Helpful hints for building coops

[tigger19687]

I LOVE duct tape. :0)

 

[biophiliac]

My south side was open in the 8x24 coop and partially in the 8x8

View attachment 1176626 View attachment 1176629

I always wanted a hoop coop like that.

 

[Molpet]

What are your huddle boxes like?

The little purple premade junk coop, I bought used and it is falling apart, and a 4x4 dog house the turkeys are standing on...
20+ chickens and 5 turkeys in the 8x24' coop last year
But this guy made on the N end a huddle box, I sorta based mine on his, but I used all 2x4's https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/permanent-hoop-coop-guide.47818/

 

[Molpet]

I always wanted a hoop coop like that.

It's not that hard to build, getting the cattle panels home and attaching the hardware cloth together is the hard part.. I built the big one during the winter so it took 3 months, but I only worked when it was 45f or above LOL.. the small ones I worked on when I felt like it and took me a month each.. should take a week or 2 by myself.. faster if you had help and ambition

 

[CapricornFarm]

I LOVE duct tape. :0)

Yup, you can even use it for medical purposes!

 

[Elyrian1]

I like the more permanent design. I think I have some work ahead of me this weekend. Last weekend I only had Sunday afternoon to play around, but we slapped that sucker together in three hours. Built a wood frame on the ground, got the panels situated, (ours is only two panels 8x8 and very sturdy) and got some additional supportive t-posts driven into the ground. Then wired it all in place. Took at least half an hour to get the darn tarp on because the top of the coop and the roofing wire on the run are sandwiched right up against each other. We alternated lifting the run wire up, wiggling the tarp forward, then repositioning the brace on the wire, then more wiggling. Hubby was irritated poor thing. We never envisioned the run wire getting in the way of construction, it sure keeps everything out, flying and climbing critters.

This weekend I'm going to get the roost bars properly installed, get a half door on to help with heat retention, and last night we installed the permanent nesting boxes. Whew. Does everybody just wire their roost bars in in this case or is an additional support necessary for stability? I have bailing wire, tough stuff know it can hold the weight just fine, just worried about it shifting a bit when they jump up there. Hmm, should probably make coop thread when it's all done...

 

[CapricornFarm]

Chook-a-holic has an awesome hoop coop article! Check it out, very thorough!

 

[jvls1942]

good morning,
you folks were really chatty in my absence .
I never had the urge to build a hoop coop.
I did have the urge to build hoop tunnels in the garden, though.
I looked up plans for a real simple way to do it. but never followed through with it.

IDK what I am doing today. Annie hasn't told me her plans. If I am not included, I will work on the window trim some more.

......jiminwisc......

 

[aart]

Hmm, should probably make coop thread when it's all done...

You should!!

Does everybody just wire their roost bars in in this case or is an additional support necessary for stability?

For roosts I used L-brackets, screws to roost and hooked over panel rods,
they are stable and removable.

For cross beams I angled and grooved end and attached with screwed on bent L-brackets.

 

[Elyrian1]

Aart you're awesome! I'd have never thought of that and killed myself trying to wire the boards in. Okay, Home Depot trip right after work, lol. I'm sure my blacksmith hubby will have an appropriate hammer for the job, and might lend the muscle as well. When we put together the support for the nesting boxes last night he was watching me with the jigsaw, going slow, being careful (I give power tools a healthy amount of respect and move slow with them), and then he just took over all the cutting, drilling, and assembly, lol.