Some things you may want to think about when you build your coop

[CinnamonQueen]

I recently saw a math problem that was something like this:
The farmer has enough material to make a corral for his animals with a perimeter of 21 feet. What shape should he make his corral so he will get the most area?
The shapes with the most area were a square and circle, but how would you build a circular coop?
So, one thing I thought of was having a coop in the shape of a square with a half-circle run. I drew that, gave it some random measurements, and did some calculations. If you had the half circle run, you would have more space than just a square coop.
I would love to see someone use this idea. So, if you are building a coop and using this idea, please share!

 

[3KillerBs]

The problem with circular building is that its much easier to cut building materials square than to calculate all the correct, angled cuts to create a near-enough-circular-to-make-no-practical-difference structures and to fit everything precisely.

And even if you're doing something easier like setting out a roll of electronet in a fairly-circular arrangement, if you want to move the run every day to cover your pasture area evenly you end up with all those little diamond-shaped bits of unused pasture since circles don't nestle together neatly.

I just had to talk my DH out of a sudden enthusiasm for a geodesic dome greenhouse. "Yes honey, its efficient use of materials. But all the plant trays are rectangular and they need to sit on rectangular trays so I'd need two of the dome greenhouses to make up for all the wasted space inside the dome where nothing fits. ..."


PS -- If I were going to build a circular coop I'd use a circle of half-high stakes with one in every so many being full height. I'd use basketweaving techniques to create a half-high wattle wall then plaster it to make it predator-proof. Then I'd wrap the upper half in hardware cloth. The roof would be conical and have a vent hole in the center. It would probably require a center post but I'm not sure of construction techniques.

It would be suited to hot climates only but could be partially wrapped in a tarp to block storm winds.

 

[CinnamonQueen]

The problem with circular building is that its much easier to cut building materials square than to calculate all the correct, angled cuts to create a near-enough-circular-to-make-no-practical-difference structures and to fit everything precisely.

And even if you're doing something easier like setting out a roll of electronet in a fairly-circular arrangement, if you want to move the run every day to cover your pasture area evenly you end up with all those little diamond-shaped bits of unused pasture since circles don't nestle together neatly.

I just had to talk my DH out of a sudden enthusiasm for a geodesic dome greenhouse. "Yes honey, its efficient use of materials. But all the plant trays are rectangular and they need to sit on rectangular trays so I'd need two of the dome greenhouses to make up for all the wasted space inside the dome where nothing fits. ..."


PS -- If I were going to build a circular coop I'd use a circle of half-high stakes with one in every so many being full height. I'd use basketweaving techniques to create a half-high wattle wall then plaster it to make it predator-proof. Then I'd wrap the upper half in hardware cloth. The roof would be conical and have a vent hole in the center. It would probably require a center post but I'm not sure of construction techniques.

It would be suited to hot climates only but could be partially wrapped in a tarp to block storm winds.

Yes, it's true that cutting building materials in circles would be very hard, but there are some circular things you could use as a "base" to build on. Even then, I'm not sure how that would work. I haven't actually built a coop technically, so this is just theoretical.

 

[Mac14]

I recently saw a math problem that was something like this:
The farmer has enough material to make a corral for his animals with a perimeter of 21 feet. What shape should he make his corral so he will get the most area?
The shapes with the most area were a square and circle, but how would you build a circular coop?
So, one thing I thought of was having a coop in the shape of a square with a half-circle run. I drew that, gave it some random measurements, and did some calculations. If you had the half circle run, you would have more space than just a square coop.
I would love to see someone use this idea. So, if you are building a coop and using this idea, please share!

Cool idea!

 

[chfite]

It might well be that the added costs of posts and such would overwhelm any benefit of saving on fencing in building a circular run. But is good information to have.

Chris

 

[4 the Birds]

I recently saw a math problem that was something like this:
The farmer has enough material to make a corral for his animals with a perimeter of 21 feet. What shape should he make his corral so he will get the most area?
The shapes with the most area were a square and circle, but how would you build a circular coop?
So, one thing I thought of was having a coop in the shape of a square with a half-circle run. I drew that, gave it some random measurements, and did some calculations. If you had the half circle run, you would have more space than just a square coop.
I would love to see someone use this idea. So, if you are building a coop and using this idea, please share!

The circle or half-circle is an efficient math shape but it translates poorly as being cost effective in the construction world (fences and buildings). Curved fencing is possible but very poor structurally since you need two end poles (preferably with an "H brace") as anchor points to stretch your fence.

 

[CinnamonQueen]

I would love to see someone use this idea. So, if you are building a coop and using this idea, please share!

I guess this is very unlikely then.