Hoop Coop with 3 Cattle Panels 12x10, 10x10, 12x9 or ? ?

[TheDownyChick]

Hi! I am dimensionally challenged, and need some advice from chickie folk! I have 3 cattle panels and want to make the largest portable hoop coop that can be moved by 1 or 2 folks. It has to be steep enough so snow falls off and I can "almost" walk upright (I am 5'8") inside. I have seen plans showing 8x8 8", but I wonder if I could make my width 9 or 10 feet instead? I thought of using 3 cattle planels instead of 2, to extend the length to 12 ft. Would that make it to heavy to move? Please advise! Thank you!

 

[TheDownyChick]

Oh, sad face. I had hoped someone would have some experience to share.

 

[lokua]

As far as calculating center height you can use an online calculator like this. http://www.handymath.com/cgi-bin/arc18.cgi?submit=Entry
Just enter the length of the panel for arc length and your desired width or height

Being able to stand may be wishful thinking though even at only 8 feet wide the arc will only be 5.5 feet tall if you use a standard 16 foot panel.

In terms of weight each panel probably weighs 40 to 50 pounds so you can figure how much bulk you can drag (you can consider adding wheels)

 

[TheDownyChick]

Thanks, Lokua. I am considering wheels, perhaps something that can be lowered and raised. I will also habe chicken wire and hardware cloth. I know four panels would be too heavy. I am hoping I can find a wheel design I can understand.

 

[casio]

Check out the "Dutch Hollow Hoop Coop" thread; she said hers was 8x8 and over 6' tall. It may depend on the size cattle panels used. I want to do a 10x16 run using them, but it needs to be at least tall enough for me to stand up in...

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

My hoop coop is made of 3 cattle panels. Its 8'x10' and I used the third panel for the back & front walls and as the door. You can see a picture in my coop picture album. Its heavy, I've recently added 2 10" wheels to the one side so I can move it myself without the tractor. I can stand upright in it and I'm 5'6".

 

[cowchipss]

Any pictures of the final product?? I'm planning to make my own in the next few weeks and am basing it off the many photos and blogs available about this subject. 8))

 

[Blooie]

Our run is made of cattle panels. We absolutely love it! We used steel fence posts pounded into the ground and arched the cattle panels over, attaching them to the fence posts. It's withstood winds in excess of 60mph and snow load was no problem at all. It's covered in chicken wire to keep overhead predators out, and has a 2 foot tall hardware cloth skirt, which we folded outward at the bottom to form a 2 foot apron against diggers. The only lumber used was in the door and door frame.

For winter we draped vinyl lattice over it and covered it in clear plastic, ala greenhouse. Worked out better than we'd hoped! You can see how tall the inside is by looking at my husband as he worked on it.




Snow was no problem at all.



We added another cattle panel this spring, bringing the total to 4 panels used. Obviously I know that you were specifically asking for designs that could be moved, and this ain't it. But I did think that these pictures answered the other questions about being able to stand, walk and work in it, and about it handling snow.

 

[TalkALittle]

If you used lumber to make a sturdy frame for the base and attached the panels to the top of that frame, you could get some additional height.

 

[sunnieboos]

Our run is made of cattle panels. We absolutely love it! We used steel fence posts pounded into the ground and arched the cattle panels over, attaching them to the fence posts. It's withstood winds in excess of 60mph and snow load was no problem at all. It's covered in chicken wire to keep overhead predators out, and has a 2 foot tall hardware cloth skirt, which we folded outward at the bottom to form a 2 foot apron against diggers. The only lumber used was in the door and door frame.

For winter we draped vinyl lattice over it and covered it in clear plastic, ala greenhouse. Worked out better than we'd hoped! You can see how tall the inside is by looking at my husband as he worked on it.




Snow was no problem at all.



We added another cattle panel this spring, bringing the total to 4 panels used. Obviously I know that you were specifically asking for designs that could be moved, and this ain't it. But I did think that these pictures answered the other questions about being able to stand, walk and work in it, and about it handling snow.

What did you use to attach the panels to the t-posts?
Do you think this design would work as a dog run, if the hc skirt were turned inward to prevent dogs digging out?