Renee, Sorry about loosing your hen. I know exactly what you are going through. Without going into the whole sob story I recently lost two special birds. Luckily it was not from a predator, but it didn't make it any easier. Every day I loose some babies since it has been so hot. I have fans in the brooder but the temps still go nuts. I am beginning to wonder if all that insulation is just holding in the heat. I know it is great in the winter but not so sure that it is helping much right now. I had two fans quit yesterday so I had to rush replacements into a couple houses before the birds got too hot.
Hawkeye, Necessity makes you learn in a hurry when there isn't money to pay to have anything done. I wish I was closer. I'd come help you build your chicken house. I always think I can get something done faster than I can. Things I have to have help with drive me nuts. My better half is a person who does more staring than acting when he works on stuff. I have to busy myself with something else when I ask him for help with something like your posts for instance, or I will go insane. One thing you might do in the meantime if you know your final measurements is to lay out your boards for the floor joist and framing. You could mark those for cuts and be that far ahead of the game. DON'T however go ahead and cut them. Once your framing is up you can do that, but measurements can change ever so slightly in the actual project and really mess you up if you cut ahead. Anyway, laying it out on the ground and marking the centers where the studs go and stuff will save you time later. Another thing you could do is pre-construct your walls. Don't forget to allow for the corners where the boards fit together or you'll be rebuilding a couple of them. If you have a flat surface you could build your walls and have them all nice and level and square. Then your DH can just help you set them in place after the floor is done. Again saves time later on and you don't have to stand around waiting for each step. Be sure to leave openings for the windows. It is wise to make your frame work at least 1/2 inch wider and taller than the size of the window you will be installing so you can shim and level the window. Same with the door framing. On a couple of my houses I have built the walls on 2 foot centers and then just made a slender custom door to fit the hole. It's narrow but plenty of room to get in and out. Whatever you do just remember square and level everything. If you don't have one of those little plastic carpentry angle squares go get one, or maybe two. You will need them. The second thing I would recommend are some C clamps to hold stuff in place until you get it fastened. If there is a harbor freight in Wichita that would be the cheapest place to get both. Neither should be expensive.