Does my hoop coop need a frame?

[StinkyAcres]

Awesome! This is exactly what I was looking for. I might use mine as a greenhouse when unoccupied, also! How did you attach your hoops to the "base"? It looks like your hoops are elevated a couple feet as well.

They are attached with stainless steel cable clamps (like these: https://www.amazon.com/Swpeet-Stainless-Assortment-Cushioned-Installation/dp/B07XG36YWD/ ). And, yes, the hoops are elevated a few feet.

@StinkyAcres are your vertical supports anchored to anything (eg cement holes), or are they sort of free-standing in the garden bed?

I chose to set mine on top of the ground since I didn't have the ability to dig down past the frost line (four feet here).

 

[StinkyAcres]

Here's another photo of the hoop house in progress. It's far from perfect but it does the job.

 

[fat brown hen]

Here's another photo of the hoop house in progress. It's far from perfect but it does the job.

View attachment 3846259

This is great! Thank you so much for the help and inspiration.

 

[StinkyAcres]

This is great! Thank you so much for the help and inspiration.

No problem! All the best with your build!

 

[StinkyAcres]

Just realized I linked to the wrong size cable clamps. I believe these are the ones I used: https://www.amazon.com/Swpeet-Stainless-Assortment-Cushioned-Installation/dp/B07XG36YWD/

 

[Krugerrand]

My hoop run has no base. It's held in place only by the T-posts. I used cattle panel for (bottom section of) the other walls as well. The door frame is just 1x4's sandwiching the cattle panel framing. They're up off the ground to reduce rotting.

In some ways, cattle panel is very flexible with sloped ground. One thing I had to come to terms with is that my wood chips level themselves out, so one side gets buried deeper in them than the other. That means less headspace than when I started.

 

[fat brown hen]

My hoop run has no base. It's held in place only by the T-posts. I used cattle panel for (bottom section of) the other walls as well. The door frame is just 1x4's sandwiching the cattle panel framing. They're up off the ground to reduce rotting.

View attachment 3846293

In some ways, cattle panel is very flexible with sloped ground. One thing I had to come to terms with is that my wood chips level themselves out, so one side gets buried deeper in them than the other. That means less headspace than when I started.

Very interesting! Do the cattle panels provide enough structural support for the front/back walls? What keeps the door frame from moving?

 

[paintedChix]

I have done a couple of different builds w/ CP.

My initial tractors were built using treated 2x4 (2) & 2x6 (1) bases. They survived not 1 but two moves on flat bed trailers when we had to have temporary housing in between moving from leased property to our current (& last?) property. Built in mid 2014 & moved in late 2014 to temp quarters, then in early 2015 to our new place. I did not put the solid corner support braces on them, they weren't holding up well as tractors, so I found permanent spots for them in the sandy based pony pasture. 1 at the end of a shed row barn & 2 in line w/ each other, behind the barn. I used DLM in these coop/run combos - higher than the wood bases. Wasn't long, started having rot issues... decided in 2019 to rebuild them, but Covid, moving kids to MT in 2021 (stayed 3 months - arrived back home & job went to full time), health issues after I had Covid (2022), severe concussion when rear-ended on way to work (2023) & currently dealing w/ broken ankle & complications. No worries, just life - but we went from active juvenile flocks over 100 birds to just 3 chickens currently... they have not been rebuilt yet.

I'm going to have to refigure out how to post pics, my Google links no longer accepted... OK, downloaded to this phone.




I did some pallet structures w/ CP for temporary storage. Those were built on relatively flat land using both used CP & free pallets. The 1st one was just joined w/ hay string. It worked from Nov 2014 to Jan 2015.





Then built temporarily what became permanent "sheds" the same way but used t-posts to support/hold walls. The bottom 2-3 boards are also now rotting out, but lasted 10 years!!





Then I built two small coops at back of front yard, against pony pasture field fence - 1 CP so approximately 4x8'. Used T-posts for holding the panels & different sized pallets for front & rear...





What will I be doing different as rebuild?

If I use pallets, they will be up on cinder blocks & turned so that t-posts can be used inside of them to secure them. The cinderblocks would be filled w/ gravel. May have to dig to level the ground for the cinderblocks. Since predominantly open air coops for us (sandhills, NC - HOT & HUMID), pallets would need to be covered in wire. I've used both 2x4 & 1/2" x 1/2" HWC. I've only lost to predators when free ranging or in open topped runs BUT next permanent builds will be in HWC as temps/tractors are redone.

All of our structures have survived 2 hurricanes - Florence & Michael - and multiple high wind events w/ only needing to replace the tarps. Each year, the tarps become lower quality & last much shorter time frames - while costs have definitely gone up. The actual "coops" or "sheds" have never been shifted by the wind (wild wind events or hurricanes) - maybe because the structures have never been fully enclosed - allowing wind to go through them. Some girls would quit laying after these events, but never all.

These various sheds/coops utilized used hay string from the ponies' round bales for tying structures together. In future, no more hay string (ponies all gone for now). We will use metal zip ties, metal wire or metal strapping to construct or rebuild these structures.

What I like best? Granddaughters helped build the last 2 coops & last weekend put together their own coop up in MT for their 4H birds - almost by themselves (13 & 11 yrs old). After I'm mobile again, I expect I will be able to do the reconstruction myself. The taking apart & recovering usable hardware is hard part!!

These structures may look "country", hickish or whatever term you want to use, not pretty & probably not acceptable in any HOA, but we've been amazed at how long & well they've lasted utilizing the materials we used! They worked for us for a LONG time, when we were working on a shoe string budget & no time since both of us have worked full time + overtime, & none of us have construction knowledge.

1 more thing - some of these cattle panel were originally purchased in late 70s & traveled from CO, to MT, then to NC. The older panels look different, have less rust & are more consistent in welds & SIZING (both length & height) then current cattle panel (supposed to be 16' long by 50" tall). I needed CP for part of the reconstruction (2×4 wire attached to upper part of what will be hooped on 12 or 16 panels). Those panels are a bit shorter than the 16' & they were welded in such a way that all horizontal wires are sticking out - on both ends. If I'd known what was going to happen in life, I'd NEVER have purchased the last 16. I'd have waited for a better batch, especially w/ what they cost these days certainly not the $8 in CO or the $10 in MT...

 

[fat brown hen]

@paintedChix Thank you for sharing all your different hoop coop builds. I really appreciate the time you took to compile this.

 

[Krugerrand]

Very interesting! Do the cattle panels provide enough structural support for the front/back walls? What keeps the door frame from moving?

Yes, things are very stable. I have the door frame strapped/screwed to the top of the arch. Plus, I cut off the bottom horizontal line of the cattle panel so that the vertical pieces spike 4-6" into the ground.

To not use a base, I got the idea from Blooie's run:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/motel-chix.67240/

I also stole the cattle panel door idea, too from Res. No complicated framing required!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-coop-brooder-with-roll-up-sides.75720/