Start a new thread..or do an article.
Always good to see the creativity that can overcome a less than stellar coop design,
and a great learning tool for those just starting out.
Need plans for a walk in coop
- Thread starter Apsrn
- Start date
Always good to see the creativity that can overcome a less than stellar coop design,
and a great learning tool for those just starting out.
- Thread starter
- #12
Apsrn
Chirping
I want to thank everyone for their tips and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I’m researching now. I’m going to discuss with my husband. I like the fact that I know at least the money I need to have. You are all awesome
i built the wichita cabin coop. its really nice
someone on here sells the plans and a sketchup model for a good price
This is good info. I got a lot of my wood for free on craigslist. in the end i spent about $350-400 on my coop.
https://imgur.com/4cj9OjD
Well, several folks have told you ways to save money re-using products available. What a few have done is SO AWESOME.
I've used CP and made hoops. By themselves on a wood base (attached) to start with, with wood framing to build in a door & pop door(made with an old, split bottom bucket w/ lid). The oldest coop (the one in back in the 1st pic) is now 5 1/2 yrs old, started life as a movable tractor, has been picked up and transported down the highway and placed on properties 2 different times (totaling about 30 miles) and is now a permanent fixture where it is. When the treated wood frame bottom rots out, the hoops will be raised and tires placed on the outside to act as the frame & the CP will be attached to the tires. The tires will be weighted w/ the compost that comes out of the coops - and then used to grow veggies, fruit & herbs in for the chickens, rabbits & us. If the frame on the front can be utilized still, great, but otherwise, may have to redo the doors/front. I will not use chicken wire again, but a combination of HC (1/2"-1") and 2x4 wire.
Recently I've gotten on a kick where I'm attaching CP to built up lumber base - not purchased boards - using scrap lumber that was buried in different areas on this property, trees that have come down (pine, scrub oak, holly, bradford pear & persimmon fruit trees) or been taken down, a fence that came down & is being replaced. Not attaching via screws or nails - using haystring to "string-it-all-together". Pallets gotten for no or very low $. The cost has been zip ties ($8.98/1,000-Amazon); 2x4 wire ($67+tax - 100' roll, 48" tall - TSC) - not too many problems right now with predators OR I'd have to invest in a lot more hardware cloth; T-posts ($5.49/ea for 7'-TSC); cattle panels ($21.99/ea -TSC); tarps ($10/2 @ TSC sale. Lowe's, HD, Northern Tool & Harbor Freight carry them, too, sometimes have sales or free when you purchase other items. The heavy duty ones today aren't anywhere near as heavy duty as the ones I got 5 yrs ago); screw eyes (TSC - can't remember cost want to say $1/ea - got 3 per gate) to put into pallets to make the CP gates (haven't hung any yet - have 3 completed that need to be done & 2 more almost done). The first two w/ blue tarps are 4x8' and each holds a quad of Bielefelders. The one is sitting on the ground, as I'd totally forgotten I was putting a wood base up first... Didn't get it pulled and done this Christmas as was working on other things.
On the brown tarped one, the T-posts have been driven into the ground deeper, the wood 4x4 (was there, didn't remove) was cut shorter so that we could attach another hooped pen/coop next to it. I need to do updated pictures, so that you can see what I've actually done since taking these. None of these had actual plans - nor are they exactly the same measurements. We used what was on hand and made the coops work with that. The gate from the 1 blue coop won't fit the other blue one and the same for the brown tarped one in the back... The coop/pens that are back to back - won't match up the way I'd originally planned BECAUSE I didn't remove the wood 4x4s that had been part of another structure (heavy vine trellis?). They were in deep & that was more work than I wanted to do by hand. Putting the hoops inside those, made them off a bit from the ones they are set up behind. Oh well. If I'd wanted perfection, I'd have removed all the previous structures and started over - uh - too expensive and time consuming, LOL!
Here are two pre-existing pens that we hooped w/ CP this year... I used 2 ltr bottles as part of the back wall on the 2nd one, need to do that to the first one as well. The brown tarped pen above is behind the 3rd pen down in pics below (not yet hooped).
Will be doing a couple of the hooped roofs in tin that we have removed from a short pen when we hoop it. Also have some more tin that I, too, picked up from CL. If the 1st application works ok/well - will do more that way when we are ready to replace the tarps. I DO now wire the CP so that if a tarp is damaged or comes off (during hurricanes), the birds can't get out of the coop (originals were done in chicken wire), but two pens that were hooped behind our house didn't get wired at all. Will do that the next time I have to replace the tarps, that can be interesting to do, I'm sure.
There are many plans out there for the CP hoop house - both for chickens and for green houses. Think one of the mid-western State colleges actually posted a PDF of directions w/ measurements. I found it - University of Kentucky . Hooped coops can be used in your state's weather - you would want/need to make a few modifications, not many. You can do a much nicer one than some of the ones we've built - there are many posted right here on BYC. Ours work well for us - even in the snow, ice & rain that we do get in NC. They've held up well in wind (I haven't had any issues with them being picked up by the wind, I have heard/seen that others have, there could be various reasons for that).
I've used CP and made hoops. By themselves on a wood base (attached) to start with, with wood framing to build in a door & pop door(made with an old, split bottom bucket w/ lid). The oldest coop (the one in back in the 1st pic) is now 5 1/2 yrs old, started life as a movable tractor, has been picked up and transported down the highway and placed on properties 2 different times (totaling about 30 miles) and is now a permanent fixture where it is. When the treated wood frame bottom rots out, the hoops will be raised and tires placed on the outside to act as the frame & the CP will be attached to the tires. The tires will be weighted w/ the compost that comes out of the coops - and then used to grow veggies, fruit & herbs in for the chickens, rabbits & us. If the frame on the front can be utilized still, great, but otherwise, may have to redo the doors/front. I will not use chicken wire again, but a combination of HC (1/2"-1") and 2x4 wire.
Recently I've gotten on a kick where I'm attaching CP to built up lumber base - not purchased boards - using scrap lumber that was buried in different areas on this property, trees that have come down (pine, scrub oak, holly, bradford pear & persimmon fruit trees) or been taken down, a fence that came down & is being replaced. Not attaching via screws or nails - using haystring to "string-it-all-together". Pallets gotten for no or very low $. The cost has been zip ties ($8.98/1,000-Amazon); 2x4 wire ($67+tax - 100' roll, 48" tall - TSC) - not too many problems right now with predators OR I'd have to invest in a lot more hardware cloth; T-posts ($5.49/ea for 7'-TSC); cattle panels ($21.99/ea -TSC); tarps ($10/2 @ TSC sale. Lowe's, HD, Northern Tool & Harbor Freight carry them, too, sometimes have sales or free when you purchase other items. The heavy duty ones today aren't anywhere near as heavy duty as the ones I got 5 yrs ago); screw eyes (TSC - can't remember cost want to say $1/ea - got 3 per gate) to put into pallets to make the CP gates (haven't hung any yet - have 3 completed that need to be done & 2 more almost done). The first two w/ blue tarps are 4x8' and each holds a quad of Bielefelders. The one is sitting on the ground, as I'd totally forgotten I was putting a wood base up first... Didn't get it pulled and done this Christmas as was working on other things.
On the brown tarped one, the T-posts have been driven into the ground deeper, the wood 4x4 (was there, didn't remove) was cut shorter so that we could attach another hooped pen/coop next to it. I need to do updated pictures, so that you can see what I've actually done since taking these. None of these had actual plans - nor are they exactly the same measurements. We used what was on hand and made the coops work with that. The gate from the 1 blue coop won't fit the other blue one and the same for the brown tarped one in the back... The coop/pens that are back to back - won't match up the way I'd originally planned BECAUSE I didn't remove the wood 4x4s that had been part of another structure (heavy vine trellis?). They were in deep & that was more work than I wanted to do by hand. Putting the hoops inside those, made them off a bit from the ones they are set up behind. Oh well. If I'd wanted perfection, I'd have removed all the previous structures and started over - uh - too expensive and time consuming, LOL!
Here are two pre-existing pens that we hooped w/ CP this year... I used 2 ltr bottles as part of the back wall on the 2nd one, need to do that to the first one as well. The brown tarped pen above is behind the 3rd pen down in pics below (not yet hooped).
Will be doing a couple of the hooped roofs in tin that we have removed from a short pen when we hoop it. Also have some more tin that I, too, picked up from CL. If the 1st application works ok/well - will do more that way when we are ready to replace the tarps. I DO now wire the CP so that if a tarp is damaged or comes off (during hurricanes), the birds can't get out of the coop (originals were done in chicken wire), but two pens that were hooped behind our house didn't get wired at all. Will do that the next time I have to replace the tarps, that can be interesting to do, I'm sure.
There are many plans out there for the CP hoop house - both for chickens and for green houses. Think one of the mid-western State colleges actually posted a PDF of directions w/ measurements. I found it - University of Kentucky . Hooped coops can be used in your state's weather - you would want/need to make a few modifications, not many. You can do a much nicer one than some of the ones we've built - there are many posted right here on BYC. Ours work well for us - even in the snow, ice & rain that we do get in NC. They've held up well in wind (I haven't had any issues with them being picked up by the wind, I have heard/seen that others have, there could be various reasons for that).
Last edited:
I am near Joliet Il and also use the hoop coops.
Our coop is a raised 4x8. And it has worked out well. But it cost a lot to build and is pretty full with 7 hens. If I were to do it all over again, I would start with a hoop coop. That would get you started for much less and
the walk in you desire . I have deposited my 2 cents in the comment jar.
the walk in you desire . I have deposited my 2 cents in the comment jar.
O, wow, that's one of the BEAUTIFUL ones!!
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest posts
-
Open Contest 2026 BYC Calendar Photo Contest - We Need Your Pictures!- Latest: azurbanclucker
-
-
-
Cackle Hatchery - Rare Breed Special and Top Hat Special?- Latest: newchickychick
-
Latest threads
-
-
-
-
Ducks Need Rehoming-Will Deliver within 100+/- miles
- Started by Bird Mama 6
- Replies: 0
-
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
-
-
Need advice for the best vines and plants for in a chicken run!- Started by ChickenShepherd_6116
- Replies: 98
-
Ended Official BYC Poultry Caption Contest 04-25-25 Pic by Sally PB- Started by TwoCrows
- Replies: 78
-
-