The tarps we used had eyelets every 2 feet, and we secured at every eyelet on the arches, all four corners, and every other one along the bottom/sides. We didn't add any additional eyelets.
Not really! We have only caught 2 or 3 snakes in the years we've been doing this, they typically are hunting the rats around the feeders when we find them. Our hardware cloth helps keep most predators out!
@Happy Dog Yes snakes will go after eggs and smaller birds as well, but, if they want in it won't matter what kind of coop you are using. To help with prevention on our hoop coops we put hardware cloth 4 inches underneath the coop as well. We also use solar powered motion detection lights around our coops at night. This has done a wonderful job keeping night time predators out, they don't like to be seen. Light comes on, they get startled and run away. Has to be motion detection.
@Happy Dog - um, not wrong, she asked if we have had any issues with snakes bothering our birds and we haven't. We have also never had in 9 years a snake in our laying boxes or stealing eggs. Granted it does happen, we have friends that have dealt with that issue - typically they are using standard chicken wire on their coop, instead of 1/2" hardware cloth though. The materials you use matter. 😉
We have a pretty heavy tree line over these coops because we leave the ends open we have really good ventilation and heat isn't really an issue with the coops in this location. On the flip side of that, we have more issues with the cool weather with these coops because of the amount of shade they get in this location, so the black side up helped to absorb the heat in our cooler winter months.
Being in the FL Panhandle, we have no experience with the snow load on these type of coops and are not comfortable recommending use in areas that experience that.
Because our coops are also in a fenced area with working dogs we only go 4' up with the hardware cloth and the tarps cover the rest. If we were in open pasture without other protection, we would likely use hardware cloth over the entire hoop and then tarp. We haven't had any breaches with our current method though.
Just built my first hoop coop so I also do not know but, here in NH I have had a Shelter Logic garage which works fine in the snow as long as you go bang the snow off every foot of snow or so.
I saw in a comment on this video where you had said that you are making your tractors mobile. I’m currently building two 8 x 14 hoop coops and they have wheels on them. I’ve either figured it out or I am about to be humbled! Have you built your coops yet?
Absolutely, as long as they are given the opportunity to free range a few times a week and the coop is properly maintained, food, water, cleaned, etc there is no reason why your chickens shouldn’t thrive in a hoop coop. In our southern climate they offer great ventilation in the hot summers and in the winters they can get closed up to trap heat. I promise we would never put any animal in a situation where they wouldn’t be healthy! That being said, we are moving away from the hoop coops. They aren’t as mobile as we’d like them to be, so we are moving to mobile tractors so we can move them on pasture daily with our other livestock.
Do yall have any issues with coops blowing away in hurricanes? I'm wondering because I'm fixing to build one myself and wondering if I should add alot more ground weight to it or will it stay grounded. Your Alabama neighbor, Renee
Hey Renee! We have never had a coop blow away during a hurricane - even with Hurricane Michael (Cat 5) in 2018 - the only coop damage we had was from trees falling on a couple of our coops. We did anchor them down with rebar driven through the frames on the front and back though as a precaution.
These coops were all built 5 - 8 years ago. We did a price breakdown at the time and they were averaging just under $300 to build. I imagine with today's prices they would be significantly more.
@@WhitetailHollowFarms Our new hoop coop cost us about $350 a month ago. Still substantially cheaper than a traditional wooden coop. Thanks for the videos!
Love these coops!! Just subscribed
How do you secure them from strong winds?
We have a 96 Square feet aluminum coop any idea how big of a tarp I'd need to cover the entire thing except the front?
Without knowing the overall dimensions of your coop (L x W x H), it is impossible for us to make a suggestion :(
@@WhitetailHollowFarms 9.84x9.84x6.46 I bought the house shape metal run off Amazon and want to cover it :)
Are you just securing on all four tarp edges using the original tarp eyelets? Do you add additional eyelets? Thanks
The tarps we used had eyelets every 2 feet, and we secured at every eyelet on the arches, all four corners, and every other one along the bottom/sides. We didn't add any additional eyelets.
Great looking hoop coops. Do you have any issues with snakes bothering the birds?
Not really! We have only caught 2 or 3 snakes in the years we've been doing this, they typically are hunting the rats around the feeders when we find them. Our hardware cloth helps keep most predators out!
@Happy Dog Yes snakes will go after eggs and smaller birds as well, but, if they want in it won't matter what kind of coop you are using. To help with prevention on our hoop coops we put hardware cloth 4 inches underneath the coop as well. We also use solar powered motion detection lights around our coops at night. This has done a wonderful job keeping night time predators out, they don't like to be seen. Light comes on, they get startled and run away. Has to be motion detection.
@Happy Dog - um, not wrong, she asked if we have had any issues with snakes bothering our birds and we haven't. We have also never had in 9 years a snake in our laying boxes or stealing eggs. Granted it does happen, we have friends that have dealt with that issue - typically they are using standard chicken wire on their coop, instead of 1/2" hardware cloth though. The materials you use matter. 😉
Do you ever let them take turns to get out of the coops to walk around?
Yes, we rotate which coops' free range is on what days.
Why wasn't the silver side up, to reflect the sun & make the inside cooler?
We have a pretty heavy tree line over these coops because we leave the ends open we have really good ventilation and heat isn't really an issue with the coops in this location. On the flip side of that, we have more issues with the cool weather with these coops because of the amount of shade they get in this location, so the black side up helped to absorb the heat in our cooler winter months.
10×4 ?
@@Kentukki777 the larger coops are 8 x 12, the smaller coops are 8 x 8
So would this work in Minnesota,i was thinking concrete tarps for curing concrete in winter ?
Being in the FL Panhandle, we have no experience with the snow load on these type of coops and are not comfortable recommending use in areas that experience that.
@WhitetailHollowFarms thanks for the reply
Hardware cloth only a few feet up the sides? Not all the way up and over?
Because our coops are also in a fenced area with working dogs we only go 4' up with the hardware cloth and the tarps cover the rest. If we were in open pasture without other protection, we would likely use hardware cloth over the entire hoop and then tarp. We haven't had any breaches with our current method though.
Where are you located? We get snow out here - would they hold up?
We are located in Florida. I’m not sure how they would hold up in snow.
Just built my first hoop coop so I also do not know but, here in NH I have had a Shelter Logic garage which works fine in the snow as long as you go bang the snow off every foot of snow or so.
Informative
Thanks!
I saw in a comment on this video where you had said that you are making your tractors mobile. I’m currently building two 8 x 14 hoop coops and they have wheels on them. I’ve either figured it out or I am about to be humbled! Have you built your coops yet?
We haven't gone mobile yet, unfortunately. We will surely do a video when we do though. Hope yours worked successfully!
Is this coop healthy for the chickens ?
Absolutely, as long as they are given the opportunity to free range a few times a week and the coop is properly maintained, food, water, cleaned, etc there is no reason why your chickens shouldn’t thrive in a hoop coop. In our southern climate they offer great ventilation in the hot summers and in the winters they can get closed up to trap heat. I promise we would never put any animal in a situation where they wouldn’t be healthy! That being said, we are moving away from the hoop coops. They aren’t as mobile as we’d like them to be, so we are moving to mobile tractors so we can move them on pasture daily with our other livestock.
@@WhitetailHollowFarms thx a mill
Do yall have any issues with coops blowing away in hurricanes? I'm wondering because I'm fixing to build one myself and wondering if I should add alot more ground weight to it or will it stay grounded. Your Alabama neighbor, Renee
Hey Renee! We have never had a coop blow away during a hurricane - even with Hurricane Michael (Cat 5) in 2018 - the only coop damage we had was from trees falling on a couple of our coops. We did anchor them down with rebar driven through the frames on the front and back though as a precaution.
@@WhitetailHollowFarms awesome. I live just west of Pensacola by about 35 miles, so flying debris is an issue here too.
Pond liner last a long time
And how much is the total$ of the coop ?
These coops were all built 5 - 8 years ago. We did a price breakdown at the time and they were averaging just under $300 to build. I imagine with today's prices they would be significantly more.
@@WhitetailHollowFarms Our new hoop coop cost us about $350 a month ago. Still substantially cheaper than a traditional wooden coop. Thanks for the videos!
One shed total how many chick's or we can keep inside .sir.. ⁉️
There is a 12' roost bar in these coops and we keep up to 12 chickens per coop - 1' per chicken on the roost.
@@WhitetailHollowFarms
That coop total how many sft ⁉️ sir
@@srikanthchetti9793 96 Sq ft.
I think you have a Gopher Tortoise den in that hole, if you are in Florida.
Nope, no gopher tortoise in there.
We believe it was an armadillo. Still haven't gotten rid of him
Was it a ground hog hole.
Nope. No ground hogs here.
ground hog?
Not likely, groundhogs don't live as far south as FL. Thanks for the guess though!
Armadillo in the hole?