Cattle Panel Question

[Ruralhideaway]

I'm doing 4 panels in a half hoop design.

Anyone able to comment about attaching them together on the ground first vs separately which will require wiring them tightly together overhead. I see awkwardness either way.

 

[cholland]

I did one panel at a time. Fix one end to your base or whatever, then bend into hoop and attach other end. Then move to the next one. Once I had them all up I used hog rings to hook together. But good bailing wire works too.
And whatever type of wire you cover it with helps hold it together.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I guess that'll be best, wrestling a 16 x 16 square of the stuff doesn't sound fun either. I'd planned to use galvanized electric fence wire but the hog rings sure sound easier. They pull together tight?

 

[cholland]

Hog rings. You can make them tight. I prefer to close them so they are a little loose. Best to use hog ring pliers too. You can do it with regular pliers and needle nose pliers together but it's a pain if more than just a few.

Once you fasten both ends of the panel down its hard to pull them apart even before you tie them together with the hog rings. They bend a little but they don't flex out of square at all.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

In my half hoop set up things will be much floppier I think. I'm attaching the panels to the coop at 7 and a half feet, bottom to ground level. Quarter hoop?

 

[Hopperkiller]

Hog rings. You can make them tight. I prefer to close them so they are a little loose. Best to use hog ring pliers too. You can do it with regular pliers and needle nose pliers together but it's a pain if more than just a few.

Once you fasten both ends of the panel down its hard to pull them apart even before you tie them together with the hog rings. They bend a little but they don't flex out of square at all.

Hog rings do a great job and the special pliers are cheap. Just remember to check the ends afterwards because they are sharp. They will tighten as much as you want.

 

[cholland]

Mine is 8x12, three panels. On a wood frame base, I can move it.
Once you attach the ends. The door frame and whatever on the back end. It should be a really solid structure. Mine doesn't flex much at all. If it isn't on flat ground I have to slide 2x4 spacers under to fill space.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I think it'll make a great winter run and I'll be able to do it myself. I think. I'm slightly intimidated but making a plan.

 

[paintedChix]

Would like to see pictures of how you are attaching the top of the hoop to the other building/wall.

This is something I'm thinking of doing on our house - to provide a trellis for vining plants to block sun in the summer, die back over winter to allow sun/heat thru to the master bedroom area. We had a tree there that was tiny when we moved in Jan 2015 and "exploded" in summer 2016 & was removed over the winter of 2016/2017. Then summer 2017 hit - OMG. Didn't realize how much protection that tree offered - but the roots were a problem with the foundation, too, so. We are having lots of young seedlings pop up from both the roots & dropped seed pods we missed picking up. We remove them...

In the past, we've only used 2 panels at a time and always attached them together long ways first, then attached them to the base and then raised as a whole. Never thought about how to do this on a larger scale... It was less awkward for us to zip tie, wind string or wire while it was on the ground than while it was above my head. Our oldest cattle panel structures are now about 3 & 3/4 yrs old while newest just turned 3 yrs old. All, so far have only been 2 cattle panels deep.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I'll take pictures as I go. It's tough to really explain as only half of the tall wall side will be attached to the coop, I'll be building basically a stud wall to extend the length beyond the coop to catch the winter sun. Then I'll grow things on it like you for summer shade. I hope to get started pretty quickly here so pics could be soon!