Modified Hoop Coop Design Development

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

bend the wires back if you havent already... You can also use sheet metal edging trim...

Or a piece of old garden hose split then zip tied on...

If you get any wind there will be holes made by the wire. But my Tarps have lasted me on average two years. Pretty ratty when I take em down but mostly keep the birds cool and dry.

My coop was flat having an arch is awesome. Id have to sweep underneath and push the tarps up to get the water to run off.

deb

Oh yes, pushing water off of tarps does not sound fun! I did bend the wire and beat with a hammer, but it’s still too sharp for the tarp. Thanks for the old hose suggestion - I’ll look around and see what I can find to cover the jagged seams at the end.

 

[Molpet]

Thanks! I like your hoop coops! The ridgeboard is nice too. Do you find them necessary for snow load? I though about adding one but in the end decided I’d sweep off snow... Bot that Oklahoma gets much but every once in a blue moon we do get a blizzard. I figured I’d have to be out their sweeping the other poultry houses anyway...

one I forgot about the ridge board until it was too late . It's under a pine tree so it doesn't get a lot of snow. so far it's been fine... some one had one that collapsed from snow without a ridge board.

 

[aart]

You can also add crosspieces, like the top of this door frame, intermittently down the length of the tunnel to strengthen the arc from sagging under snow load.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-hoop-coop-chicken-tractor.72211/

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

You can also add crosspieces, like the top of this door frame, intermittently down the length of the tunnel to strengthen the arc from sagging under snow load.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-hoop-coop-chicken-tractor.72211/

I did

You can also add crosspieces, like the top of this door frame, intermittently down the length of the tunnel to strengthen the arc from sagging under snow load.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-hoop-coop-chicken-tractor.72211/

I did put in cross braces for roosts, though only attached to the cattle panel, not wood supports. I thought about putting a center support on those to the top of the arc but didn’t do it...

 

[aart]

I did put in cross braces for roosts, though only attached to the cattle panel,

If roosts are firmly attached to the panels, they should help stiffen the arc.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Ugh, a large black rat snake got into the coop night before last and killed two keets. I’m not sure how it got in, but I saw weakness in waviness of the apron and possible door gaps. I put in 150 additional landscape staples and now the apron is lying pretty flat. I don’t know if the door gaps are big enough to be a problem or how to eliminate them. There are two doors but the solid door is boarded up and has almost no gap, except at the hinge side... I had placed 1x4 boards around the outside of the screened door but they interfered with its function and probably weren’t closing gaps much as I had them. I’m going to post at the coop forum also to see if anyone has ideas about closing door gaps...

 

[aart]

I’m going to post at the coop forum also to see if anyone has ideas about closing door gaps...

Attach boards inside that the door can close against?

 

[aart]

I’m going to post at the coop forum also

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/snake-proofing.1333117/

 

[Victoria-nola]

O my goodness, I had NO IDEA there was any activity here. BYC didn't notify me!! WAAAAAAA.... I'm so sorry I wasn't here to help. We used a clear poly tarp and only have the tarp going halfway down the sides, so it gets lots of light and air. Now it's time to replace the tarp and we bought 2 long narrower ones to make side awnings with for summer (to keep rain out better), and they can be put down against the sides for making it warmer in winter. We don't get much snow here. I'm overwhelmed at the moment at everything I missed, but I will look at everything and see if I can help. I'll also post photos of the new tarp setup. Oh, and we're planning to put the old tarp back on top of the new tarp to help protect the new one-- part of what broke it down was guineas running around on top. Even though our current guineas abandoned the coop, I sent away for some eggs that are about to hatch, and we're going to put them in this coop for their first months. I wanted to bring in new genetic material. Then, our guineas hatched out 15 babies and we never knew for sure they had a nest. So lots of babies here. Here is a link to the poly tarps we use:
http://www.tarpsurplus.com/agricultural-tarps.html

 

[Victoria-nola]

Again, I apologize for being missing. I didn't see a notification, and I've been so busy. I just hatched out 7 keets from eggs I ordered from ebay. Just earlier Saturday night. Before that I had baby chicks delivered, my first time getting chicks at the post office. I would have gotten eggs but I knew I wanted to incubate the keets and I only have one incubator. Where we live it's good to raise young birds about this time of year because the bugs go away and there is still plenty of time for them to feather out before it gets cold.
Question was asked what to use to cover the pointy seams to protect the tarp. On the recommendation of the builder who had built in significant support for his hoop house and which I admired, I used something called "sill gasket", which is a plastic foam stuff that is put between the foundation and the wooden sill, the first wood. It's supposed to help protect it from rot, and it may last for many years in the dark. But using it where the light hits it is a poor idea. It decomposed and is putting bits of plastic into our environment, which I am picking up on a regular basis.
I think using hose insulation, or actual old hose, is a better idea.
I think what I will use is one of the following, the batten tape is a lot cheaper, cheaper than hose insulation, and probably better all around as this tape won't decompose:
https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/polypropylene-batten-tape-gf--9007
edit: Found the deal I needed:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006WZ5E3A/?tag=backy-20
I think this could be applied over the poky seams by using a zip tie every 2-4 feet, closing the ziptie on the inside of the frame so it's smooth next to the tarp on the outside. Then lay over the tarp. This is what I will buy for the new tarp install.
https://www.greenhousemegastore.com...lene-install/white-felt-with-adhesive-backing
This is probably the best, although it is narrowish and probably would need 2 rows, and is much more costly.