What are the pros and cons of having a hoop chicken coop?

[[E]thernet]

Was thinking of DIY'ing one of these.

How much would I need in materials? I will have the frame in scrap wood.

How would I make the chicken wire curve and how would it stand up?

 

[jthornton]

You should add your location to your profile so we know your general weather.

JT

 

[21hens-incharge]

How big are you wanting to go?

A panel bent into the hoop shape is 8' wide giving a 6' tall hoop. I think they are about 50" tall so bent makes a space 8'x50" .

The chicken wire or hardware cloth are well detailed in this article.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/mos-cattle-panel-hoop-coops.73385/

JT is very right about needing your general location to better help you.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Oh and the panels are very stiff so they stand well on their own. Once secured to the base frame of course.

 

[[E]thernet]

You should add your location to your profile so we know your general weather.

JT

Oh and the panels are very stiff so they stan well on their own. Once secured to the base frame of course.

Location added. I am in Melbourne, Australia. More towards the inner suburbs of the western suburbs. Currently 10PM on a Sunday night and it has been raining pretty heavily towards the night time, and moderately towards the afternoon, both days.

 

[jthornton]

Can you get cattle panels in Australia?

JT

 

[kwhites634]

Oh and the panels are very stiff so they stand well on their own. Once secured to the base frame of course.

I'm building a greenhouse on the hoop coop design. I set the panels alone; no problems whatsoever. Just placed one end inside the far side of the base & walked toward the center with the other end. It stayed in place just fine while I secured it with fence staples.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I'm building a greenhouse on the hoop coop design. I set the panels alone; no problems whatsoever. Just placed one end inside the far side of the base & walked toward the center with the other end. It stayed in place just fine while I secured it with fence staples.
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Yes. That was what I was trying to say. I should have said......

Since the material is stiff they stand well without sagging in the middle.

 

[kwhites634]

Yes. That was what I was trying to say. I should have said......

Since the material is stiff they stand well without sagging in the middle.

I saw a guy the other day with a panel or two in the bed of his p/u truck, sideways, with the ends inside the sides of the bed.

 

[Maeser]

We have two approximately 25’ long cattle panel hoop coops and have had them for several years. Actually, one coop is 16 ‘ long with three 4’ x 8’ portable coops on one end. The small coops each have a door, and we use them as grow out pens or to pen our turkey hens when they are laying. We can keep poultry in a small section or open doors to give them more room. We like them. We cover part of the coops with a tarp to keep rain and snow off and shade cloth over the rest for summer weather. I go out with a push broom to remove snow. Last winter when I wasn’t feeling well the snow built up & did collapse one coop. Fortunately, we were using that hoop coop for storage at the time. We considered replacing the cattle panels, but decided to shore them back up with a few 2 x 4’s down the center. Since we have part of our flock free ranging, I covered that hoop house with bird netting and am using it for my garden — safe from poultry. Cons? As I said, snow must be swept off, the tarps have to be replaced fairly often. We tie the tarps down with zip ties. My husband used some wire ties when repairing the collapsed coop. I am fairly tall & the first thing I did was walk in & catch my hair in a wire tie. Not happy!! Also, I have used 1/4” hardware cloth along the lower part to keep chicks from escaping, and the floor of the coops is chain link fencing. The chain link keeps critters from burrowing into the coop.