Housing for the chickens was a big concern during Runamuk’s Great Farm Move. It had taken a full year to rebuild the Runamuk flock following my divorce, and I was up to nearly 90 birds in varying stages of production when I made the difficult decision to let go of Jim’s property in Starks. As we build up our apiary for honey production, selling eggs at the local farmers’ market has been a crucial stop-gap for Runamuk. Without honey we only have our beeswax soaps and salves available, but the rules of our market dictate that vendors can sell only a percentage of craft-items. So the eggs are important in order for my farm to continue to sell at the farmers’ market.
However, while Jim’s farm offered existing infrastructure─a huge asset in establishing a farm─Paul’s place does not. And with Paul busy trying to make the old mobile home there fit for habitation through the winter, he couldn’t spare the time to construct a coop for the birds. What was I going to do with my chickens?
I briefly considered selling and/or culling the entire flock; with the price of grain, selling eggs at $4 doesn’t really turn a profit. But again, not having eggs at market wasn’t really an option so I decided that it was imperative that at least half the flock make it through the move.
Enter the hoop-coop: a temporary chicken coop structure made from a hoop-house.
What is a Hoop-House?
I’m a big fan of the hoop-structures: mini hoop-houses, low-tunnels, chicken tractors, cold-frames, high-tunnels─you name it! These are simple and inexpensive structures typically made up of a wooden frame, hooped EMT or plastic piping, and then covered with heavy greenhouse plastic. In many cases these are heated only by the sun and cooled by the wind.
A hoop-house allows the gardener or farmer to extend their growing season by 4 to 6 weeks in the spring and the fall, provides protection of crops from increment weather, and offers the ability to grow some superior crops. Here in the northeast many growers prefer to grow heat-loving crops inside their high-tunnels because they can keep more controlled conditions for high-revenue produce like tomatoes, peppers, squashes and melons.
Note: See my review of the Tufflite IV greenhouse film for more information about this useful tool for gardeners, homesteaders, and farmers!
Check out Runamuk’s Hoop-Coop in this video!
Features and Benefits of this Design
- Simple construction
- Can be built with hand-tools
- Mostly a 1-person job
- Relatively inexpensive to construct
- Sheds snow well
- Versatile structure for multiple uses
- Space for 30-40 birds*
- Tall enough to stand/work inside
- Birds are under sunlight ALL DAY
- Moveable**
- Can attach other equipment to the wooden frame.
*The industry standard is 4 square-feet of space per bird, so I can fit 30 birds in this structure. In the winter however, here in Maine’s northern climate, farmers often crowd a few extra birds together for added warmth at night. I’ve had 37 birds in this coop since the move and so long as there has been adequate roosting space they seem to be fine.
This coop is moveable, however it’s rugged enough where most individuals aren’t going to be able to haul it off through the power of just their body. Probably 2-4 people could drag this coop across the ground, but I’m planning to sink some heavy duty eye-bolts into the base of the hoop-coop’s frame, and I could either use a sturdy rope or a tow-chain to hook it onto my Subaru and pull it where I want it─provided I can get my car to the desired location!
Constructing the Hoop-Coop
I constructed my temporary chicken coop in a series of phases; I’m pretty methodical when it comes to construction.
Phase 1: I spent weeks leading up to the project researching to see what other farmers had done, and talking with my market peeps or colleagues at Johnny’s about the best way to do this. I put together a design that I liked and made up my materials list. Then I took myself off to Home Depot.
Phase 2: The appointed day dawned and I set up early, putting my sawhorses in place and hauling out all of my equipment and materials. I’m very careful to measure twice before making any cuts, and I almost always pre-drill my screws. The frame of the coop, along with the hoops were all put together within a few hours.
Phase 3: I came back another day to put the door on. Framed in the ends and then added chicken wire.
Phase 4: I had to coordinate scheduling with Paul to get the plastic on over the top. Then I put plastic over the chicken wire to close it in for the winter.
Voila! Temporary chicken-coop durable enough to withstand a Maine winter!
For those who might like to construct their own hoop-coop I’ve created Free Chicken Coop Design Download for you! It has step-by-step instructions with plenty of pictures, a materials list with sourcing information. You’re welcome!
Problems Encountered During & Since Project Completion
Too Much Outside Input:
I have a lot of farming-friends and I asked many of them for their input as I was developing the design for my hoop-coop. I had so much advice that it was difficult for me to figure out which plan would work best for me-as a female farmer─and which method would best meet my skill level in construction. Ken and Kamala Hahn deserve special thanks for their input on the design of the hoop-coop; these farming friends even went so far as to send me pictures of their own temporary coop structure to help me formulate a design.
I really wanted to use the EMT metal conduit as they do in the construction of high-tunnels, but my friend Crymson Sullivan (aka – Krim) over at Sidehill Farm in Madison, reminded me that they use carriage bolts on those, and that there’s a lot of drilling and grinding when assembling the metal hoops of a high-tunnel to prevent sharp edges from cutting through the greenhouse film. He steered me in the grey electrical conduit, sharing that he has a buddy who uses the stuff to construct full-size high-tunnels for his operation, and since I already have an affinity for PVC-structures this option was right up my alley! Thanks Crym!
Extra Hands Needed for a Couple of Stages of Construction
Paul was busy finalizing necessities like plumbing in the trailer-homestead and time was of the essence so it was important that I complete this project on my own. I managed the frame and the hoops just fine, but when it came time to affix the supports for the door I found it tricky to put up the door frame alone. I strongly urge you to recruit another pair of hands to hold the 2x4s while you screw the bottom end to the frame of your structure. I did this by myself, but it was difficult to keep the 2×4 straight and upright with just one hand, while attempting to screw the 2×4 in place with the one other hand. The 2×4 wavered─I wavered─and I clonked myself in the head with the 2×4 so hard that I saw stars. Extra hands would have made this part a lot easier, but you don’t have to take my word for it!
Difficult to Protect Plastic From Chicken-Wire
Because this structure was initially intended for chickens I wrapped chicken wire around the lower third of the inside of the coop, and also used it to close in either end. We had to take extra care to cover the sharp ends of the chicken wire to protect the greenhouse film.
Predator-Proofing Modifications Needed
One of the downsides to living in a forest of oak trees where nuts are abundant is that rodents are plentiful, and as a result, so are weasels. In hindsight, lining the bottom of the coop with the same 1×2 fencing material that I used for the fencing would have offered better protection from these chicken predators. Or I could have dug a trench all the way around the base of the coop and laid 1/2-inch wire mesh at least 12 inches down. As it was, we lost 3 birds and Paul spent an afternoon digging a deep trench inside the coop so that he could stretch a length of 1×2-inch wire mesh along the wall to keep out a determined weasel.
So far he has not been able to get back into the coop.
Hoop-Coop Does the Job!
There were a few hiccups along the way, but now that it’s done I’m very happy with my hoop-coop. The Runamuk flock are exposed to sunlight all day─as soon as the sun begins to lighten the sky, til the very end of the day when the darkness grows, my chickens are receiving 100% of the available light. I don’t need to add lights to stimulate their production and since I’m not going to market right now, I’m just allowing them to produce eggs at whatever rate comes naturally.
We live in Maine. We experience serious winter conditions here. Just before New Years’ we received 18-inches of snow that put the hoop-coop to the test, followed by another good dose of snow a few days later and so far the coop remains standing there stolidly. It sheds the snow well, and as an added precaution we have a soft-bristled push-broom that we keep in the coop so that we can push up on the center of the coop-ceiling to make the snow slide off. Easy.
The coop is warmed by the sun, in addition to the deep-litter bedding method we’re using, which generates additional heat as the decomposition process happens right beneath our feet. Even when it’s freeze-your-face-off cold outside, the chickens are relatively comfortable inside the sanctity of their hoop-coop. We’ve only turned on the heat lamp on the nights when temperatures are well below zero and we’ve had no frozen combs or wattles whatsoever.
Ventilation of the coop was a concern, but simply leaving the door open, or cracked─has (so far) provided sufficient ventilation for the birds and farmers.
A Great Asset
As we get closer to spring I have every intention of putting together another hoop-structure in order to have space for all the seedlings I’ll be growing for the 2017 growing season. The chickens will get moved from their current location and their winter hoop-coop will house my tomato plants this season. I envision yet another hoop-house for growing greens and carrots into the winter─just like Eliot Coleman, but on a smaller scale mainly meant to feed my family.
It cost me $310 to put this coop together. A third of that expense was in the greenhouse film, but I have enough of that left over to create several more such structures. I really see these hoop-structures as the key to the infrastructure issue many beginning farmers are coping with. Quick and easy to put together, with the biggest part of the expense in the tufflite greenhouse film, and able to be used for a wide variety of purposes on the farm or homestead. Cover it with a tarp instead and you’ve got a sheep-shed or a tool-shed. Hell, I’d even consider living in one if it meant I could continue farming!
Hoop-houses are a great asset, but you don’t have to take my word for it! Try it yourself!
Recommended Resources
Sam’s Hoop-Coop Step-by-Step Instructions – complimentary instructions for you to build your own versatile hoop-house structure for use as livestock shelter, growing space, or other creative uses on your farm or homestead.
Tufflite Greenhouse Film: Tuff Stuff! – Check out my review of the Tufflite IV greenhouse film.
Low-Cost, Versatile Hoop Houses – Mother Earth News
High Tunnels – a great pdf resource from the University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
Hoophouse & Quick hoops crops – Good information from GrowingforMarket.com listing the types of crops that perform best in hoop-house and season-extension conditions.
Winter Vegetables in Your Hoop House – more details about growing crops into the winter in your hoop-house. From Mother Earth News.
Make a Hoop-House to Extend Your Growing Season – via the HomesteadingHippy.com.
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This is so cool! thanks for putting it up. Do you still use it?
We are getting ready to try this across the way in Vermont – I have just 13 birds and plan to use 1/2 inch hardware cloth, would you think I should make it smaller 8×8 maybe? to help keep them warm and maybe to keep it light enough to move?
Also I am going for 1/2 inch hardware cloth to protect the bottom from predators. Would that mean I wouldn’t have to dig? And maybe put some cross bracing with smaller wood to keep the floor stable.
With the hardware cloth I think I cannot roll the edges, maybe stripping?
With just 13 birds and wanting to move it─I would go with a design like my portable chicken tractors. Check out this post: https://runamukacres.com/chickens-have-landed/ to see those structures. They are 5×8 with tires on the back and nesting boxes off each side. You’ll want to be able to put a heat lamp in there for the coldest nights, but if you do a deep-litter method that provides quite a lot of supplemental warmth. Not sure about the flooring, as I now use electric fencing to protect my flock, but I some the benefit…I think if it were me I would use a 1×2″ wire mesh rather than 1/2″─so that some of the grass comes up through the floor. Downside of closing in the floor is that you’ll be packing the grass under your tractor as you move it, but if you’re letting your chickens out during the day that matters less. Feel free to email me if you run into any issue or have questions along the way!
Hello and thanks so much for stopping by! Yes, this structure is still standing and in-use─however when I bought my farm last year, this particular structure was left behind. You do need to be prepared to manage snow-loads on these kinds of structures though; I keep a broom right in the coop to help with that.
With just 13 birds you could follow my portable chicken tractor model. Check out this post to see those: https://runamukacres.com/chickens-have-landed/ They are 5×8′ with tires on the back and nesting boxes off each side. You will want a heat lamp in there for the coldest nights (January/February), but using a deep-litter methods provides enough supplemental heat that you won’t need it other than those super frigid nights.
The flooring I have less experience with, as I now use electric fencing to protect my flock. I think if it were me, I would go with a 1×2″ mesh so that some of the grass comes up through it, but I think mostly you’ll be packing the grass down under your tractor. Since your birds will be outside during the day this is less of an issue for you…? One other issue I see is that you’ll have to empty all the winter litter out in the spring before you’ll be able to start moving it again, which is a big project but not impossible.
Good luck and feel free to email if any questions crop up along the way! <3
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