Your favorite tool you got cheap.?

[Finally chickens!]

I saved a long, thin piece of plywood to use as an extra llloonnggg arm to hard and encourage new, reluctant pullets back into the coop. I also use the ubiquitous ice scraper and a stable fork. When I clean out all the chips, I use a snow shovel as a "dust pan" .... not cheap but indispensable to me.

 

[mldw]

I've got one of those grabber tools to reach for eggs that have been laid where they shouldn't be. Like under the coop. It's turned out to be a good tool. I use it more than expected. Amazing how much stuff gets just out of reach.

 

[Audi0]

I use it to only clean inside of water containers the smaller end is great for where the water comes out. Baby bottle brush $2 from Walmart

 

[Audi0]

Can’t live withouts:
$1 plastic kitty litter scooper
Old Kemps cream bucket with handle.
Small carabiners (door locks, hangs feed, water, etc

Love my carabiners add in zip ties and I can do anything

 

[rosemarythyme]

When I clean out all the chips, I use a snow shovel as a "dust pan" .... not cheap but indispensable to me.

Oh yes, I've done that too, because it's so much wider than a standard shovel. Though nowadays I mostly use a bow rake since it does the job fast as well, and the snow shovel is a wee bit large for inside my coop.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Love my carabiners add in zip ties and I can do anything

oh, and duct tape!

 

[Vicker]

I haven't purchased any tools for the the coop. I guess I just use what I've already got on hand.

 

[KayisforKale]

I have a different kind of answer, but it fits with the title:

Last autumn we were remodeling our kitchen and I had to pick up an electric saw and several other items at Lowe's. I used self checkout, and a worker was standing beside me just chatting, when I scanned the saw. The machine made its beeps and all, and we paid a hefty price, which I had assumed was due to the saw. But a month or so later I searched the receipt to see what I had paid for it, and it wasn't on there! The machine had made a mistake! So I got a roughly $100 saw for nothing.

 

[Cluckminster Fuller]

I actually found a litter scooper that folds so that it can work standing or leaning over! I have used the putty knife approach as well. What kind of bedding do people use that sifts? My bedding goes into compost after and is pine. It doesn't go through any of the devices above.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What kind of bedding do people use that sifts? My bedding goes into compost after and is pine. It doesn't go through any of the devices above.

I specifically use hemp for sifting. Obviously something granular like sand or PDZ would be the easiest to sift, but I want something can break down in the compost container or in the run (I rake all coop bedding into the run litter during yearly clean ups).