Tunnel between garden rows from Coop

[savilcr]

I have my coop located next to my garden. I want to build some type of half circle tunnel that I can lay between my garden rows so that the chickens can walk up and down between each row and eat weeds and bugs. Any ideas? I was thinking chicken wire and PVC but want to get some other opinions.

 

[TalkALittle]

Do they need to be predator proof? How sturdy? You can make a quick and relatively inexpensive tunnel out of sections of 2x3 welded wire fencing curved into arches, layed end to end, and held down with tent stakes. It holds its shape well and the sections can be stored flat when not in use.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I haven’t done anything quite like that but it is an interesting question. What are you growing? How tall and wide does it have to be? How many rows and how long? How much room will you have between rows so you and the chickens can get through?

Let’s see. You probably want something inexpensive, does it need to be reusable? Are you planning on storing it over the winter? Some stuff can be a real pain to store. I think the more reusable you make it the more expensive it will get. Chicken wire might work as long as the holes are small enough the chickens can’t stick their heads through it unless you keep it well away from the plants. It will need to be removable so you can mulch, weed, and harvest your crops. It needs to stand up to wind. It needs to let sunshine and rain through yet allow excess moisture to evaporate so you don’t cause mold, mildew, or other diseases. You don’t want the chickens to be able to go under it so it needs to be really close to the ground. If your plants start to grow through the mesh it will be a pain to remove it.

I can see many different things working, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. I’d consider bird netting or deer netting to cut costs, but that stuff can be a pain to work with. It gets tangled up so easily and will snag on its own imagination. If you can find PVC long enough and flexible enough to bend in the shape you want that can work but you’ll have to anchor the ends someway so they don’t spread apart or fall over. It can be done.

I’d be tempted to drive T-posts and use bird or deer netting over those. I’d tie the netting to them with string that I could easily remove (cut if necessary) so I could get to the crop to work. If you have a wood lot with straight suitable branches or sprouts you could maybe use those but that netting will snag on those something awful.

Jut some thoughts off the top of my head. Maybe it will spark an idea for something that might work for you. If you have raised beds or your rows are spread out enough this sounds pretty good but in my garden these would be so close together I would not have room to work between rows.

 

[savilcr]

Do they need to be predator proof? How sturdy? You can make a quick and relatively inexpensive tunnel out of sections of 2x3 welded wire fencing curved into arches, layed end to end, and held down with tent stakes. It holds its shape well and the sections can be stored flat when not in use.

I like that idea.

 

[lynnehd]

I have my coop located next to my garden. I want to build some type of half circle tunnel that I can lay between my garden rows so that the chickens can walk up and down between each row and eat weeds and bugs. Any ideas? I was thinking chicken wire and PVC but want to get some other opinions.

This BYC thread uses the welded wire tunnels similar to what
@TalkALittle described.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/817880/pictures-of-my-brand-new-chicken-tunnel

I use tunnels like this, secure with garden staples, to give my chickens access from their coop/run to their 'secondary run' under a tree.

You can make them simple like the above, or use a PVC frame (If you can't heat the PVC to bend it, you can use PVC connectors and make it in a square tunnel shape. I've also seen little A frame tunnels using 1x2's and any kind of wire.

Here is someone's 'chunnel' around their garden.