Hoop Coop

I made this hoop coop with no help in a weekend. I used two cattle panels, 4 2x6s for the base, light lumber for the rest of it (I wanted it to be light enough to drag around by hand), chicken wire for the upper part of the coop, hardware cloth for the lower part. The whole thing is covered in a silver UV protected tarp. Inside, feeders hang and the roosts and nesting box are removable. There is a door in either end so that the coop can be divided to hold birds being fattened for processing in half of it or to separate breeding trios. Panels for these two purposes can be removed and stored for the next time they are needed. Ropes are tied around the base on either end so the coop can be dragged. It takes two people to drag it to a fresh area of pasture. We have 32 birds and they are comfortable in there, but they are on pasture all day. After processing 16 cockerels, we'll be left with 16 birds who will live inside it through our New England winters. We may surround the house with bales of straw to keep out drafts and drifts, and we'll drop the tarp down over the back (it's twice as long as the coop), leaving one door accessible. The birds will have a bulb or two for light to keep them laying, and their water will be heated to prevent freezing, but no other heating/insulating will be done. The open end will be faced away from prevailing winds. They should be quite comfortable.