Comments on my plans for a modified hoop run please

[Buck Creek Chickens]

yup, it bends a lot easier than you think and it strong, I've use it to make roofs on my portable pens and to keep bunnies out of the garden hoop style. plus you can use dry wall screws to attach it

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Dh is the designer here, and he is asleep now, but I remember having a discussion about using re-bar for something, and he said NO!! I don't remember why, but it was something I didn't know about. I will have to ask him tomorrow.

What about old trampoline frames?
We built our first one from them and it is great! Granted, we don't have the snow here.

Well, scratch that idea....DH just woke up and I asked him.
He said 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.
He said the trampoline frame with metal on it wouldn't work well, because the metal ridges would hold the snow too much and it would not be stout enough to hold a load of snow.

Now, he has a suggestion, but he said it was too hard to explain, it wasn't hard to do, but he couldn't explain it to me to be able to type it. He said to go somewhere that they have hot houses for plants that are covered in plastic. The kind he is talking about has 2 layers of heavy plastic, with a fan blowing the 2 layers apart, so there is a layer of air there to keep any pockets from forming from rain or snow. It would slide right off. It is a great insulator also.
The fan is a small one, about the size of a hair dryer blower.
He said if you can see one in operation, you can easily build one.

Hope this helps you, or at least gives you an idea.
If we had one, I'd take pictures for you, but we haven't built one yet. If we happen to be around any I will take pictures for you.

I have had experience with mink, though. If you have them in your area, you will have to secure everything tightly. Mink kill just for the thrill of killing, and they can and will destroy every chicken in one night if they can get to them.
It is a good thing they are small, because if they were bigger, they would be very dangerous to every living creature. They are about the meanest things I have ever encountered. They will fight anything, no matter how much bigger it is than them.

I hope you can find a plan that suits you and your chickens.

Jean

 

[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

 

[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

 

[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