Can't afford hardware cloth!! What do we do?

[carlye828]

Have you checked out your local freecycle site? I received enough materials from 1 post to put together 2 coops and 1 hutch. It's a great site to not only receive, but to list & get rid of things you don't want anymore without having to load the up and drop them at donation.

If you haven't already go check to see if there is a site near you on freecycle.org.

 

[FDaniels]

Hey yeah I've checked out freecycle and so far nothing around my area that would work for this but I'll keep checking. Thanks!

 

[aart]

Where are you located? You can put it in your profile.
That would help folks make recommendations.

 

[FDaniels]

Ok I modified the materials a little more & came up with this:
*7/16 osb (9) $72
*(2) 2X2X8 $5
*hwc $30
*10X10 tarp (to secure over roof osb until we can get shingles/panels) $10
*nest boxes/feeders/wateres/roosts $FREE
*for sectioned off area: (4) 2x24x8 $11.51, chix wire $FREE, bungee cord pack $2, L braces $5 = $18.51
*roof nails $3.26
*deck nails $3.26
*U nails $2

Rough total is now about $145 which leaves about $100. I'm going to try & see if we can attach some sort of run now that we might end up having about this much left over but I'm going to wait and see. If not, then at least they will have the huge shed for a couple of weeks until we can get one built. Does this sound ok guys? And, going back to one of my other posts, how big should the windows be? Would 3 windows about 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 each be enough ventilation? Including the wire on the door? And, again, should we cover half of the door w/ something to block predators view at night? That would take away ventilation but I'm nervous about predators being able to see them at night?

 

[Scott H]

NO OSB ON THE ROOF.....Sorry but you're not seeing it...... just use metal roofing or plastic panels and leave a space between the roof and the walls for ventilation..seriously, look at the coop section on this site and you will learn something.

 

[FDaniels]

I am seeing it but we're just not able to afford it right now. I'm sorry, but we're not. All the panels I'm finding would cost anywhere from $150 to $500 to do the roof. That's why the only thing I could think of right now that we could afford was the osb covered by a tarp until we get more money to attach an actual roof

 

[WYNot]

If you can't afford the hardware cloth right now, use electric fence? See pic below. Run a few strands around the bottom and turn it on at night.

Wait, you mentioned in another thread that there is no electric to the coop. Would suggest some solar panels if the spot is sunny but then you are back to cost issues. No chance of just running an extension cord till something more permanent can be installed?

 

[WYNot]

Toss a rooster in with the hens. He'll keep the roaming kitties at bay.

What scares us about the 2x4 wire is that we have stray cats that are always in our yard that we feed and I know they'd be able to fit through that size opening. I feel like we're stuck between a rock & a hard place lol

 

[FDaniels]

Yeah where we originally were going to put the coop was in the front yard and it wasn't around any outlets but since we've decided to go with the shed it's been wired up ever since we moved here but we've just never really used it since it's been such a mess.

 

[Scott H]

Funny....I just went on Lowe's site and found corrugated metal roof panels, 30" x 144" for $18.