Need to anchor down hoop coop

[Claborn Farms]

I know what you mean about chasing chickens in the rain. The wind took one of our 10x20 hoop coops lifted it up and over a 5 foot fence. My daughter came running in exclaiming something about a flying coop. We initially tried the screw in the ground anchors. They turned out to be a real pain when it came to moving the coops - which we do weekly. The base of our coops is metal pipe. We welded on a 6 inch diameter half circle of 3/4 inch metal. We put one in each corner. Now we drive T-posts through each of these small half circles. We have had some pretty good wind hit them - and they are still in place.

I keep a T-post puller and a T-post tamper out in the field with the coops - that way I can find them each week when I need them.

 

[Erica]

I use heavy duty long tent pegs. A tent peg puller is all that's required to get them out of the ground for moving the unit. The trick is to get them in at the right angle so the unit can't be lifted vertically. (That is, the tent pegs go in at 45 degrees with their heads pointing away from the middle of the tractor.)
Not sure if this suits your climate, sorry -- but it's very effective here, and we do get occasional blusters. I keep the tent peg mallet and pullet out with the tractor so they're always on hand.
Good luck,
Erica

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

If the anchors and cables are properly installed, it should be nearly impossible for them to break. I suspect there was too much slack that allowed the wind to get underneath it. Did this happen in a tornado or hurricane?

 

[SunnySkies]

Winter storm. They happen here. We also do get hurricanes, and like 2 weeks before we went to closing, a tornado passed less than a mile away from the house.

But the first time was just an 80 mph wind. We were under a high wind advisory. I made hubby check it that morning before he went to work because I thought the ties had too much slack in them. He disagreed. It popped loose while he was at work. I had just gotten a load of hay in and drove the truck to where the garage was laying in the field and chucked hay bales into it until it stopped moving. Took my entire load of hay to keep it from blowing away (I was terrified it would blow down the road and smash the neighbor's truck). Then I made him come home and dismantle the thing in the middle of the wind. He replaced the parts, put it back up, and the same thing happened in a pretty severe storm some weeks later. It broke through the fence posts both times. Lucky the fence is easy to fix.

The second time destroyed the thing. So..I hesitate to leave my birds in a similar structure, but we put it in a more protected spot and fastened it to railroad ties. So far, so good. But I can't stand to leave the farm now if we have a wind storm...makes me nervous.

Moral of that story: wife is always right.

Second moral: wife needs to take care of it herself. So I do. City boy hubby.

All this said, the roof of my barn, with hurricane ties on it, has been blown off twice in the last 2 weeks. URGH. The barn sits on top the hill and the winds just howl right over it. A breeze easily is 20 mph by the time it passes over that bit of the property. A good north wind like we have had recently gets up to 50 mph and there is nothing to block it. Neighbors are laughing at us all the time. They don't keep anything outside, their sheds are built on foundations and now I know why.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I figured there had to be some slack there for the cables to break. If they had been tight enough so it didn't "jerk" they would have held I'd suggest making your own anchors from 3 ft pieces of 1/2" Rebar and drive then in with a big hammer at a slight angle. That's what they use to hold down metal carports, and mine have survived 100 MPH winds more than once.

 

[SunnySkies]

I must be able to move the coop though.

 

[4 the Birds]

I must be able to move the coop though.

You could set multiple permanent anchors that can be latched on from your movable coop. This way you do not have to pull up anchors with each move; Yet, this will limit your movable coop range to the anchor grid pattern. Removing canvas surface area prior to big storm events would also help. Hopefully your birds have a secure shelter to retreat to during the night and during high winds or storm events.

 

[SunnySkies]

It sits in a horse pasture, so leaving stuff in the ground isn't really an option One of my mares has a neurologic issue and would find and trip on it, sigh. She has an uncanny ability to get herself into trouble.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I would pound about 3 to four feet of steel rebar into the ground and when I wanted it out I would jack it out with an old fashion bumper jack.




I used this method to move a clothe line pole and numerous things in my life.

A wrap or two of chain on the item in question and out it comes.

Easy Peasy.

It would have taken extensive digging and labour otherwise.

 

[SunnySkies]

But how would you fasten the rebar to the jack to pull it up?

And I dunno....some of the anchors themselves were broken off IN the ground. Is rebar really strong enough?