Opinions on my designs

[Mary Galbraith]

So I haven't had to sorry about building for a while because our property came with a couple coops that worked for while. Well stupidly I scrapped them just before breeding season.
Now I'm trying to figure out what I want.
I want something easy to move so I was thinking PVC and chicken wire or possibly net. Then I was thinking they'd need a place to get out of the weather. So I looking around and found a couple YouTube videos of chicken tractor that were a frame with a tarp attached to the top and both ends open. I really like the look of that. But was thinking instead of over the whole top just over half and making it where part of the ru was covered completely making a coop like thing I can put nesting boxes in for the hens. Would this work??? They would be used March through August. I'm in Indiana by the way if that matters.
My next question would be I'd want them to hold up to ten chickens(that any would probably never be in there but want to be prepared just in case). Would a 10×12 frame be big enough for possibly 10 chickens but on a normal there would be any where from 3-8 in them.
Then I probably won't use them in the winter but would there be a way to winterize them???

 

[Welshies]

Chicken wire is not predator proof. Don't use it if you don't want your birds to become dinner.
For 10 birds you would need 40 square feet of space... if they have a run area. If not, you'd need around 100 square feet of space.
As for your design, I don't understand what you are trying to say. You'll need nesting boxes for laying hens, and should have roosts for nighttime.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what your goals are. How many birds will you have in the summer, and how many birds will you be wintering over. What do you want chickens for? If you want a cheap build, you might consider a cattle panel coop, with hardware cloth as a covering, and skirt, then cover the whole structure with tarp depending on the season. I built a CP coop that had a loft. It was a difficult build b/c of the loft, and I was not happy with the low height of the loft (floor to ceiling). If I was building a CP coop again, I'd not build a loft, and keep the entire structure as a coop. I would not recommend CP coop for climates that regularly go down to single digits or below at night.

 

[lazy gardener]

The major issue with "easy to move" is that such a structure is also "easy entry" for predators.

 

[Welshies]

The major issue with "easy to move" is that such a structure is also "easy entry" for predators.

Agreed. The OP might try a hoop coop also designed as a chicken tractor- possibly by using good quality materials and then designing a homemade forklift (handheld) on wheels to move it with.

 

[Mary Galbraith]

Also there are a bunch of different sizes of pvc pipe so which size would be best???

 

[Mary Galbraith]

The major issue with "easy to move" is that such a structure is also "easy entry" for predators.

The major issue with "easy to move" is that such a structure is also "easy entry" for predators.

What about if I used stakes or something to hold it down. Birds of prey in my area are our most frequent predators.

 

[Welshies]

What about if I used stakes or something to hold it down. Birds of prey in my area are our most frequent predators.

I am sure you have more predators than just birds of prey. I respectfully disagree with you.
I'll bet you at least, if not more, have:
Hawks (which, btw, can pull heads through wire)
Falcons
Raccoons or skunks
Dogs
Cats
Weasels or rats
Squirrels
Snakes
Bobcats or lynx
Foxes (a for sure)
Coyotes

 

[Mary Galbraith]

I am sure you have more predators than just birds of prey. I respectfully disagree with you.
I'll bet you at least, if not more, have:
Hawks (which, btw, can pull heads through wire)
Falcons
Raccoons or skunks
Dogs
Cats
Weasels or rats
Squirrels
Snakes
Bobcats or lynx
Foxes (a for sure)
Coyotes

Not saying we don't have other predators I said our most frequent predator is birds of prey. We haven't had to deal with anything else other than a racoon a couple years back. We have two livestock guard dogs that do their jobs.
I'm trying to come up with a tractor type coop/run that will hold 3-8 large chickens, I've tried wood but its just too heavy.

 

[lazy gardener]

Are your dogs out in the yard every night? Would they keep predators away? Are they trained to leave the chickens alone? Yes, a well built cattle panel coop will keep BOP from getting them. Your bigger concern will be night time animals: coon, domestic dogs on the loose, possum, fox. All will rip through chicken wire or dig under the edges.

Weasel will go under edges or go through any opening that you could push a quarter through.