Welding Rebar frame for coop or run

[cafrhe]

Has anyone tried using rebar to make a frame for a tractor type coop/run, hoop house structure? I thought it might be easier and sturdier to weld a rebar frame for a tractor/hoop house type run. I would use it for small groups of chickens, meat chickens or growouts. Size--maybe 5x7 base and 4' high (to fit in hanging waterers & food and squeeze in if I had to)

I have a bunch of grow outs who need to transition to the great outdoors soon. Many I hope to not have in the fall, so I dont really want to build a winter appropriate coop.

I have a large hoop house I made for last year's meat chickens and while I really like it's height, it is heavy and I could deal with bending over with a lower house. My idea was to weld a rebar frame (either HH or square tractor type) and cover it with cage wire. Then I can enclose one end for shelter.

I cannot find much information about this--most welding info is for concrete pouring. I do have access to an arc welder (225V Miller Thundervolt), though I have never welded (but how hard can it be lol!). I have read that rebar is either easy to weld or really difficult...so thought I should just try it and see. Any thoughts or experiences?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m not a welder myself but I was around welding a lot in construction. It’s very easy to damage your eyes just being around it. I had mine flashed one time where I had to be taken home, I certainly could not see to drive or even walk. That was painful. Very painful.

It’s hard to be a good welder, takes practice. But with some practice you should be able to tack rebar together well enough for what you want to do, especially with a little instruction from someone who knows what they are doing.. But, and this is a huge but, rebar is heavy. I think it would be very easy to wind up with something a lot heavier than you want. I don’t know what kind of design you are looking at, but you might consider bending PVC pipe to make another hoop pen. It will be a lot lighter.

I just think you have better alternatives.

 

[yellowchicks]

Our 4' x 6' x 6' high chicken run is made with welded 3/4" dia. galvanized steel tubing (from Home Depot). It is very sturdy and light weight. My husband and my teenage son and daughter did the tube cutting and welding (with welding masks on), I did the painting. I moved this run in place by myself using a little trailer across the yard, that's how light it was. The roof of the coop holds the run in place but the two structures can be separated and moved if need be.

You can find more info on My Coop page.

 

[cafrhe]

Thanks for the input.

Ridgerunner--I would make sure to have my ppe for welding! From what I have been reading, it might just be cheaper etc to stick with wood framing for my needs.

I do move my fencing a lot and think I could make some easy to move fence posts from rebar....

Yellowchick--I will look at that next time I am in hd...it is like chainlink fence posts?

 

[birds4kids]

Rebar would be heavy by the time you gusseted it enough to not break at the welds moving.

 

[yellowchicks]

Yellowchick--I will look at that next time I am in hd...it is like chainlink fence posts?

The EMT tubing is way cheaper than the chain link fence post.