Experiences With Hoop Coops?

[Tervuren]

I'm planning for the arrival of my first chicks in April. I've been doing research on coops and I think I've landed on a hoop coop for a couple reasons. One is that I have never built anything before and a hoop coop seems like the hardest design to mess up lol. I also live in a place where temps often get over a hundred in the summer and frequently below freezing in the winters. Hoop coops seem like something that can function as kind of an open coop design in the summer and can be adjusted to provide more protection from the weather in the winter. I've read through many of the wonderful articles on this site about building hoop coops, but I'd also like folks' opinions about what they like and don't like after using them for a while.
Thanks!

 

[Purlsnponies]

I recently completed my bachelor pad hoop coop, and really like it so far! It was relatively inexpensive and easy to build, and seems sturdy enough. The ventilation is great, though I'll likely have to add a tarp during our rainy months.

I plan to add a shutter to that back window so that I can close it during bad/cold weather.

One thing I picked up from one of the builds here was to use pieces cut from a roll of conduit strap for fastening the cattle panels to the wood frame. After having spent many days replacing fence staples in my field fences, I'm comforted by the extra security of the screwed in strap vs staples. Plus it made slipping the hardware cloth in between cattle panel and wood extra easy and secure.

 

[mowin]

I've got a hoop run. Its attached to my coop. I covered half in a HD tarp. I'm thinking about adding another alongside, and attaching with a tunnel. Pic is during the building process.

 

[ms_aeb]

I have built a low hoop coop that’s lightweight and has wheels to easily move. It’s 8’x10’ using 10’ pvc arches. Full length roosts. Nest boxes, waterer, and hanging feeder are on wheeled end to put weight over the wheels. Has hardware cloth in lower sides, chicken wire on top. Electric fence all the way around the base. It’s worked great these past few months to keep them secure and regularly on new pasture. I’ll be building another or two soon for a breeding pen and grow out pen.

 

[chickieandchookie]

Here is my dome!

 

[ozzie]

Hello fellow Aussie @chickieandchookie . Mine is similar in concept and looks like @mowin’s

It’s still a work in progress. I need to build a “Chunnel” to connect the side of the metal coop to the run (I have yet to cut a pop door on the side). Currently I just open the door of the coop and they follow me into their run. I also need to rig up a misting system in the run and on top of the coop roof for those stinking hot days. I really like the hoop house. It’s roomy.

 

[Vacman]

Here's what I have. I started out with that Amish-built chicken coop. I have it in a newly planted orchard surrounded with a protective electric net fence. In order to give them a sheltered place to scratch around in the winter, I built the hoop. Half of the south facing end is always open. There is an exhaust fan at the upper part of the northern end controlled by a thermostat turning the fan on at 80 degrees. It does get warm or even hot on a bright summer day, but the chickens always have the option to leave it and walk around the orchard. I have a greenhouse which I also built using the same idea except for 5' vertical sidewalls. The greenhouse measures 12' X 30' and the chicken coop hoop measures 12' X 18'.

 

[mowin]

Thanks for all the responses everyone! It's really interesting to read descriptions and see photos of everyone's set ups.
Does anyone have any experience with predators and hoop coops/runs made out of cattle panels (covered in hardware cloth)? Even though I'm in the suburbs there are frequent coyote, fox, raccoon, and bobcat sightings, as well as the occasional cougar!!!

Yes. No predator has breeched my run. I've had coons, fox, coyote, even several redtail hawks try for a free meal. None have succeeded. One mamma red fox has tried several times to dig in. My 24" apron won that battle. The only reason I watched was because the gals were already on roost and it was very dark and they weren't going nuts. Same mama fox came back during the day, causing the gals to go ballistic. Her pups were orphanage at that point.

 

[HaywardHomestead]

I’m sorry to hear about those racoons. Do you feel like posting a pic of your hoop coop? I’m playing with a bunch of 8 footer “handy panels” from TSC trying to decide 3, 4 or 5 panels per coop, whether low tractor or upright aviary, and tube, box vs. pyramid shape.

I will try and remember to take a picture of the coop when I get home from work, but this video shows basically what I did.

 

[HaywardHomestead]

Thanks for all the responses everyone! It's really interesting to read descriptions and see photos of everyone's set ups.
Does anyone have any experience with predators and hoop coops/runs made out of cattle panels (covered in hardware cloth)? Even though I'm in the suburbs there are frequent coyote, fox, raccoon, and bobcat sightings, as well as the occasional cougar!!!

My hoop coop is two cattle panels, covered in chicken wire, and hardware cloth. It has worked beautifully for years, though I've added tarps on top of older tarps that have cracked in the Texas heat over the years (going on 5 years with the same coop.

A few things:

1. I cover the entire top of my coop and the sides with a heavy duty tarp during the winter and for rainy season - if not the shavings at the front get nasty and it spreads throughout the coop. The entire front is open for ventilation.

2. I had old pieces of plastic siding that I strapped to the bottoms for more permanent sides for 2 reasons, a) weather proofing as wind was blowing rain in the sides under the edges of the tarp and b) predator issues.

3. I've never had an issue with a chicken getting attacked in the hoop coop, but I lost ALL m my ducks to raccoons while they were in the coop. Coons will put their hands through the mesh and pull the heads of the ducks (probably chickens too if they weren't roosting) through....it was an AWFUL scene to walk into. So....if you have ducks or lower roosts make sure you have protection.