Helpful hints for building coops

[jvls1942]

you might as well go ahead and build it.
you aren't going to make a perfect one anyhow.
I worked with a great carpenter many years ago. he built countless houses.
One day he said to me, I have yet to build the perfect house.
whenever I finish one, I can look at it and see something that could have been different..

I like to build electric chicken pluckers.
I built five so far.
each one better than the ones before it.
I sell the one I finish,and then start on another one. I use them for myself until I can sell them.
they are automatic, and can pluck 2 to 3 chickens at a time in less than a minute.
I get $1200.oo for them.

........jiminwisc.....

 

[CapricornFarm]

I just vary my plans as needed as i go along. Today i cut and painted the back door of the coop. Will assemble as soon as the paint dries. The first board for the divider also cut and painted. Two boards for the gap under the eaves cut, painted and installed. The trim for the edge of the floor also cut and painted, but i decided to put that divider board in before the trim, so those 2 trim boards will need to be cut. I managed to spill an entire can of old interior paint outside today, what a mess. I need to get out of the habit of leaving the lid on loosely. I was carrying plywood and did not see the can of paint. The flooring got trimmed to its' final size. It seems to take forever to get things done, but cooling breaks are much needed when it feels like 100. I would like to get the holes cut for the vents and install those. That divider is going to take a while. But i am going to put a door in it so i can get into the other side of the coop from either door. The bottom 2 feet will be hardware cloth so the roosters can't fight with each other through the divider. The rest will be chicken wire and boards to attach it to as needed. I am going to enjoy using this coop with the nice amount of head room. Still a lot of work to be done.

 

[Bobby Basham]

Some days i just want to lay around the house, but i have another building to put up after this one. A goat shed, which will need to be bigger! Plus the three chickens are picking on the guineas, who need more space. They grew up so fast!

Crap...I've been laying around the house for the last six months on the couch since I retired in March. No motivation, no energy, haven't touched the bed yet, just completely drained. It seems like I'm going through some type of "phase" right now, and not enjoying it. I had a lot of stress and frustration on my job for the last five years and maybe it's just a detoxification process I'm going through. The house is a mess, no projects completed, the place is just a total wreck, but it seems to be eventually wearing off and time to get busy. This should be the best time of my life after being in the workforce for 40+ years. I shouldn't be sitting around alone and miserable.

I admire you that keep your hand on that plow and move forward and hoping to join the ranks soon. --BB

 

[jvls1942]

BobbyB, sounds like you made up your mind to retire and take it easy. can't blame you.
sooner or later you will realize that taking it easy doesn't mean doing nothing.
I get like that daily. then if I go outside and putter, all of a sudden I am doing something
lots of times it is not what I should be doing, but that doesn't matter.
My incentive is cleaning my shop in the garage. I pick up a tool here, put it there, soon I find myself not cleaning the shop anymore, but doing something I like to do better.. LOL
If you want to see a real disaster, come look at my shop..
.........jiminwisc.....

 

[Bobby Basham]

you might as well go ahead and build it.
you aren't going to make a perfect one anyhow.
I worked with a great carpenter many years ago. he built countless houses.
One day he said to me, I have yet to build the perfect house.
whenever I finish one, I can look at it and see something that could have been different..

I like to build electric chicken pluckers.
I built five so far.
each one better than the ones before it.
I sell the one I finish,and then start on another one. I use them for myself until I can sell them.
they are automatic, and can pluck 2 to 3 chickens at a time in less than a minute.
I get $1200.oo for them.

........jiminwisc.....

Wow, are they very intricate to build? It's neat when you can keep your hands busy. It keeps the mind sharp. I like working on a smaller scale with electronics and repairing these old beasts.

My run is actually done, just needs to be screened in (top, sides and outside perimeter) with the rolls of 1/4" hardware cloth that I have, and need to construct a wide door for the entry way next to the brick pavers at the observation deck.

I probably still have about $500 worth of wood stacked in the garage, enough to finish my coop and side patio deck, just collecting dust.

Me thinks the underlying issue of procrastination of the coop is becoming a "New Parent" with babies to raise. Why build a coop when you don't have babies? Works for me...LOL!

Just say a prayer now and then and I'll come out of this rut. --BB

 

[jvls1942]

they are amazingly simple to build.
I bought a WhizBang ;lucker plan book for about $15.oo.
I built the first one like the plan. sold it.
then I built a second one. made a few improvements to it. sold it
then I made one with a chain drive instead of the V-belt. still more improvements, sold it
got an order for one, made it chain drive, too. a few more improvements. sold it to the guy who ordered it.
now I have one that I built about a year ago. have a couple of tweaks to do to finish it, but it works as it is..
only thing is, I sold all of our chickens. didn't get any meaties this year.

this last one has no metal fasteners in it at all. except for the bearings and their bolts.
all five that I built have solid, clear red oak wooden frames. I have a large pile of this oak that I had sawn about 12 years ago.
this last one is all mortise and tenon joints and some dowel pins.built like an old timber frame barn..
you can go on utube and see other whizbangs in use. keep in mind that those are volkwagons compared to my rolls royce ... not bragging, just stating the facts as they are..

 

[Bobby Basham]

View attachment 1116407 View attachment 1116407

BobbyB, sounds like you made up your mind to retire and take it easy. can't blame you.
sooner or later you will realize that taking it easy doesn't mean doing nothing.
I get like that daily. then if I go outside and putter, all of a sudden I am doing something
lots of times it is not what I should be doing, but that doesn't matter.
My incentive is cleaning my shop in the garage. I pick up a tool here, put it there, soon I find myself not cleaning the shop anymore, but doing something I like to do better.. LOL
If you want to see a real disaster, come look at my shop..
.........jiminwisc.....

If you wanna see a disaster, come look at my back yard. It may look pretty in the picture, but the weeds are about 3-feet high and TWO 6-feet trees have sprouted in my back yard from the damn Mesquite tree next door. Now I have to get out the chain saw, hedge trimmers, and recently bought a WORX edger/trimmer. Gotta love them power tools. My next acquisition will be one of those 10" table saws to cut my 4x4 lumber stacked up in the garage. My circular saw is too small for that job.

Not to forget my kitchen appliances...Pressure cookers, KitchenAid stand mixer with all the attachments for pasta, spiralizing etc., waffle irons, pernini press, slow cookers, roaster ovens, electric nuwave cook tops, a gazillion cast iron and copper skillets, just toys galore, enough to open a small restaurant.

I just had to go through this period of (I don't know what) to get back to being myself again.--BB

 

[Bobby Basham]

they are amazingly simple to build.
I bought a WhizBang ;lucker plan book for about $15.oo.
I built the first one like the plan. sold it.
then I built a second one. made a few improvements to it. sold it
then I made one with a chain drive instead of the V-belt. still more improvements, sold it
got an order for one, made it chain drive, too. a few more improvements. sold it to the guy who ordered it.
now I have one that I built about a year ago. have a couple of tweaks to do to finish it, but it works as it is..
only thing is, I sold all of our chickens. didn't get any meaties this year.

this last one has no metal fasteners in it at all. except for the bearings and their bolts.
all five that I built have solid, clear red oak wooden frames. I have a large pile of this oak that I had sawn about 12 years ago.
this last one is all mortise and tenon joints and some dowel pins.built like an old timber frame barn..
you can go on utube and see other whizbangs in use. keep in mind that those are volkwagons compared to my rolls royce ... not bragging, just stating the facts as they are..

If you can build something of high quality, and not price gouge folks, then your hobby should flourish. It just bothers me when the "middle-man" has to pad on his price to make a profit.

I'm up at all times during the night, watching info-mercials and reading this board (yes, you folks are awesome!) and come across a lot of deals. My latest interest was a Traeger wood grill. Of course, they wouldn't advertise the price on TV, but when I looked on line, it was $749.00! That's a bit much for me, but it included free shipping and two bags of wood chips. Then I saw the same grill advertised at ACE Hardware for $799.00.

Yes, if I'm up during night (as usual), I will surf the TV and/or Internet to see what deals you can buy direct from the manufacturer.

JVSL1942, keep up the good work, and hope that your hobby will flourish leaps and bounds. Everyone here has something to contribute which keeps this board alive, and there are not enough words to express my gratitude to the many who have given me ideas in pursuing my new passion. --BB

 

[jeria]

Bobby, the thread Gramcracker's coop is my coop, course it took off on bread making there for awhile

 

[jvls1942]

I just came all soaking wet, no it is not raining, it is humid out there.
I set up the forms for the first pour. then wrestled the concrete mixer up next to the pile of cement bags on the pallet. plugged it in and ,,,,,nothing. pushed the reset, nothing..
this is a fairly new machine, been stored dry for a couple of years, but the motor should still work I would think.
I did what I usually do when a problem hits me when I am all hot, sweaty and aggravated. I walked away.
tomorrow I will go at it with a fresh mind.

there must be a football game on ..
........jiminwisc......