Coop Movin'

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  • eldirector

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Apr 29, 2009
    14,677
    113
    Brownsburg, IN
    Got in over my head on this one....

    Bought a new chicken coop. Amish made. 6' x 8'. Heavy. I mean seriously heavy. They dropped it in my driveway, so my wife could paint it easily. Now, it is time to move it to the back yard. And.... I have problems.

    #1 - the gate is 7' wide. Means the coop can only go thru in the 6' dimension. The skids run the other way, of course.
    #2 - The path to the gate isn't exactly wide, either. Eight foot if I go one way, a bit more the other way, if I trim back some trees/bushes. All the way around to the BACK of the yard, from the front drive.
    #3 - It is freaking heavy. I'm guessing well over 1000#

    How do I know it is that heavy? Well, the initial plan was to bolt casters to the skids, and roll it around with the lawnmower. Bought four 300# casters. Bolted them on, gave it a shove, and bent 2 before it even moved. That isn't going to work.

    Next plan is to remove the casters, use 2x4s as skids the other direction, and drag it. Maybe "Egyptian Style" using plywood on the ground to slide the skids 8' at a time. Yay. Sounds like a great way to spend a day. If I felt better, I'd just do it. But, I don't, so....

    What I would LOVE.... Find someone with a tractor or skid steer and forks. Just muscle the darned thing around in a few minutes, rather than half a day inventing new curse words. Can you pick up, say, 1500#, with a skid steer?

    Wish we had a bunch of bored neighborhood teens. Pizza and soda, and start shoving. Alas, the oldest is 12, and the rest are under 10. Not much help.

    Any other brilliant ideas how to move something like this?
     

    VUPDblue

    Silencers Have NEVER Been Illegal !
    Rating - 100%
    25   0   1
    Mar 20, 2008
    12,885
    83
    Franklin Township
    Get a few pieces of probably 3” or 4” PVC pipe and cut slightly wider than your skids. Roll the thing on the pipe and just keep moving the last piece of pipe to the front once you get past it. Would probably use 8 or so pieces if it were me.
     

    Rookie

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    14   0   0
    Sep 22, 2008
    18,155
    113
    Kokomo
    Get a few pieces of probably 3” or 4” PVC pipe and cut slightly wider than your skids. Roll the thing on the pipe and just keep moving the last piece of pipe to the front once you get past it. Would probably use 8 or so pieces if it were me.

    This right here.
     

    churchmouse

    I still care....Really
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    187   0   0
    Dec 7, 2011
    191,809
    152
    Speedway area
    Get a few pieces of probably 3” or 4” PVC pipe and cut slightly wider than your skids. Roll the thing on the pipe and just keep moving the last piece of pipe to the front once you get past it. Would probably use 8 or so pieces if it were me.

    This. We called this an Egyptian move. We have moved units over 1 ton doing this. 4" works but get enough under it to carry the load.
     

    eldirector

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Apr 29, 2009
    14,677
    113
    Brownsburg, IN
    Amish guy couldn't figure out how to get whatever loader-thing they had around and through the narrow gate. I guess the wheels were wider than 7', and he suggested I pull a fence post and another 8' section of privacy fence. Those posts are in 50# of concrete below the frost line, so.... nope. Not today.

    I will also admit I am trying to be lazy. This has already been way more expensive and way more work than I ever intended.

    Might see if The Bangles are on our playlist, and at least try the sliding skid. If that doesn't move it, then PVC pipe will run me another $150. If THAT doesn't move it, the chickens are living in the front yard.
     

    femurphy77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Mar 5, 2009
    20,268
    113
    S.E. of disorder
    The pipe will work, I'd suggest laying plywood down to make it easier. If you want to come down to Mooresville I have 2 or 3 sheets of 3/4" floor decking you can have, it's been in my barn for a couple of years now and it's just in the way.
     

    churchmouse

    I still care....Really
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    187   0   0
    Dec 7, 2011
    191,809
    152
    Speedway area
    The pipe will work, I'd suggest laying plywood down to make it easier. If you want to come down to Mooresville I have 2 or 3 sheets of 3/4" floor decking you can have, it's been in my barn for a couple of years now and it's just in the way.

    That material would be a solid foundation for this move.
     

    BigBoxaJunk

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Feb 9, 2013
    7,314
    113
    East-ish
    Get a few pieces of probably 3” or 4” PVC pipe and cut slightly wider than your skids. Roll the thing on the pipe and just keep moving the last piece of pipe to the front once you get past it. Would probably use 8 or so pieces if it were me.

    I had to move a 10' X 12' barn once, and I pulled it with my truck, using the roundest logs, 4" to 6" in diameter, from a recently cut silver maple. My logs were cut for firewood, so I just lined up a row in front of each skid. I was surprised at how easily it was to move once I got it up on those round logs. The ground was dry and hard also, which helped.
     

    IronsKeeper

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Aug 5, 2018
    232
    18
    Not today, ISIS
    Yeah I was kinda curious about the ROI on this project myself but hey, to each his own!:rockwoot:
    If you sell eggs, it's not bad actually. I put up fencing and we don't lock our birds up, so the way the wife looked it up ours qualify as free range.

    But at 49 cents a carton a t Walmart, it's hard sometimes lol. Ours are also pets though- no roosters, egg only, not for eating chickens. Cheaper than the dogs once set up is over...

    Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk
     

    gunrunner0

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Dec 5, 2009
    478
    28
    Goshen
    If the skids run perpendicular to the length, the pipe rolling trick won't work. You might use a cherry picker to pick up one end of the coop at a time, and slide a few of those cheap furniture moving dollies underneath it. Do the same under the other end and middle. You can then leap-frog 3-4 pieces of 3/4 plywood or OSB in front of it as a runway to get it to the new location.

    I did this on a 500 pound generator and it worked to move it about 30 yards. A 1000 pound coop may be too much weight though. The trick would be to get as many of the dollies underneath as possible, so as to spread out the weight. You can get the dollies fairly cheap at harbor freight or menards.
     

    eldirector

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Apr 29, 2009
    14,677
    113
    Brownsburg, IN
    There is no ROI on this project. WAY passed that. These are an education for my daughter, future 4H projects, pets, and keeps me in fresh eggs. Fresh eggs (still warm from the chicken) are pretty awesome.

    I will be out of commission for a week or so, starting late next week, so gotta get this done over the next few days. Had a bit of an epiphany this morning: my Jeep CJ project is TECHNICALLY still somewhat driveable, and will fit through the gate. No rear brakes and one rear leaf spring is only attached at the front (frame is rotten, and I started cutting it away to fix). BUT.... I bet it could drag the whole contraption in 4WD low range at idle just fine. Then, turn it around to push (maybe put an old tire in front of the bumper) the coop into place against the run. Hmmmm.... Might not be redneck enough, though. What's the worst that could happen?
     

    churchmouse

    I still care....Really
    Emeritus
    Rating - 100%
    187   0   0
    Dec 7, 2011
    191,809
    152
    Speedway area
    There is no ROI on this project. WAY passed that. These are an education for my daughter, future 4H projects, pets, and keeps me in fresh eggs. Fresh eggs (still warm from the chicken) are pretty awesome.

    I will be out of commission for a week or so, starting late next week, so gotta get this done over the next few days. Had a bit of an epiphany this morning: my Jeep CJ project is TECHNICALLY still somewhat driveable, and will fit through the gate. No rear brakes and one rear leaf spring is only attached at the front (frame is rotten, and I started cutting it away to fix). BUT.... I bet it could drag the whole contraption in 4WD low range at idle just fine. Then, turn it around to push (maybe put an old tire in front of the bumper) the coop into place against the run. Hmmmm.... Might not be redneck enough, though. What's the worst that could happen?

    Well there is a list but you will be honest and tell us I am sure....:):
     

    Alamo

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Oct 4, 2010
    8,091
    113
    Texas
    Since $$ is not a factor :)

    Buy coolers, beer, ice.

    Announce party on INGO. Free Beer!

    When the horde arrives, casually announce "While the beer is gettin' cold, could you guys come over here a second..."

    Be sure to video whatever happens.
     

    SmileDocHill

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    61   0   0
    Mar 26, 2009
    6,159
    113
    Westfield
    -Get it off the ground for now and wait. In the winter isolate a trail on the ground with a levee of sorts about 4"deep that extends from under the coop to where you are going. Fill said trail with water or if the ground isn't level just hose down over time to create an ice slide. The point of the little levee at the periphery is to allow you to walk or drive near it with good footing and to control where it can go.
    -Sand bags, a lot of water, and float it where you want it.
    (Mostly kidding on both of these but your project reminds me of how ancient civilizations did major projects like this. It is really interesting and a fun "rabbit hole" to go into on Google some day when you have time.)
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    35   0   0
    May 12, 2013
    31,686
    77
    Camby area
    -Get it off the ground for now and wait. In the winter isolate a trail on the ground with a levee of sorts about 4"deep that extends from under the coop to where you are going. Fill said trail with water or if the ground isn't level just hose down over time to create an ice slide. The point of the little levee at the periphery is to allow you to walk or drive near it with good footing and to control where it can go.
    -Sand bags, a lot of water, and float it where you want it.
    (Mostly kidding on both of these but your project reminds me of how ancient civilizations did major projects like this. It is really interesting and a fun "rabbit hole" to go into on Google some day when you have time.)

    Just need some aliens and then we are set.
     
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