Chicken Coop Construction for the Poor and Unhandy

[Yanna]

Quote:
Yep, pawn shops are not at the top of my list for buying used anything but buying used tools is a pretty good idea. Estate sales often have pretty nice older tools.

 

[SewingDiva]

Quote:
Yep, pawn shops are not at the top of my list for buying used anything but buying used tools is a pretty good idea. Estate sales often have pretty nice older tools.

Actually this is not accurate at all and implies that pawn shops knowingly participate in criminal activity. In my state (MA) pawn shops are licensed and heavily regulated, and they are required by law to disclose their inventory to law enforcement on a regular basis to make sure they don't harbor stolen goods or evidence (such as a gun used in a crime.)


~Phyllis

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Yep, pawn shops are not at the top of my list for buying used anything but buying used tools is a pretty good idea. Estate sales often have pretty nice older tools.

Actually this is not accurate at all and implies that pawn shops knowingly participate in criminal activity. In my state (MA) pawn shops are licensed and heavily regulated, and they are required by law to disclose their inventory to law enforcement on a regular basis to make sure they don't harbor stolen goods or evidence (such as a gun used in a crime.)
~Phyllis

Good response to what may have been an ill considered comment. Pawn shops USED to be a place to dump stolen goods, I suppose, but not now. Law enforcment got on to that a long time ago.

 

[the4heathernsmom]

I am in the same boat very little tools and little to no supplies and here is what I did. There is freecycle groups in every state and most cities on the internet. I posted a "looking for" ad and received a couple of replies from people who no longer wanted chickens and had old coops to be torn down. Went in 100 degree heat and tore down lol. BUT I got the kids and I some salvagable wood and wire and wooden posts well used mind you but better than nothing. We put four four foot cut hog panels together and wired the stabalized by putting 2x4's around top edges...then overwrapped with chicken wire pieced here and there....cut a door and wired to open and shut and covered the top with nailed down tin pieces again recycled. Had to buy nails and the only tools I have are wire cutters a pair of pliers and a hammer. We then sunk posts (landscape timbers recycled) every four feet and had to dig holes to accomodate whatever the size the timbers because we have no saw lol. This was our run dug a little trench buried recycled wire again pieced and wired together nailed it to boards and wahlah the most odd shaped mismatched put together pen you ever saw lol lol. But it keeps everything in and out and the kids are so proud of what we made and they learned a lesson from mom about how to pinch pennies. Hope that helps you to know you are not alone in the no funds department!!!

 

[Promiselandfarm]

This may sound dumb but here goes. I tried the Freecycle.org thing but only got listing which were adds for companies not free stuff. Can someone please guide me through this?

What links and things to click?

 

[PrincessMomma]

I am yet another poor, unhandy coop builder. My husband has managed to bring home some palates and wood off the side of crates that we are going to repurpose for our coop. We just need to figure out exactly where it is going and how we are going to put it together. I'm sure details will come out as we go along.

For freecycle, go to freecycle.org and enter your city and/or state. Click on the city/group that is closest to your area. Depending on where you live, you may have to scroll through a page or two to find a good fit.

The next page that comes up should have a link that says something like "Visit the City Yahoo! Group page." When you click on that you will be taken to a Yahoo! Group page and you will click "Join This Group" and set-up your email options and what-not. There will be banner-type ads on the Yahoo! Group page, but you shouldn't be directed to an actual for-sale site or anything that requires a membership fee.

 

[JennsPeeps]

My 2 cents (plus a little):

1.
As I read this thread I remembered that a local door store (The Door Store if you're in the Puget Sound area) always has a pile of old doors in front & anyone who wants them can take them.

2.
If you go to pawn shops, have a good idea of the retail price of tools. The pawn shops in our area charge ridiculously close to - or even over - retail. You can negotiate price in pawn shops. Vote with your feet if the price is too high and they won't budge.

3.
When I got our chicks, I intended to get an old dog house off craigslist & convert it. DBF vetoed me and would up spending $200-ish on materials for the coop. Granted, it's going to be a fantastic coop but everything that "fantastic" about it is for us: height, accessibility, storage, etc.

4.
A critter that will sit in its own poo doesn't give a lick about aesthetics. If you construct a "starter coop" that protects them from the elements & predators, that's all that matters.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
This is true of pawnshops. Caveat Emptor.
The very best thngs about a coop are indeed for YOU, not the chickens.Whatever makes your job easier and more pleasant caring for them is a must have.
A critter that will sit in its own poo doesn't give a lick about aesthetics.<correction>
I DO love this - I wish I'd said it! This sums it up so nicely that, well, can I use it?

 

[Just-Like-Hatching]

I think I have every tool known to man. But the handiest tools I own are my cordless drills, cordless skil saw, nail guns, framing square and tape measure. But no matter what I use, I always need a hammer and GOOD tape measure.

 

[woodward farms]

check your messages there is some good news waiting for you yanna