We needed a movable coop quick and inexpensive. This is what DH came up with.
It is 14 feet wide and 10 feet long. It is about 7 feet tall in the center.
I want to emphasize that we did use chicken wire, and we don't recommend using it. This coop is where some of my dogs are, so predators are not a serious threat.
Here is the basic frame. It is from a trampoline frame. We used chain-link top rail to connect the 2 ends.
This is finished as far as we got before our new chicks hatched and we had to move the 3 week old chicks out of the brooders. We still have some minor things to finish.
2 of the dogs were inside inspecting everything!
We got approval from Sadie & one of her pups, Tippy. They didn't want to come out when we started putting chicks in.
Some of the 175 chicks in their new home. Hopefully, weather permitting, in a couple of weeks we will be letting them out during the day. As they grow, they won't have enough room to stay in here 24/7.
There are a lot of building tricks DH did that are not visible in these pics. When I get time I will put more detailed pics in my page. There are way too many to post in this thread, along with instructions.
The back is covered with the trampoline mat, acting as shade cloth. We covered 1/2 of that with a tarp for wind break behind the brooder box.
We used material we had on hand, trampoline, chicken wire, an old aluminum screen door covered in wire, pressure treated 2 X 6's, one of which DH ripped in half. Tarps we had for covering other stuff up, self-tapping screws and chain-link top rail.
All we had to buy was the bolts we used to connect the wood to the metal frame.
This will probably be covered with metal in the future, since I'm sure the tarps will not hold up very well. We didn't have one tarp that was large enough to cover the whole thing, so we used a really old one underneath against the wire, and layered 2 good tarps over that. I am going to buy a large tarp this week-end, and we will replace the 2 smaller ones with the larger one. We have had 2 thunder storms since we got the tarps on and they are working great.
This was a test. We are already planning the next one, it will be 20 feet long and 14 feet wide. It will be next to this one, and we will have enough room to move them when we need to.
Jean
It is 14 feet wide and 10 feet long. It is about 7 feet tall in the center.
I want to emphasize that we did use chicken wire, and we don't recommend using it. This coop is where some of my dogs are, so predators are not a serious threat.
Here is the basic frame. It is from a trampoline frame. We used chain-link top rail to connect the 2 ends.
This is finished as far as we got before our new chicks hatched and we had to move the 3 week old chicks out of the brooders. We still have some minor things to finish.
2 of the dogs were inside inspecting everything!
We got approval from Sadie & one of her pups, Tippy. They didn't want to come out when we started putting chicks in.
Some of the 175 chicks in their new home. Hopefully, weather permitting, in a couple of weeks we will be letting them out during the day. As they grow, they won't have enough room to stay in here 24/7.
There are a lot of building tricks DH did that are not visible in these pics. When I get time I will put more detailed pics in my page. There are way too many to post in this thread, along with instructions.
The back is covered with the trampoline mat, acting as shade cloth. We covered 1/2 of that with a tarp for wind break behind the brooder box.
We used material we had on hand, trampoline, chicken wire, an old aluminum screen door covered in wire, pressure treated 2 X 6's, one of which DH ripped in half. Tarps we had for covering other stuff up, self-tapping screws and chain-link top rail.
All we had to buy was the bolts we used to connect the wood to the metal frame.
This will probably be covered with metal in the future, since I'm sure the tarps will not hold up very well. We didn't have one tarp that was large enough to cover the whole thing, so we used a really old one underneath against the wire, and layered 2 good tarps over that. I am going to buy a large tarp this week-end, and we will replace the 2 smaller ones with the larger one. We have had 2 thunder storms since we got the tarps on and they are working great.
This was a test. We are already planning the next one, it will be 20 feet long and 14 feet wide. It will be next to this one, and we will have enough room to move them when we need to.
Jean
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