New 8 x 12 Bantam Coop *New Additions-Post 244~ 6/2*

[speckledhen]

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Cynthia, Your coop is very cute. Love the colors you picked.

You're going to have some happy 'lil Bantams I think.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Cynthia I have been puzzling this roof thing over for my own runs. Your run is small.

I only come up with ideas practical or not....

How about slipping PVC pipe over the top of your T posts to extend their height. then make a cross piece overhead attached with ells. You have the strength of the Tposts then the height of the PVC. If the pvc has to go below the point where you attach the wire you can drill holes through the pipe and run wire for fastening through them. Two inch diameter pvc is plenty strong enough to support overhead wire. And if you go to the electrical department it comes in grey.

Or make a structure like a swinset same width as the run using saw horse brackets. put it at the end farthest away from the coop and run your wire from the coop out.

Just a couple of thoughts from a recycler tinkerer of things repurposed from their original use.

 

[patandchickens]

That's great, Cyn! I especially like the color scheme

Super job <applause>

I agree with using pvc or conduit or something similar, or cattle panels, to make a hoop type top. If snowload is an issue for you you could add internal bracing come November and it is small enough I am pretty sure you could get it to stay intact.

Pat

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks, guys! We've been banging our heads against a wall today, trying to figure it out. The U-posts are the heaviest they have at Home Depot, but they still bend under pressure. I like the swingset idea! I'm going to get DH to read your suggestions and see if he can puzzle it out. This pen is 12 x 13, so the smallest we have, but for a dozen or so bantams, I think it's adequate, don't you?

ETA: DH just read your suggestions and his gears are turning--thanks so much! This is the only pen that I think must be covered. Those little ones can fly pretty high and they're hawk bait because of their size.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I used the saw horse deal to support a full sized solid core door for my first drafting table.... Aeons ago.... lol. It was about eight feet wide all done and those doors are over a hundred lbs. LOL upstairs apt... lots of hammering and sawing... Hee hee... ahem

but I digress....

If I do it for mine I am doing at least twelve foot spans with them. This will be for roof support for the runs. the space I have to do runs is going to be 24 feet wide. needless to say digging here is an adventure so the less digging is done the happier I will be.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Looks Great !!

 

[speckledhen]

They've moved in and are happy as can be, it seems. Here's a video clip of the little heathens:

http://s673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/Mtnviewpoultry/Video Clips/?action=view&current=DSCN1683.mp4

 

[Coopa Cabana]

They look so happy!!!

 

[RustyHen]

Ohhhh. so sweet I could watch and listen to that all day, untill my eggs hatch. I go into lockdown tonight.
our coop is about half built you know that place were you cuz and discuss where this or that will be, you have given us some great ideas for our larger run. Thanks for letting a newbie tag along