the standard wheelbarrow and see if you can drop the floor some giving wind less of a place to grab.

Will you still be able to reach in with a wheelbarrow in place?

I use a big plastic shovel and scoop the coop bedding into a big pot from a tree then carry that to the compost or put under my trees directly. The big 8x14 coop takes 20 minutes to clean and then put new bedding even with a few bossy hens telling me about their day.
It's nice to be able to be out of the weather while tending the birds or treating any injury or illness.
Also being a walk in it's much easier to get adequate ventilation in place.

Just things to think about before you build.
 
We had a similar problem and solved it by making concrete feet for the coop. We used tube forms around the legs of the coop and filled them with concrete so the whole thing was much heavier and the center of gravity was much lower.
So essentially like using the deck blocks that can be attached to the legs directly, instead of blocks it just sits on?
 
I see.
That 4' depth really is about as deep as you can go with a raised coop that's not a walk in or reaching everything gets to difficult.

Needing to fit a wheelbarrow under makes the 3' kind of necessary too. Maybe measure the standard wheelbarrow and see if you can drop the floor some giving wind less of a place to grab.

Will you still be able to reach in with a wheelbarrow in place?

I use a big plastic shovel and scoop the coop bedding into a big pot from a tree then carry that to the compost or put under my trees directly. The big 8x14 coop takes 20 minutes to clean and then put new bedding even with a few bossy hens telling me about their day.
It's nice to be able to be out of the weather while tending the birds or treating any injury or illness.
Also being a walk in it's much easier to get adequate ventilation in place.

Just things to think about before you build.
It's up to my husband for the build, not me. The wheelbarrow shouldn't keep me from reaching inside.
 
Beats me if this'll help in your situation, but you can sink steel t-posts and bolt the wooden coop legs to them. T-posts come in a lot of sizes now.
 
Didn't you just tell me?

Putting RV/mobile home anchors with cables isn't really an option either.

Because...

I don't want cables in my driveway where I need to drive/operate machinery.

Now it's...

This was my husband's conclusion,

Then what you should do is pour some concrete pads 12" down, bottom of pad. Make it at least around 16x16. Before it sets stick a J-Bolt anchor in it. No less than 3" from the corner sides. Cover back up with dirt and compact it. Put deck footing and build. Strap it down. This is done when you can't go deep. You go wide.



 
BTW, I like the height. I have this situation where it has to be raised or mice will nest under the floor, and once it's high enough to discourage that it needs to be higher so chickens can walk under it and don't want to nest under it so much, and by then it might as well be comfortable to get a rake under there.
 
Didn't you just tell me?



Because...



Now it's...



Then what you should do is pour some concrete pads 12" down, bottom of pad. Make it at least around 16x16. Before it sets stick a J-Bolt anchor in it. No less than 3" from the corner sides. Cover back up with dirt and compact it. Put deck footing and build. Strap it down. This is done when you can't go deep. You go wide.



Normally the anchors with cables go from the corners of a structure out at an angle a ways, much like tent stakes. This doesn't work because of the driveway. What the other person was suggesting and my husband had been considering was a small anchor or two directly beneath the coop. My husband was thinking the center underneath, I believe the other person said the edge which probably would he hard to implement due to the fence line. The small anchor below won't do a lot but it might do something. But it's also the chickens' main hangout shelter from the rain and I'd rather not do that if it can be avoided.
 
Normally the anchors with cables go from the corners of a structure out at an angle a ways, much like tent stakes. This doesn't work because of the driveway. What the other person was suggesting and my husband had been considering was a small anchor or two directly beneath the coop. My husband was thinking the center underneath, I believe the other person said the edge which probably would he hard to implement due to the fence line. The small anchor below won't do a lot but it might do something. But it's also the chickens' main hangout shelter from the rain and I'd rather not do that if it can be avoided.

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mobile home tie-down
 
Lowes has the heavy steel 15 inch anchors for about $16. The auger blade is 4 inches in diameter. Buried in concrete, that will hold pretty good. At a 45 degree angle it won’t exceed the 1 foot depth. Good luck whichever way you go. We have high winds here when hurricanes come up from the Gulf of Mexico so I understand your concerns.
 

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