PVC Hoop House Design Assistance Wanted!

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Hey Y'all!

I'm at the Scratching My Head phase, trying to plan an inexpensive, portable, bobcat- and snake-proof quail pen. I'm leaning modifying this PVC hoop house design http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html , and hope y'all can give me some advice.

Mostly, I'm concerned because most of the plans I've seen like this have them covered solely with plastic film. Great for plants, I'm sure, but not escape-prone coturnix quail or motivated predators. I'd like to enclose the whole thing with standard 1" hex poultry wire, THEN add plastic over that (for rain protection) - but then there would be more weight on the structure. (3" of snow make them collapse.)

Soooooo, would increasing the diameter of the PVC from 3/4" to, say, 1" and/or increasing the number of hoops from 3' spacing to 2' spacing, and/or adding additional "ridge lines" handle the extra weight?

Any thoughts, and pics of your successful (and not-so-successful) projects would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, engineer dudes!

Bryan

 

[Cargo]

Mostly, I'm concerned because most of the plans I've seen like this have them covered solely with plastic film. Great for plants, I'm sure, but not escape-prone coturnix quail or motivated predators. I'd like to enclose the whole thing with standard 1" hex poultry wire, THEN add plastic over that (for rain protection) - but then there would be more weight on the structure. (3" of snow make them collapse.)

Hex "Chicken" wire is worthless. Please do not use it. It is not safe. Use hardware cloth or welded wire.
I covered mine with 1/2" hardware cloth and corrugated roofing. Works great!
2' spacing is better plus you can brace the roof ridge if you are in a snow load area.

Mine can support more than my weight. However it is narrow.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=68711
I will be setting the ends back about 2 inches under the roofing soon to avoid leaks.

Here is another persons hoop coop in winter. http://flashweb.com/blog/2009/03/chicken-hoop-house.html

Cargo​

 

[nelgkel]

check out my page...we did a hoop run...covered in 2 by 2 wire...then we put hardware cloth over it..for more protection...now we need to finish the apron

 

[Cargo]

Link to the hoop run above: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=54234-the-hoop-style-run

 

[oldchickenlady]

Here is a pic of my hoop run. It is 10x10' but can easily be bigger. I used 1x2 welded wire and extended it out 18" on the ground, then staked that down with tent stakes. I used a piece of crown molding I found in the top of my garage to stabilize the tops of the hoops.

You could do the same thing without the 2x4 frame. You could just put the pvc pipes over metal stakes driven into the ground. I wanted to be able to move mine, so I used the 2x4 frame and stapled the wire to the bottom of the frame. After I built the coop, I got my 2 teenagers, my husband and 1 other teenager to pick the whole thing up and move it to the coop. I used a blue tarp over the run to shield from the sun and rain. In winter you could use clear plastic for more light/heat.

I used 3/4 pvc pipe and with the wire on it is quite sturdy and I would think the snow would slide off the sides since it is curved. Have fun, hope these pics help.

 

[patandchickens]

Snow (enough of it, wet enough) WILL collapse tarp-covered hoops. There are some BYC threads of past years with educational pictures of the results

But you can arrange wintertime bracing inside them (you're not going to be moving it around as a tractor during wintertime *anyhow*, most likely, what with snow and mud and all that), the posts needn't be set in the ground, only butted on the ground surface and pegged in place there and then tacked well enough in place at the top that they can't fall over.

Cattle panels are another option for hoop-building, I mention this in case you haven't run into it before. They can be cheaper and more durable; not sure how the weight compares but probably not *lots* different. As others have said, no matter what you use, chickenwire is a bad idea. You will probably want 1/2" hardwarecloth for the whole thing, certainly nothing larger than 1x1 mesh (and add 1/2" hardwarecloth along the lower parts of the walls).

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[MomMommyMamma]

Great info! We've been wanting to do a hoop but have been confused about how you create the hoops (one piece or pieced pieces) and also how you secure the PVC pipes to the wood frame.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Thanks, y'all! I'll check out your links shortly.

In the meantime, what's so bad about hex poultry wire, exactly? I used it in my chicken run, and haven't had any problems with it whatsoever. And the price is definitely right.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hi Patches Lil Roo! Do you get much snow down there? Poultry hex wire won't keep many predators out; it's best used to hold chickens inside. You've been lucky! If you look through the Predator and Pests section you can see many threads about this wire. I know what you mean about the price though.

 

[Mtn Cur]

Problem with chicken wire is a dog, coon, possum, coyote, fox and definitely a bobcat as you mentioned can chew/ rip through it. It's made to keep chickens in, but not to keep predators out.

This where I got my idea from https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=42454-permanent-hoop-coop-guide

You can build one a little less extravagant to be mobile and cost effecient. I built one using the 4x16 cattle panels. Mine is 8' deep by 9' wide, I used PT 2x4s around the bottom, then 1x6s screwed to the outside of the 2x4s. This gives you a lip at the top of the wood to keep the arch long enough to secure the cattle panels to the wood. Then cover completely with hardware cloth.

PVC is weak and will eventually break down during a few seasons.