How do you get the PVC to bend for hoop coops?

[Zahboo]

I was at the store and could not get it to bend. I want a 8x4 hoop coop tractor, but afraid it's going to break! Any ideas?

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

its going to depend on what type and size your getting and how wide your going to make your hoops...the taller you want them - the more length your going to need. I bent a single 10 ft length 1/2" wide schedule 40 pipe into hoops that are about 4.5 ft tall and about 5' wide... add on 5 ft of pipe making 15 ft total and you'll manage in the area of 5'9-6'ft head clearance in coop I think....20 ft total of pipe and you'll make it nearly 7'

I only got mine to bend when I mounted one end to where it was going - then bent it....also - paint the PVC after you've mounted it up - this will help protect it from UV damage. If your going to use more than one length of pipe don't make the connector at the top, cut one pipe in half and use 2 connectors to connect the 5's or whatever to the 10' in the middle... so on the ground it looks something like this :


|======+=================+======| + are your connectors - if that makes any sense - this puts less bending pressure against those connectors - also dont glue them - screw them together or screw and glue - glue won't hold very well like that.

Good luck!

 

[Settin'_Pretty]

zaboo.
read that post above mine two or three times
the part about painting it is sound advice, the stuff shatters like a thin piece of glass about it's second to third year out.

IF you have the coin, metal conduit is a much better choice, it will last a decade

 

[nnbreeder]

Or the UV stabilized gray conduit can be used. It's just a little higher in price but will last many times longer.

 

[nelgkel]

my husband just built our chickens a 12 foot by 16 foot pvc run that is about 7 foot high..take a look at my byc page for a couple pics. I need to upload some more..

we used couple thousand screws to fasten it all together..that way it is easy to disassemble if necessary.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Quote:
Thats what I'm using is the gray conduit PVC. I like the look of it painted as well as the added protection the paint gives it. Even still unpainted I'd give the gray 4 years durability - especially in a hoop.

OH! Zahboo - use furring boards like 1X2 or 1X3 or PVC along both sides and the top for stabilizers, support, and something to tack/screw wire onto!

I love the cheapness and easiness of PVC hoop coops - mine just utilizes the run as a hoop with a standard little box as the coop attached to the PVC hoop run - but still the design os the same and I love it.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

FWIW, I have automatic waterers on a line of regular (white, not grey) PVC that is above ground and has been exposed to the elements for 10 years. It's in better shape than the buried sprinkler/drip system PVC is!

If you want a slightly peaked center, you could use the 60 degree connectors.

 

[B'villechicken]

My $0.02 is use the Krylon brand Fusion paint for plastic. It should hold better to the plastic.

 

[Mousefield]

Earlier this year I made a hoop greenhouse for our raised beds. Used thin wall PVC, had no problem bending it. Came in 20ft lengths and cut them in half, 10ft, one bed was 4ft wide and the other 5ft. The hoop had a different angle arch to it, the 4ft bed was a bit higher. You may be looking at a thicker wall. My first post on this forum and not sure if you can or how to attach pics.

 

[Zahboo]

Okay. We were considering this as a possibility for a tractor, but just couldn't imagine how to get them to bend lol.