Free shipping boxes, do they really exist??

[mountaintopchicken]

I've read so many posts here about people who made coops from free wooden shipping crates, but I can't find any. I have checked:

Freecycle
Craigslist
Museums (I heard they get items shipped to them in them, and they said they do but then they return the box)
Art galleries (They thought I was weird)
Motorcycle dealers (they said they no longer get them in wooden crates but check an ATV dealer)
ATV dealers (a really nice guy said they do get them in wooden crates but they are very flimsy and from very bad wood with random nails etc.)
Tractor service and dealers (no dice)
Car dealer (no, only pallets)

So where? Where or where are people getting these free wooden shipping boxes? I feel like I'm hunting unicorns.

 

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

Yes they do, I found them on craigs list, and if all goes well, will pick mine up tomorrow for free. Going to use the 3/4 in ply for the exterior & interior of my silkie coop. I also got wood pallets free too, via craigs list.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I know Kenworth dealers have shipping scraps made out of 2x4s an 4x4s

 

[GoldDogsMom]

I know our local recycling center usually has a stack of pallets that were dropped off...

 

[amenfarm]

Try looking under wooden pallets, or calling businesses that regularly recieve them and see if you can collect them when they finish. Some companies never use them and some companies ship out so they do reuse them. check with the builders for houses/businesses under construction and ask to go through their scrap pile at your own risk--this cuts down on what they have to pay at a landfill. Bring leather gloves, heavy shoes/boots, drinking water, a truck and a helper is great. My husband and I have collected quite the pile for our coop that way. Now, someone is giving us a old playhouse, so we don't need everything we collected, but we have some housing wrap, almost whole sheets of plywood, 2x4's ect. I've not heard of free shipping crate--pallets,yes.

 

[TN_BIRD]

Drive through the warehouse district.

Also check out dumpster areas.

The place I got a bunch from remodels closets and garages. Their "office" is back near a bunch of warehouses and they all had pallets lining the fences and dumpsters.

 

[Tracydr]

Years ago, in the mid-80s, I made my first coop from a shipping crate. It came from a Mayflower moving company. They use them for shipping household goods overseas.
Pallets are getting harder to come by as they are recycled. I've been able to get some at my feed store but they charge me about $4.00 apiece. Still a good deal.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Implement stores, furniture stores and car dealerships have them.

 

[Arielle]

In my experience, shipping boxes are VERY rare. Pallets are much easier to find. THe shipping boxes that we found became sheds.

Pallets are easier to find.

Keep trying!

 

[TinyChickenLady]

Haven't got a clue where to find the boxes but I can recommend checking with trucking companies as far as pallets go. They get them all the time from shipments they do and then they don't really have any use for the old pallets because they get new ones for each load.