Starting my project this weekend, the "Coop De Gras"

pellepeterson

Chirping
6 Years
Mar 3, 2013
77
7
86
The Woods of Maine
So I have found all of you BYC'rs to be the most helpful and wonderful folks on the internet in regards to chickens. I have spent countless hours studying the coops that are listed on BYC, I have stolen measurements from TSC's hutch design as well as using google sketch up to print my minds vision onto paper.

That all being said, thank you all for your ideas and welcome to the Coop de Gras! I know the name is somewhat cryptic, but...I have to share that I am a veteran, serving in a few places where things could have been better, but proud none the less. I raise my kids to be patriots, at least I am trying. Coup de grace by definition is the killing blow, to end suffering. In a strange sort of way, that is exactly what we are doing as a family, raising chickens for eggs, and soon meat...we are ending our suffering, and delivering a killing blow to "the man". It is growing ever harder to feed my little clan, together the woman of my dreams and I work 5-6 jobs just to keep up. Enough dreary whining blah....lets talk shop!

So, things are tight in the wallet, we all know that. The chicks are doing great, living in a recycled rabbit cage, the cost is very manageable for us, especially when you look ahead to the eggs that are coming! I was told to build a coop...not a castle. I am NOT a carpenter by any means, I can however build things and they will "look alright" (inside joke if my honey ever reads this). I spent hours looking at plans here on BYC, downloaded the one from Purina foods, I have drawn multiple "blue prints" and talked to everyone I know that has raised chickens. All the designs are awesome! I started to lay out the materials list and began planning. If I were to buy these boards this week, hide them, then the next check grab some siding, then....$$$ $$$$ $$$$$$$.

I found the "cull" pile. At my local HD I was shocked to see it full of railing spindles, nice 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 all around 4-5 feet long, I grabbed them all! I even found a decent sized chunk of 1/4 ply, along with some strapping (which will be awesome on the roof!). I walked out the door with enough stuff to fill the backseat of my little Ford Explorer, total cost $12.81 USD.

Not to be outdone, or call it quits, I went to the fancy lumberyard (pronounced LUM-bAH YaHD in Maine). This is really where you want to go for the top quality building materials, in fact, I will plug them, Ellsworth Building Supply, in, go figure, Ellsworth. I was not sure that they would have a cull pile, the stuff is really top of the line here. I was directed to the giant barn/warehouse to have a look. On my arrival, I was lost...I did not see a pile of splintered and twisted material, I saw nothing...or at least that is what I thought. A young fellow asked if he could help and I asked if they had a cull pile, he said matter of factly, "yes sir, right beside the door". Well, I had just come through the door...All I saw was a rack of lumber and material, that looked like a delivery pending. To my pleasure, I was WRONG! It was the cull pile! It was, and I am not kidding, FULL of GOOD stuff! I quickly counted, there were at least a half dozen 2X12X16 boards, a sheet of T1-11, moulding, and assorted other goodies. I asked how they priced it and was told that I could have the 2X12's for $2.00 a board. I had to hide my smile...I looked, these were good boards, save a few dings and one did have a very long crack, but not unlike what you would see on the sales floor at other places. My disappointment came knowing that I was never going to fit those boards in my ambulance (I work as a paramedic full time among other things), and was in no way going to get them in my Ford Explorer...thank god for good friends!

I called a young man who works for me on the ambulance that had a pickup truck and needed to clear his head anyway. I made an arrangement with him to go collect my winnings! He outdid me! He got all my boards, loaded them up in his truck, then added a few sheets of plywood, the T1-11, and more. He took the entire pile, that had grown since my visit for $25.00. To top it all off, he and his grandfather cut it down to 8 foot lengths for me, and further milled it down to 2X3 and 2X4's for my coop build. I see eggs in their immediate future!

The moral of the story thus far is do not forget to ASK! None of us has any "extra" money, make is last. If you cannot find stuff to recycle, ask for the "leftovers" from the lumber yard.

I plan on starting the build this weekend, my honey is working Saturday, so the dog and I will be out preparing the grounds, measuring and cutting, I will post pics as we progress and look forward to hearing from you all! Please, criticize away! I have NEVER owned chickens but I can listen to advice all day!

Thank you BYC'rs, I hope you enjoy my story and hope that you enjoy our Coop de Gras!

Bob
 
Awesome!! I can't wait to watch your build. I knew nothing of google sketch up, so thanks for that!
We are in the final stages of planning now and hope to score some treasures in the cull pile soon!

:D
wee.gif
EEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I'm getting so excited!!
 
GGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD Morning! It is 0640, whats the "O" stand for...Oh My God It's Early! Honey is off to save lives at one of the bigger hospitals in the state, Thor and I are having a coffee and wondering how a survival guru such as myself can get so twisted inside his own house. I have the hardest time wrapping my head around the differences between my maps, google earth, and my trusty compass. North is north, south is south...right? So...why then does the sun seem to rise in the south? I am not so far north that every direction is south...I would have made Columbus proud with my navigation skills...I am stressing out here! The coop must be built today...or at least a solid start and for my honey's half, it has to face south.

Why south you ask? Well, I am making my love a greenhouse on the backside of the coop. Chickens make lots of CO2, plants need CO2, plants take CO2 and make O2, chickens need O2...seems an easy concept and the $$$ I saved by gathering cull materials allowed me to flip the design a bit and add a greenhouse. That and I had to make up for the 6 new chicks...That is another post, in a new thread...

So, as I watch the sun rise, I am scratching my head, it is from the South...I am going to finish my coffee, throw on my work belt, and head outside. I will have the chicken cam with me and photos will be posted as soon as I get a break! An exciting day at the Pellepeterson Ranch!
 
Thanks for serving!!

If sounds like you scored alot of great wood "on the cheap". You can sell eggs to friends/neighbors and have plenty of eggs for your family. Our chickens easily pay for their feed and and then some. Another great source for wood is wood pallets. Many businesses or local farm markets have them stacked high from deliveries and are happy to give them away. I mostly just use the pallets on the ground to keep my hay bales up and dry. Enjoy your build and post some pictures along the way!

 








































Well here they are! Coop De Gras day one! The greenhouse is the primary focus today, the coop will be connected to the marriage wall, there are a few pictures of the work on the coop so far. The clear roofing was not the easiest to work with on a somewhat chilly Maine day but it worked out well. Look forward to hearing from you and your ideas as well!!!
 
I built my 8 X 10 shed coop 'almost' entirely from wood from the HD cull pile. (I did splurge on a few 2 X 4s.) I'm a 64 YO woman with no building experience, but it worked. Parts of it are pieced together and there are lots of spliced in pieces, but the chickens don't complain. Your build is looking great. Keep posting pics.
 

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