I think I scored!

[Moxiechick]

I went to the feed store today, to purchase a roll of hardware cloth. We're actually starting on our coop and I wanted to get some to put an apron under the shed near where we're building the coop. I had bought a 10' roll of 36" a week or so ago (for $14.99), but decided to save that towards the run and buy some that wasn't quite so wide for the apron. Well, the feed store closest to the house only had 36", so I decided to try the feed store up the road. Bad news is, it's a great feed store that is going out of business. Good news is that they were having a going out of business sale! I'm wandering around, when I look over in a dark corner and see a large roll of hardware cloth. It is a roll of galvanized, 1/2 ", 19 gauge, 36" tall, which is 97' long (it was a 100 ft originally, but had they sold 3 feet of it previously). It originally sold for $2.79 a foot. I got the whole roll for $65!

I think I feel giddy.

 

[JanetSmithery]

Holy crow! That is an excellent purchase. You can make an enormous Fort Knox of a run with all that hardware cloth.

I'm pricing hardware cloth in my area now, and it's making me want to cry. I knew it would be expensive, and I accounted for that in making up my (generous) budget this winter. But I didn't account for the horrible increase in lumber prices. If I stay on budget, it'll be a miracle.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

Great find! I'm getting ready to buy 4-48"x50' and 2-24"x50 rolls myself to wrap, cover the top, and put an apron around a 10'x20' kennel I got off of Craigslist. I got the kennel for $125.00 so the $300.00 for the hardware cloth doesn't sting so bad when it's all said and done. We gotta protect them birds. The hardware cloth manufactures loves us chicken folks and the predators...lol.

 

[Moxiechick]

I hear you with the budget thing. We spent over $100 today on 2x6's for the base and some 2x4's. We were able to get some lumber from friends by letting it be known on facebook we were in the market for any scrap lumber that they may not want. I've also been eying a house around the corner from here which is having some demolition done. They have a big disposal bin full of bits of wood. I'm just trying to work up the nerve to go knock on the door to get permission to dig around. In the meantime, I'm keeping a close eye on craigslist, freecycle, and the Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. (Got some hinges from there last week for $1 each).

 

[whytedragon]

Not bad. I just found some coated poultry netting off of Craigslist from a company that has to sell it for $40 for 48"x150'...they gave it to me for half price. So $40 got me 300'!
It's coated black, really nice!