working out the fine points

[syble]

I'm looking to make a good sized mobile chicken coop and run this spring. I'm leaning towards 10x10 or 12x12, somewhere around there. Designed for large breeds, RIR, Doms, Orps, and possibly marans. design of the coop itself is simple enough for the most part, simple and square. man door on the side and through to access the run. For moving purposes i will make the run detachable. Predators are not as extreme here as others have to deal with thank god! Main issue is possums coyotes and cori dogs. Bald eagles and hawks can be hard on them too but i intend to have the run covered. My main challenge will be how to make it mobile. I dont really want to put it on a full wagon frame and have it 2-3' off the ground. I would like to keep it 6-12" off the ground. We are extremely flat here!

Now considering using 1/2 painted chip board in the inside(most likely Styrofoam insulation) and sheet siding for the walls. roof will be flat with a slope. Same construction as walls. floor will be the changeable design based on how the mobility is made. I have a ton of sheet/concrete forming plywood to use, its ubber thick and strong as heck, and best of all free. Most likely built on a deck style frame. I have no idea how much such a beast would weigh which tends to be my issue in working out wheels. Would something like either of these work?
http://www.harborfreight.com/materi...x-5-inch-heavy-duty-pneumatic-tire-37767.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/materi...-x-8-inch-turf-type-pneumatic-tire-36338.html

The 5" wide wheel is rated for 350 lbs at 30 psi
The 6.5" wide wheel is rated 660 lbs at 14 psi

Now the speck sheet leaves something to be desired for me, is that rating per wheel or per thing to be held. Maybe i should phrase it a different way. if i was putting 4 wheels on a coop and they were the 5" wide ones, would that mean i could have a coop weighing 1400? or just 350? I want to go with nice wide wheels because i want to damage the grass as little as possible. Heck i've even considered putting 6 wheels on but cancelled that though assuming that if the wheel in the center was on a high point it could stress the coop and possibly damage it.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Sib

 

[MamaChic21]

I'm at the same boat as you are and I was at the Habor store 3 times this week trying to figure it out. I found this website that might be helpful for you about the coop but now my new task is to figure out how to make the run portable with the wheels from Habor. Here are some links and maybe together, we can figure something out. Good luck

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=326864 for the coop

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=439523 for the run, maybe...I'm still at the "thinking" part

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I think you're thinking about this the right way... that is VERY large to expect something mobile and you WILL need to have two halves that move separately and dock together.

For the run, may I recommend a cattle-panel or pvc hoop design. This will be pretty easy to move by hand, even at that size. Just watch you've constructed it with enough solidity that it can withstand the bumps and twisting that will happen.

For the coop part:

considering using 1/2 painted chip board in the inside(most likely Styrofoam insulation) and sheet siding for the walls. roof will be flat with a slope. Same construction as walls.

Weight is going to be a big or huge issue (what SIZE coop are you actually planning on? NOt a full 10x10 or 12x12, I hope, unless you have a vehicle to pull it?).

I would suggest two things before you go any further. First, take whatever your current design is, do a full parts sheet with absolutely ALL the materials, then look up their weights (you can find tables online) and add it all up. Bear in mind that the problem is not so much "how much weight will be on the wheels" as "how much mass can I pull" (or my lawn tractor, or whatever you'll be using). And this will be on irregular possibly-softish possibly-turfed ground, not on pavement, which makes a very very large difference especially if you are going with smaller wheels as you are intending.

Then, if and when you discover that the weight is disturbingly high, and I think you WILL find this, figure out how to reduce weight. The first thing I would suggest is to use metal or polycarbonate (not pvc) plastic panels for the siding, and something very thin to cover the insulation on the inside -- vinyl flooring scraps would actually be good for that, because they are peckproof and lightweight compared to plywood or chipboard. If you DID want to use a wood product I would suggest 1/4" plywood, not 1/2" chipboard, as it is noticeably lighter.

Would something like either of these work?

You have to tell us what your design and (especially) calculated WEIGHT of the coop will be; also some information about the soil/terrain on which you'll be using it would help. (On damp or sandy ground, anything where a heavy person's footstep leaves an indentation in the ground however slight, you will have significant digging-in-and-getting-stuck problems with smaller/narrower as opposed to larger/fatter wheels)

rating per wheel or per thing to be held. Maybe i should phrase it a different way. if i was putting 4 wheels on a coop and they were the 5" wide ones, would that mean i could have a coop weighing 1400? or just 350?

That is certainly a good thing to be thinking about

[I like how you are approaching this project] and the answer is a bit more complicated than it might seem at first.

The weight experienced by any one wheel will be one number-of-wheels-th of the structure's full weight if they are evenly loaded. Thus if there are four wheels each will bear 1/4 of the structure's weight if they are evenly loaded.

HOWEVER YOU MUST NOT ASSUME even loading, because as you move this puppy around (even on relatively-even ground) it WILL tip and rock a bit and load each wheel more than its theoretical fraction at some times. How much of this should you allow for? It depends on the design of the structure and your land and how you will be moving it, but in a typical case (not too tall a coop relative to its wheelbase, pretty smooth level ground, moving the coop by hand) I would suggest that an extra 50% should be reasonably safe. Thus if you calculate that the coop weight should be around 400 lbs [bear in mind these calculations can be incorrect, for a whole variety of reasons] and it will have 4 wheels, it might be reasonable to use wheels that are each rated for at least 150 lbs. Although, higher-rated would be better/safer, if you have a choice.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[syble]

Sorry for the crappy quality, just want to give you the meat and veg of what i have down as rough plans. For demonstration purposed, lets say we're going for 10x10. And yes i have 3 tractors and a truck i can pull it with

A thought hit me as i was working out the bracket for the wheel, although it might be problematic to have 3 wheels across for stress points, nothing would bother having the wheels paired, so if i went with the nice big 6.5" wide turf tires, i would actually have a 13" spread to distribute the weight and pressure. I should mention we have hard clay here. We drive trucks and tractors on it on a regular basis. I don't imagine it would be destructive to the turf, or hard to move (with the right equipment at all.

For the run i'm leaning towards using chain link and fence pole framing. I figure that will be reasonably light weight but strong enough to keep cori dogs a bay. And if we do the top in that aswell then i dont think even the bald egals could get through that! I imagine some kind of smaller tire used in a kickstand fashion would work well, probably wouldnt even need a machine to move the run( remembering that i am planing on having them detachable to reduce stress when moving).

I intend to put a window or two in but havent factored them in yet because i will likely get them from a salvage yard or the like so lord knows what they will be! I also hope to have a window in each door. I'd also like to stick atleast one long vent under the leading edge of the roof, design it to be covered for the coldest months.

Everything else will be basic construction. joist and studs on a 2' center (possible change around the doors and windows), i meant 1/4" chipboard for the inside walls, i think its the thinnest i've seen. I'll have to discuss it with my dad but i expect the majority of the platform will be 2x10's but we'll see. and then there is the framing plywood for the floor. and of course the sheet siding for the roof and walls.

He tends to like to do everything 10x better then it needs to be but in this case weight is a concern. The run i'm thinking will be 10'x 20', though i'm almost leaning towards making it 30' long. I would like to only have to move this on a weekly basis.

Hopefully that clears a bit of my jumbled thoughts for ya'll
Thanks
Sib

 

[jason_boivin]

Quote:
You add the capacity of each wheel for the total
so the 5" gives you 1400lbs with 4 wheels
6.5" gives you a 2640lbs with 4 wheels.
need a tractor to move your tractor at that weight.

 

[syble]

I should certainly hope that it doesn't come to such a weight, but then again i do have a nice big construction tractor haha. Ideally I'd like to move it with the landscape sized tractor. more maneuverable and just easier to work with. I have a material list now i just need to find that table that pat was talking about and go work out some weights.
Thanks
Sib

 

[MamaChic21]

what size run are you thinking of building and what are you going to make it with?

 

[MrsPinkKitty]

My hubby doesnt seem like he really has a plan when he goes to build another chicken coop.He just goes to the lumber yard and supply store .He says that he just builds the run area and by the time he gets to the coop he has tons of ideas of what to do.The coops come out wonderful and looks so fancy.Everyone comes by and asked were did you get the plans for that and he jokes "god sent em to me " .I really beleave he is right. Seems like when he has a plan it all falls apart but when he just wings it.Comes out a masterpeice .Hope this helps someone

 

[syble]

the only reason i'm planing this one out a bit more is for structural safety and mobility, if it was just a regular ground coop i'd do the same as you.

As for the run, it will probably be out of chain link fence and post frame work. We'll have to make some brackets, but it should be strong enough to deal with the local predators and the like
Thanks
Sib

 

[Bossroo]

All of the above plus... Your design will only allow for a back and forth movement on level hard ground. What are you going to do to turn this puppy when you come to a property fenceline or other building ?