Is it just me?

[brandytab]

Quote:
I like that, too! Even with home remodeling projects. We're getting ready to do our bathroom (leaky floors so have to rip it all out!), and I just picked up a nice medicine cabinet and wall cabinet for 25 bucks. I was so happy!

I enjoy the challenge of making something look REally darn nice on a few pennies. It's fun because it's a neat challenge

 

[rainbowgardens]

I worked a year at a roofing/masonry business.
I would watch with envy as customers would come in and buy material to build sunrooms, extra garages to house more cars,and such. Some of the people I even knew from church and wondered how they could spend money like that.
I had to keep reminding myself that if they didn't, I wouldn't have my job.
I bought my coop roofing there. I had to get the scratched/discolored seconds we used as cover sheets. I also scrounged around in the wood heap for pallets and scrap wood to build my chicken tractor.
People probably look at me with my chickens and wonder why I would spend money on them when eggs cost so little in the store. They probably also wonder why I mess up the carpeting in my car hauling bales of straw for the coop, instead of paying to have it delivered.

 

[rancher hicks]

For those who it would help. Sometimes the lumber stores and such sell "cull lumber". I get mine at Home Depot. I've used this and buy when I can a few boards at a time. My raised bed garden is all built w/ cull lumber from Home Depot. I hope someone on this forum works there and lets them know. I've gotten 2x4's, 2x6's, 2x8's, 2x10's, and even 2x12's. Right now I've used it to divde my garden shed for my birds. I also have pieces of plywood of different thicknesses and plan to use the pressure treated boards to make a small deck on my coop to sit on. If you live near one check it out or ask your local lumber company about lumber they don't sell. You also can get paint that has been brought back. If it's not you color ask them what you can mix with it to get a color you like. Yes and definitely check Craigslist for freebies. Right now I'm trying to give away a dog house that could easily be converted.

 

[patandchickens]

I know what you mean, but how is blowing "unnecessary" money on a coop any different than eating at drive thrus or restaurants, buying clothes more expensive or more frequent or more numerous than you bottom-line need for the basics of life, or buying a new and less-than-fully-budget-minded car, or anything else like that?

Count the ways that people spend luxury money in America (or Canada either for that matter) and chicken coops are way, WAY down the list.

I've seen some quite fancy looking coops on BYC that were made entirely or almost entirely out of free/scrounged/recycled materials, too. So don't necessarily judge a coop by its cover

Pat, whose coop is a repurposed building that was here when we bought the place

 

[rankar]

One of the things I like about this forum is that it appeals to all types of chicken owners, from farmers with large flocks to urban/suburban hobbyists with small flocks. The variety of the coops on the site reflects this range. All of the coops and their stories are inspirational.

Members are very helpful at outlining the basic needs of a coop. For those who choose to go above and beyond, everyone has their reason. In our case, the only place nearby that sold coops wanted $1350 plus delivery for a 4x6 henhouse that had no run and did not meet our needs. For $1000, my husband built a coop and run that meets our needs. We did not have easy access to recycled materials, and my husband has a full time job, so it was easier to make one trip to the home center for supplies. Yes, the coop is above and beyond the chickens' basic needs, but quite frankly, we wanted a coop that the neighbors could not complain about and that was in keeping with the style of our home. It is our hope that our coop would enhance our property value (and those of our neighbors) rather than lessen it.

I totally understand where you are coming from and you make excellent points. But rather than looking at our differences, perhaps we might look at what we share in common: commitment, and dare I say, love for our chickens, a desire for more sustainable and healthy lives, and a connection to nature. Oh, and great eggs.

 

[mmtillman]

I do know where you are coming from, as I and many of us here, probally were not as well off, as we might be now. Alot of that is age related.

Perhaps you are young and have yet to see the wealth you are gonna enjoy later on in life as you grow older??

The cool coops you see on here might be excessive ....as ours probally is...but the cost of contentment is priceless and if our chickens bring us joy and contentment, well, our coops are an expression of that comtentment..And no $ amount can be put on that.
'To each their own', 'live and let live' and all that aside..... I pray you find that same contentment in your backyard chickens, regardless of the cost. God bless you.

 

[roosterjerry]

I guess maybe I should have put this in the rants section. After reading all the replies I just want to say that I do not envy anyone's anything. I just can't see how people justify spending so much cash on this stuff or for that matter anything. Even if I had a lot of money I would not have a ten bedroom house and 4 cars. That is one reason that the economy is in the shape it is in now people spending beyond their means. I would just say before I spend any excess money I may have it takes very careful consideration. My girlfriend is disabled from being hit by a drunk driver and can not work. I am currently unemployed and it looks like it might be a while before I find anything I have been looking for over a year. We don't have cable TV or cell phones. We don't go to the movies or fast food. We do not miss any of those things. We also do not have any credit cards and the car is paid for. Our chickens give us a lot of pleasure. Much better entertainment than T.V.

 

[starryeyes]

Well I am a perfectionist and love things to match and be clutter free. I would love my coop to match house and not be a eye soar but with 3 kidos and 100 birds its just not in the budget. I am lucky hubby had his own constrution biz for 20 yrs so we got tools out the waazoo. We did redo the inside of the building and seems to work well. We used left over material from old job sites . We plan on siding it before fall. So i decided to make do with what we have and pretty it up. i bought flower seeds at the dollar store 4 for a $1. I planted them in pots and when they come up I will transplant them around the coop and yard. I bought morning glories to climb the fence. With hard work it will look great. And you know some people on here could not have children and there animals are there kids so a nice coop for there kidos brings them Joy so be it to each its own.

 

[jophoto]

roosterjerry - just because some people decide to spend on a coop does not mean they are living above their means. I'm sorry you are going through a rough time, and I hope that things turn around for you.

Personally, I have been there - there was a time when we had not a dime, and had to buy groceries on a credit card in order to eat... but over the years, DH and I have worked VERY hard to get what we have now, and do not live above our means. We work and get what we want because we want it and felt it brings us joy. There are those on the outside that may think we live above our means because of what appears on the outside, but those people have no clue how succesful my business is, and that we have worked to the point where we pay cash for everything - that's not living above your means.

 

[Zahboo]

I would move this to random ramblings, as its not staying on subject of coops

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