Walk in run help please.....

[angels4]

I have an Eglu Cube and an Eglu Classic both of which have attached predator secure runs. Although I love the houseing portions of the Eglu designs I'm not a big fan of the attached runs, they are small with a low profile and I cannot get in and do a real through clean. I'm planning on building a walk in run and was thinking of building the "Stagecoach Coop" design minus the housing portion and using it as just a run. I've been reading up on the design and relize the run is made with some PVC hoops or tubing. I'm not sure how well pvc will hold up in the in the sometimes weather extremes of New England...Hot summers and below freezing winters. Does anybody have any ideas what I culd use instead of pvc that will hold up through weather extremes. I've seen a couple of design where metal tubing has been used, but as someone who isn't very handy with tools I'm not sure I would be able to ge tthe tubing to make the hoop portions.

 

[seminolewind]

A picture would be nice!

 

[angels4]

Quote:

 

[elmo]

You could buy something ready made, like this:

http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft1_coldframes_hightunnels;pg105148f.html

Set it up, either using the ground posts or attach it to wooden baseboards, then wrap the thing with hardware cloth. You could paint the frame black first (or something to match your Eglu), and use vinyl coated hardware cloth, too.

There are many different sizes of these cold frames to choose from, from small all the way up to ginormous.

 

[patandchickens]

Make sure you've thought about snow load. I am not sure how much you get in your location but I would think anywhere in Mass. would sometimes get up to a couple feet of fairly wet snow, which weighs a LOT.

The lighter hoop coops require a significant amount of extra props and braces to stay up. The simplest/strongest thing IMO would be to whang something together out of lumber, as it is easier there to know what you're dealing with in terms of resistance to snow load (not that a hoop design *couldn't* be used, but I'd suggest following EXACTLY PRECISELY a design used by someone in a high snowfall area for several years at least).

Even if the thing is not roofed or tarped on top, the wire mesh alone WILL catch and hold a lot more snow than people usually expect, so yes, even just a wire-topped run does need to consider snow load. (Netting won't work for a top in the winter as it will just go 'flup' right away in the snow).

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[angels4]

Thanks for the information....Pat, I live about 1300 feet from the ocean and did think about the heavy, wet snow so I was thinking if I used the hoop design during the summer like this (of course covered with hardware cloth)

And then to allow for the snow load, winterized it with one of those portable garage/sheds like this:

It would allow for the snow load, plus keep the run free of snow, dry and perhaps a bit warmer. The wind on the island is brutal during the winter months. Might something like this work or should I just build somehting out of timber. I know with timber I should sink some corner posts, but as I'm renting I don't want to do anything that I wouldn't be able to take with me.

I'm just worried that the pvc wouldn't hold up and become brittle and I would have to start over.

 

[seminolewind]

I would think that lumber and hardware cloth would be good, lumber especially if the weather is a problem.

 

[meadrian]

I like the idea of the stagecoach design because of the roof. Seems snow wouldn't pile up quite as badly. Could you make the run out of a 2x4 frame, hardware cloth and a roof that peaks in the middle and then both sides slant down? Then you wouldn't have to use the PVC, snow wouldn't pile up on the roof and you could still winterize (I think. Haven't seen one of those up close.) and pull the cover off when you don't need it. Just a thought.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
It often does, though. BUnch of people on BYC have had hoop coops collapse. They can be propped up from the inside, of course, but I am not sure it is worth it (in this case) when it'd be simpler and more sure-fire to use a frame built out of lumber. A peaked roof running the length of the pen would indeed help snow shedding but also be a bit more work to build, sort of "six of one half a dozen of the other" IMO.

There is a heavier, UV-stabilized grade of PVC pipe out there. If you search the "Meat BIrds Etc" section of the BYC forum for tractor designs, you should run across some posts that give its proper name for shopping purposes. It will still not last as long as lumber though and may not give warning of failure.

Will that temporary shelter you show stand up to wind and snow well enough? (If there are a bunch in your area that are more than a couple years old, then of course I guess the answer would be yes, but up here they are sort of 'disposables'). If you are willing to bet that it will, the simplest thing would be to make IT your run. Fully cover with wire mesh (there are various ways to do that despite the metal frame, none of them difficult), framing in a door in the open side while you're at it; and then put the tarp-type cover on it for winter. Ta da

Note that I am still skeptical about its longevity, but if you're *not*, then that seems simplest.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat