Would these work?

[123RedBeard]

The dog house idea was for just a temporary shelter if they needed to be out of the house, or where ever your gonna brood them, until you get everything done ... If you ran out of time or money that is ... Winter is coming soon!

They don't need roosts or nesting boxes right away, for example ... You looking at near the end of the year for them to be feathered out, and you may have a bunch of snow by then ... Maybe ... If you celebrate Xmas ... You could ask for chickeny stuff ... To get your coop up and running ...

Blooie mentioned above raises her chicks out in her hoop coop, and let's her broodie hatch chicks year round, even in the winter in Wyoming!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ohh that makes sense! Yeah, winter is one thing I'm worried about, mostly about putting them out so young.

I hadn't even realized I won't need nest boxes right away, that's a good point. They don't start laying until at least 5 months anyways, right? So even if I put them out at 2 months that's still a long time I guess.

I didn't even think to ask for stuff, I'll have to try that.

But yeah, I think once I get the coop up I'll probably raise any more I get outside.

How do you get a hen to raise chicks? I know this is probably kind of a different thread but do they have to be broody first or can you just stick eggs or chicks under them?

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yours looks amazing!! Did you leave the pallets in tact or tear them apart and reassemble with the wood?

 

[123RedBeard]

Gonna need a broodie hen ... Others would probably kill them!

 

[ShrekDawg]

They'd kill chicks!? Didn't realize they were so brutal. but I guess that's animals ha broody doesn't always mean they'll raise them though right?

 

[paintedChix]

Here's a set of instructions that include a parts list -

Hoop Coop PDF

As to mine, I don't have nest boxes in them yet - the girls are between 8 & 12 weeks old right now. I've got some baskets I can make into the nesting boxes - but think they are actually going to be too small for these girls. They might lay in the buckets, but they aren't any larger (well they are longer) than the baskets I've got... Here's a pic from Living the country life dot com. and a hoop coop w/ rubber tubs for their nesting boxes (can't remember whose this one is and can't find the link!!) You can go to Pinterest and enter hoop coop and nest boxes and it comes up with all kinds of links/pics! Ductch Hollow's Hoop coop has already been posted - she has some baskets in hers that work well. I'm looking and I could actually use that rectangle on the front of my coop and put a couple of bucket nests there - opposite the "pop-a-top" door..






For roosts, at the moment, I've got some sticks stuck thru corners. They aren't large enough - I plan on getting some 2x4s and using them flat. Should have gotten them this past weekend and didn't. again, what I'm using at the moment is working for now. These are BIG chickens (at 8-12 weeks the larger ones are as big as my mature hatchery stock - Production Reds, EEs and Cuckoo Marans) and I need to do the larger flat roosts soon so they don't damage their "feets" and "toesies".... The two pics below was their first day - they truly hadn't even gotten on the "roosts" yet... Tomorrow eve, I will take pics after they get up and set on the "roosts" - tonight I found that there were 6 balanced on each side! Also, not sure how high to make the roosts yet either for these particular birds. They don't "fly" like my others do and I don't want to make them too high.



I also have to finish the feeders and waterers. I found the nipples to do the water and have a blue Lowes bucket for that. The feed is already "stored" in their red feed buckets out in the hoops, but they aren't built yet (red buckets). Need to get the elbows to make the feeders. Also want a 2nd feeder in each pen - that way I can have 50lbs of feed in each coop at one time. The red bucket, in photo below, is holding feed that I dump into a big rubber tub for now in the center of the coop. They eat ok. There are 12 pullets in the Chix Coop and 9 cockerels in the Roo Hoo(p)...



Here is what I want the feeder to look like - only I have a smaller bucket (5 gallon - holds about 25#s of feed at a time). Will look more like 2nd photo... and mine will hang not be on the ground. These images are from BYC/Pinterest...



Last winter, I used larger tarps on these two coops. They wrapped fully around the back and both sides - leaving the front open. For extra warmth, you could put hay/straw bales either on the inside or the outside of your hooped coop. Inside - gives the chickies play/exercise equipment that gets pooped on and broken down eventually. Outside, it weathers. Your choice. We don't get as cold for as prolonged a time as you do, but we did get COLD for us here in NC. The birds were healthy, happy and stayed laying most of the winter.

 

[paintedChix]

Big fan of pallets. Here is mine.

That is BEAUTIFUL!! I'm not that good with pallets, LOL.

 

[Blooie]

The dog house idea was for just a temporary shelter if they needed to be out of the house, or where ever your gonna brood them, until you get everything done ... If you ran out of time or money that is ... Winter is coming soon!

They don't need roosts or nesting boxes right away, for example ... You looking at near the end of the year for them to be feathered out, and you may have a bunch of snow by then ... Maybe ... If you celebrate Xmas ... You could ask for chickeny stuff ... To get your coop up and running ...

Blooie mentioned above raises her chicks out in her hoop coop, and let's her broodie hatch chicks year round, even in the winter in Wyoming!

I appreciate the mentions, both yours and paintedChix, but think that for clarity I need to add that our coop isn't inside the run. The run, while attached to the coop by a sort of tunnel at the pop door, is just a run - no coop inside. I wish I'd been clever enough to design the coop inside to make a total self contained unit, but the truth is I didn't even think of that!

I do brood my chicks outside in the run, rather than in the coop, and have indeed had Agatha the Goofball go broody regardless of the weather!

In the winter we cover the whole run with clear plastic (think greenhouse) and the chickens are out there all the time, even during our notorious high winds, snow, and subzero cold. I am very pleased with the appearance, the easy maintenance, and the functionality of our setup. Bonus - it was inexpensive and so easy to build that two old people with more than few aches and pains between them could do it. You can see our build start to finish, including the winterizing process and the expansion we did, by clicking on "My Coop" under my avatar.

Hope that information is helpful.

 

[paintedChix]

ON the subject of pallets and hoop coops - I've combined those to make a shed at each of our pastures/paddocks for the ponies. These pallets are 48"x48" - making this "shed" 8' deep by 12' wide. The pallets are level, but are tied together for now with haystring (I have lots of that w/ 20 head of Shetland ponies). There are two cattle panels "stitched" together using hay string. The tarp over the top is one that was used on a hoop coop last winter. The pallets on the sides and back are turned so that the support pieces become narrow shelves and the two on the front of the shed hold implements and my rain boots. Later this "shed" will become permanent - the pallets will be bolted together (they are currently level) and the panels will be more securely attached. For now - it works fantastic for what it is. Will be putting a solar lamp on it next month for lights in the dark in the am and pm - think the one I want costs $20. The pallets cost $2/ea; the panels were $20/ea. There is a partial panel as the front center gate that came from an old one that had been damaged (all livestock is "murder" on fencing). Not including the tarp, I have a total of 11 pallets, say 2 1/4 panels and 2 steel fence posts @ $5/ea in this right now. COST - $ 22, 40, 5, 10 = $67. Currently stored inside - Hanging on the inside are a bucket filled w/ brushes for the Sr mares in the paddock behind this "feed shed" (7 mares ranging from 40-44" in height), halters and lead ropes for those ponies, extra feed buckets, a manure basket and the wheelie cart that transports it, 3 trash cans holding a total of 9 50# bags of feed at a time, a camping/composting toilet (this shed is 1/2 mile from the house and ...), wipes, paper towels, hand sanitizer and dish soap.



This is the shed at the boys paddock... Spanky, the little red guy behind the shed, is a true mini @ 30" in height. This one is built a little bit different, though not by much. Not quite as wide... It will take some leveling before the pallets are bolted together to be made into a permanent structure. This was the first tarp we had on it. Now have two smaller ones on it. While a bit smaller than the mares, feed shed - it has more items in it! My boarder keeps her feed in it on one side and small sq hay bales as well. My barn cats are doing a "good" job of tearing up the tarps, so they aren't keeping the hay as dry as it should be! Soon, this "shed" will sport a new roof made from 2 ltr plastic bottles similar to the last pic.





Here was the first pallet feed shed that I set up when we had all of our horses and ponies on leased property while we were in a hotel for 5 weeks (moved out of leased property/closing date on new property for us kept changing)... The rest of our gear, tack and equipment was in storage. We had 3 temporary paddocks (decent sized) w/ 3 smaller pens for a total of 2 full size horses, 1 mini, 21 Shetlands & 2 cross bred ponies. I leased approximately 3 acres, but we maybe had a little over an acre fenced in and in use. All the fence posts, panels, pallets and such were ours - not provided by owner of property. I used my own hoses too, to keep them watered. The ponies were in this set up from mid-November to the end of January.

 

[paintedChix]

I appreciate the mentions, both yours and paintedChix, but think that for clarity I need to add that our coop isn't inside the run. The run, while attached to the coop by a sort of tunnel at the pop door, is just a run - no coop inside. I wish I'd been clever enough to design the coop inside to make a total self contained unit, but the truth is I didn't even think of that!

I do brood my chicks outside in the run, rather than in the coop, and have indeed had Agatha the Goofball go broody regardless of the weather!

In the winter we cover the whole run with clear plastic (think greenhouse) and the chickens are out there all the time, even during our notorious high winds, snow, and subzero cold. I am very pleased with the appearance, the easy maintenance, and the functionality of our setup. Bonus - it was inexpensive and so easy to build that two old people with more than few aches and pains between them could do it. You can see our build start to finish, including the winterizing process and the expansion we did, by clicking on "My Coop" under my avatar.

Hope that information is helpful.

Blooie - thanks for joining in!! FORGOT that your "hoop coop" was a run not the actual coop. I LOVE IT THOUGH, it looks great and works too.