Comments on my plans for a modified hoop run please

[NancyDz]

What about the plastic lattice? We used it for the roof on a small run and it is pretty sturdy but is bendable. You would still have to cover it with something with smaller holes but it seems like it would be hard to tear through as far as predators...



Nancy

 

[socks]

Hi Nancy,
what is the plastic lattice you are referring to???

And on an aside, I have been searching google image for rebar greenhouses or variations on that theme and they do seem to be a figment of my imagination (could've sworn I saw Coleman mention it in a t.v. show!)....must be something about

you wouldn't get re-bar uniform enough, it can be welded together, but it won't stay together well. He said you would not be happy with it.

o.k. if I can't come across cattle panels in the nearby town it is looking like a very different plan B is needed....yikes! chicks are 10 days old, clock is ticking. speaking of which I am turning in but will anxiously await any more words of wisdom on mink proof mesh size and cheap/easy/some snow bearing/covered runs.

Thanks so much for your input so far.

 

[NancyDz]

Socks,

This is the plastic lattice I'm talking about. I buy it here at Home Depot , Lowe's probably has it too. It comes in different colors and sizes.


http://www.verandalattice.com/colorssizes.htm



Also if you have a feed store they may be able to order cattle panels for you. You might ask.


Nancy

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

I made a hoop house out of PVC pipe and rabbit fence.
I used 10 foot sticks of 1/2 inch PVC pipe. Glue a T on each end of the pipe. Use a short 18 inch piece of PVC pipe between the T's. Keep adding on untill it's as long as you want. Make a frame 5 feet wide and however long you went with. I used 10 foot for ease of construction you just get 3 10 foot 2x4's cut one in half for ends of the frame. Nail it togother and you have a 50 square foot run area.
Next use pipe hangers to attach one side of your PVC frame to the wood frame. Here comes the hard part, bend the PVC frame so the loose side meets up with the other side of the wood frame and attach with more pipe hangers.
Cover the pipe frame with wire. I used 2x4 welded wire made for keeping rabbit out of gardens. It's a nice stiff gauge wire that helped add some rigdity to the structure.
For ends I cut a couple inches off of another 10 PVC pipe and glued 90's on the ends, then take another pipe a few inches short of 5 feet and glue into the 90's. You should end up with a D shape. Cover it with wire. Place at the ends of your frame and attach with more pipe hangers to the wood frame. These are you doors they flip down to access the inside of the hoop house. Just tie it at the top to secure closed.
Mine is covered with a tarp and so far has held a foot of snow.

 

[socks]

Thanks NancyDz for the link, I will check these out.

And Ak-Bird-brain, this sounds intriguing but I am having trouble visualizing it, any chance you have some pics of this. Not sure what pipe hangers are and in general it is forming a mish mash in my head but if this handled a foot of snow it certainly sounds worth investigation.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Here is the thread I posted pictures in.

We have since covered it with fiberglass panels. I don't have recent pictures of it.
It works great, but if adding metal, you need extra supports to screw the metal too. Since the fiberglass panels we used had large ridges like R-metal, we slid 1 X 2's in the overlapping ridge, and I went inside and held them while DH drilled the panels to them the length of the hoop house. We didn't take the tarp off, we just left what was still there after the sun and wind ripped holes in the tarp.

This has been my favorite portable chicken house that we have built. No crawling through recyled grass!!!!! I have more detailed pictures I could e-mail you, I don't have them loaded in photobucket...dialup takes so long.

Jean

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=43233

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

5 by 10 hoop house about 4 feet tall at the center. Smaller tarp in the summer to allow for ventilation. Over the winter we use a larger tarp to reach the ground on both sides. The wire fencing is attached to the pipe frame with electrical zip ties to hold the pipes straight and in place.
Small insulated dog house to the left provides a warm sleeping/ nesting area.

You can't quite see the pipe hanger in the photo. all they are is a U shape with tabs on the sides to put your screws through

Door slightly open so you can see how it pivots open.

10 by 20 hoop house about 6 1/2 feet tall in the center. Just finished this one last weekend so it hasn't survived a winter snow load yet. 2x4's bracing the PVC pipe just in case. used 1 1/2 inch pipe for additional strength.

 

[socks]

Thanks so much for the pictures AK-Bird-brain and Rafter 7 Paint Horses. They are so helpful!!

The trampoline is truly inspired and there was a free one just offered here but someone snapped it up. I guess you don't get much snow in Texas (although it's a big state, maybe I'm wrong) but I am thinking if AK-Bird-brain's little hoop run could handle a foot of snow maybe the trampoline could. Then again, don't know if I can find another free trampoline in the next week or so....worth a try though.

But maybe I should be thinking about a supported pvc hoop run like AK-Bird-brain's tall one......lots to think about

I really do appreciate your input

thanks for taking the trouble