The Hoop Coop

Building the coop for the chickens has taken us about 3 weekends.  It has turned out beautifully but, I am sure that we will be adding up-grades to it as we see the need for them.

So I am going to post how we did it.  Maybe you'll find it helpful for your backyard flock?  Or maybe you just like reading my blog (I'm honored).  Or possibly just look at the pictures?  In any case... here goes.

First we bought five 20ft 3/4 inch PVC pipes, (we had some PVC at home already for the door and roosting bars), fittings for attaching them to the ground, self-drilling screws, four rolls of plastic chicken netting, a tarp, two pieces of OSB board, various hinges and hooks.  Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list (comment below if you'd like one).


First we cut some of the 3/4 PVC (about 10 inches) to pound into the ground.  The 20ft PVC already had a place for the fitting on one end, so we only needed to put an attachment on one side of the 12x12 square we measured out.  Next we attached all of the 20ft PVC to each side of the square, this created the main structure for our Hoop Coop.  We attached four ribs for more stability, then attached the green plastic chicken fencing to the PVC with zip ties.  Next came the tarp over one end of the coop for protection from the rain and to provide some shade for our ladies.



Next came the door frame and the fencing on the front and the back of the coop.  We were able to move the chickens outside at this point, they were getting too big and adventurous for their brooder.  I found the brooder tipped over and the chickens frolicking about the sunroom one morning (fairly certain this was the main reason Steve got busy on making my coop).  The chicks seemed pretty comfy in their straw and heat lamp while we finished up the "penthouse".

The following weekend while I was at work, Steve put up the front and back walls to the penthouse.  He also made the doors.  When I got home I helped him install the floor, so I could put in the bedding, barn lime, and heat lamp so the ladies would be warm and cozy.  We went and bought some joist hangers so the perches in their penthouse could me easily removed for cleaning.  The ladies loved the perches we made for them.  Inside the penthouse we put in walls to separate their sleeping area from the egg laying area (we hope they use them as intended, we have a few months before we find out).

The Ladies enjoying their penthouse

We made a ramp out of a 2x6 and left over chicken plastic.  We stapled the plastic to the 2x6 to give them traction, we tried it without but the girls just slid right off (maybe it was fun?, looked like it might be) Fun or not, they needed to be able to get in the coop by themselves so on went the fencing.While Steve was working on the stuff I couldn't really help with, I took the left over 3/4 PVC we had and made some roosting bars for out in the run.  This was a bit of trial and error.  In theory it worked, but once the chickens jumped up on the bar they slipped right back off.  They didn't have enough grip on the PVC to stay put comfortably.  We decided that some rubberized spray paint would do the trick, unfortunately this also "slipped" right off the PVC.  I cleaned that all up with some paint thinner and used some 3M tread tape.  This is perfect so far.  They jumped right up and seem to especially like the top bar.  We bought a tiny swimming pool from Dollar General to fill with sand for their baths.  They also use this a lot.  So cute to see them lay down and throw sand up in the air to take a bath.

Feeder and Water Pipe

Steve noticed that the weight of the coop was bending in the PVC hoops of the outer structure.  As a solution to this and how to keep them fed for longer than a day (they really go through a lot of food).  Steve bought some large PVC pipes and elbows.  He drilled holes in the bottom and pushed it up under the coop.  So this has now become the water and feed area for them.  It's good for two reasons, 1. They can't poop on any of it from above and 2. It is mostly protected from weather.  Unless a really strong rain can come in horizontal like from the back and get past the trees on the fence line.  It's highly unlikely that we will get any spoiled food for weather related reasons.  Steve finished up the water pipe with nipples so they have clean water in ample supply.  Then the windows with screen and fencing (screen to keep out the bugs, fencing to keep out predators).

It didn't take long for the ladies to figure out how to get water from the nipples.  We just took the other water source out.

The Hoop Coop

I worked on the decorations.  Yes, it needed a sign!!  No, I am not obsessed.  Well,I don't think that I am anyway.  I am however, rather proud of my sign.  I struggled with what to name the coop.  I was thinking about keeping it simple and just calling it the Coop.  or Lane's Coop, or Coop Lane.



I ended up calling it the Hoop Coop because Steve was already calling it that when he described it to other people and because it really is a good description of what we built.   For the sign, I used a piece of wood left over from the inside wall of the coop (from when we made the doorway).  I kept it simple with white and black design.  Turned out just right!  Below the sign we attached a car cup holder, that holds a bottle of handsanitizer.

Rachel as a perch

We finished up on Mother's Day, so Steve bought me some flowers to plant at the front entrance to the coop that was just the perfect finishing touch.  My chickens have their own landscaping.  They are spoiled.

So that's it.  So far.  They are funny to watch as they chase bugs and each other.  They perch and preen all pretty.  I can't wait for eggs!!  This has been a good experience so far.  The kids have helped and like being around them, and caring from them has been really easy.  As a final touch, I am going to paint this quote above the doors

I want to live in a world where chickens can cross the world without their motives being questioned.

-Unknown-