fully portable / flat-pack coop designs?

[philyc]

Good afternoon everybody.

I am trying to design and build a chicken coop that can be fully disassembled and moved every few years. I am in the army and as such i move around every 2-3 years.

I now have chickens in a coop we got for free and surrounded by a run which i have built very cheaply. over the next couple of years i want to design and build a new coop which can be easily collapsed, loaded onto a lorry and relocated.

It will need to house 4 hens so doesnt need to be massive but obviously a decent size to keep the girls happy. easy to take apart / pack up and put together again.

I was thinking of an A frame type affair, but though i should post on here after having seen some people's creativity.

All ideas welcome!

 

[Tabasco Jack]

I don't know your location or weather but you might consider a tractor instead of a coop. Mine are approximately 8' x 9'6". The base is 2" x 6" lumber and the end walls are framed with 2" x 2". I used cattle panels to create the walls and roof and then covered with a tarp. You could used conduit bent into an arch kind of like a small hoop house. When you move, unscrew and unbolt the fame. Buy a new tarp and new fencing.

Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Tumbling K]

I don't build coops per se, but more of a big roosting box with legs. I build a box, about 3.5'X3.5' and side with pallet lumber. I build each side of the box, and then put the sides together with screws. easy to take down if needed.

I use corrugated metal for my roof, but you could easily use plywood and shingles, and attach this to the box, using "L" shaped metal brackets.

my nesting box attaches to the legs, again with screws.

all of this can be easily taken down, and laid relatively flat.

if you'd like more details, I can throw together a sketch.

 

[User395221]

My new house was easily taken apart by one guy and brought to my house on the back of a ute and put back together. There are photos of it in my thread asking about getting new chooks and new house.

Like BertS said, it's panels and they are screwed together. The raised house part fits over the floor.

Edit: link to pictures of it
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...nd-a-new-house-how-to-manage/30#post_16372641

 

[Tumbling K]

My new house was easily taken apart by one guy and brought to my house on the back of a ute and put back together. There are photos of it in my thread asking about getting new chooks and new house.

Like BertS said, it's panels and they are screwed together. The raise house part fits over the floor.

Edit: link to pictures of it
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...nd-a-new-house-how-to-manage/30#post_16372641

yep, I do very similar, except my nesting boxes are out side the roosting area. mine aren't nearly as tall, since I have wind issues.

no floor in mine, but I'm in south Texas, but you could easily make a poop board if you needed one.

for my runs, I copied Blooie's hoop run.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/892087/hoop-run/10#post_14612715

so my feed and water are outside the roosting box.

if you already have a portable run, you can cover a portion for your feed and water.

 

[User395221]

for my runs, I copied Blooie's hoop run.

I like the lattice, that'd make it nice and shady inside.

(my girls will have another run, the attached one is just their "home run". I got a lightweight galvanized frame which was (I think) a dog kennel and I'm going to cover it with aviary mesh.)

 

[Tumbling K]

I used cattle panels for mine, then attached chicken wire.

we don't have many large predators any more.

 

[User395221]

we don't have many large predators any more.

It's the predators that determine how solid you need it. My backyard doesn't have any nasty killers in it, I only really need to have it strong enough to keep chooks in (luckily)

 

[philyc]

thanks for the responses,

I have been looking around and have thought that a chicken tractor with an A frame design would probably be best for structure and use of space.

My current coop was free and can be dismantled etc, but with screws into wood they will only last a certain amount of time before the screws stop biting. this leads me to thinking that having the basic A frame with a hinge at the apex would be the most sensible.

This would allow it to be essentially folded up (once roosts etc have been taken out). the floor for the upstairs sleeping and laying quarters would probably need to be either fixed with bolts or simply slide in and out of the A frame. Two end pieces would need to be using a similar sort of arrangement.

predators here are mostly foxes and badgers. both of these operate at night when the chickens would be locked up in the upstairs portion. i wouldnt plan on having a base for the tractor because of this. there is always one person at home during the day and the run/coop/tractor would be within a fenced garden anyway.

 

[aart]

thanks for the responses,

I have been looking around and have thought that a chicken tractor with an A frame design would probably be best for structure and use of space.

My current coop was free and can be dismantled etc, but with screws into wood they will only last a certain amount of time before the screws stop biting. this leads me to thinking that having the basic A frame with a hinge at the apex would be the most sensible.

This would allow it to be essentially folded up (once roosts etc have been taken out). the floor for the upstairs sleeping and laying quarters would probably need to be either fixed with bolts or simply slide in and out of the A frame. Two end pieces would need to be using a similar sort of arrangement.

predators here are mostly foxes and badgers. both of these operate at night when the chickens would be locked up in the upstairs portion. i wouldnt plan on having a base for the tractor because of this. there is always one person at home during the day and the run/coop/tractor would be within a fenced garden anyway.

A-frames can very confining for space and movement in upper level......just sayin'.

Depending on what kind of screws are used, how carefully clearance and pilot holes are sized and drilled, they can be reused quite effectively.