My Pvc Chicken Coop Project

[jahphotogal]

Hi, I don't know if anyone will see this post since the thread is kind of old, but I have a very basic question - can you just bend the PVC pipe? I keep reading online you have to heat it in order to bend it!

thanks!

 

[DocW]

Here's a good website for you. Look at the Greenhouse especially. If you build a coop or run like this example, you will simply bend the pipe.

Here ya go:
http://www.pvcplans.com/

Hope that helps.

 

[Chickadee30]

Think this type of run will stand up to predators? I have dogs two of whom are rather obsessed w the chickens. I don't think they'd dig under like say a coyote or fox would do, but I'm sure they'll paw at the run and would like something that will withstand a few minutes of pawing in case I'm not paying attention and they're at the coop.

 

[jahphotogal]

I did end up building one similar to the one on PVC plans. 1/2" PVC pipe bends easily. Chickadee, if you cover it with hardware cloth, it's quite sturdy.

 

[DocW]

Chickadee,

I thought about that too. If you are making it as a permanent coop, and not moving around attached to a tractor coop, then yes you can make it very secured. Simply run a 1" X 4" treated board all the way down the coop and run near ground level, attaching them to the PVC with 1/2" galvanized clamps....


Then, dig a trench around your coop/run at least a foot deep and bury your wire (1/2" hardware wire) in your trench. For added strength and protection, I am going to use 8 ft landscape timbers all the way around the coop/run. To keep them in place, simply drill holes thru them, buy rebar in 2 ft lengths and drive them down in the ground until the are 6" or so above the timber, then insert a shim and drive the rebar flush with the timbers. I have used those in other places and they work great!!

Hope this helps....

 

[suzeeg]

Just updating a little. I am proud to say that the pvc chicken pen/coop is holding up really well. I have had to do nothing to it as far as repairs. I love the no rot, termites, ants etc. concept. I have built another one for the peacocks, similar but used chicken wire instead. I have also adde a flight pen or run onto the back of them.

 

[suzeeg]

I did not use wire on the top half of the second pen I built. Came up about half way with chicken wire and covered the rest with ground cover material you can get at a nursery. They hold up really well.

 

[suzeeg]

A simple hot wire around the pen saves alot of hard work. You don't need timbers around it or even bury the wire. To make my run, I drove rebar in the ground leaving about a foot above the ground and slid one end of the pvc pipe over the rebar , bent it over and slid the other end over another piece of rebar and so on, and so on, and then covered it in bird netting, and secured the netting to the ground with fabric stakes.

 

[suzeeg]

You do not heat pvc pipe to bend it. It will melt. longer pieces like 20 feet bend very easily.

 

[suzeeg]

I simply ran a hot wire around the pens and have never lost a bird.