May have to throw in the towel and give up the chickens..*updated!*

[LizGled628]

I love the way people come together when someone is in need

I'm not a single mom, but my husband is a firefighter and is often gone for days and nights at a time. Being alone has forced me to do a lot of my own, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I agree with the others who have suggested going to Home Depot or Lowe's and taking one of the "Fix it" classes they offer...you will be sending a great message to your little one about taking responsibility for your things and learning to adapt! And I imagine, once you realize the amazing things you are capable of, you will be a lot more confident in your efforts.

And never be afraid to ask for help. A lot of people don't mind showing you how to do something. I feel pretty special when my friends call ME and ask ME for advice on trapping animals, fixing leaks, or even killing big ugly bugs

Good luck! I know you can do it!

 

[parkersmom120106]

Thanks all

Got the last 4 stragglers. They were roosted on the porch rail just like I thought they would be. Now everyone is in the pen and can't get out. Hopefully the predators around here aren't hungry enough to tear into it. I have a bunch of salvaged wood piled up in my yard. How much of it is in good enough condition to use, I'm not sure. It's been sitting in the weather for 6 months. We shall see. My job moved and completely rebuilt at the new place so they let me take any wood I wanted. I got 2 truckloads worth and could have gotten more when they were cutting up the stages, but my boyfriend at the time lived an hour away and had already made 2 trips out after working all day and wasn't going to willing to come out again til the weekend, and it was getting hauled away that night if I didn't take it. Anyway..with some creativity we should be able to figure something out with what I have.

 

[Qi Chicken]

You can't tell me that just because you're small you can't figure out how to make a roof. Are you serious????? You CAN and you WILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For crying out loud, your chickens are depending on you. Now BUILD!

 

[drumstick diva]

A long time ago when I was 22 , 5feet tall and 91 pounds, I made a run cover for the dogs I was breeding. My dad never lifted a finger to help or give me advice (he knew how to build alot of things). I got fiberglass panels and 2 x 4 's special nails for the fiberglas etc. I built the frame in the garage and then had one heck of a time dragging it outside. I was cussing and sweating buckets till I finally got it propped across the chainlink panels, thankfully the sides were only 4 ft. high. I still needed a ladder. Then hammered the fiberglas across the top. It looked like heck.

My father lost no time in coming out to inspect it, criticized everything I did, and just ripped me a new one for being so dumb. I ended up crying my eyes out. But ya know something that cover stayed on in all kinds of extreme weather. It kept the dogs dry in rain and snow and because the fiberglas was slippery it was a breeze to just knock snow off with a push broom. Many years later when I no longer had the dogs, it was one devil of a job deconstructing it.

. I'd rather work outside any time than lifting weights, or playing hamster on a treadmill. I'm an old hen now, and alot heavier and arthritic I manually shovel every inch of a wide,long driveway while all the men in the neighborhood use a snow blower.,etc. I know when you are small and physically slight people think you can't do anything so I am an overachiever. I take alot of pride out of doing things much bigger and younger people can't manage.

I know you can build a good coop for your chickens, maybe people put you down too for being small. But don't believe it. I was always the shrimp, runt, shortstop, half pint, too little to go on carnival rides with my friends, too small to go horseback riding with them. The stable hand made me ride alone in a corral because I was "too small" to go out on the trail. People are no longer surprised by the things I can do they've come to expect it. How sweet it is.

Let us know how things go. You'll be fine

 

[redturtle]

good job on the quick fix....and hooray for Royd being willing to help

i am a little bigger than you but i also have arthritis in both feet...i had to throw a pen together real quick to put my ducklings in as they all of a sudden decided to pick tail feathers out of my 2 month old chicks....DH wasnt around and it needed to be done yesterday...so i grabbed the leftover roll of fencing, some t-posts and a hammer...even tho i also grabbed the tape measure it didnt come out square...the first bad rainstorm took one of the t-posts out of the ground because the tarp i had used i just threw over and bungee corded it...DH had to fix that better....but it did the job

so if i could do it so can you...and heres some more inspiration.....ROSIE THE RIVETER

GIRLZ ROOL!!!!!

 

[parkersmom120106]

I did put together a little pen for them with tposts and welded wire. I did it alone and spent the whole time struggling with the fence roll and getting angry because it kept falling over as I was trying to unroll it. I had something attack them and kill 2 and 14 disappeared while they were in that pen. That's when we moved them closer to the house into the a-frame coops that my brother build (what was left anyway). Then my brother redid the pen with the tpost off the front of the a-frames so they could have more space. It's not adequate though. Until I added the top today they were just hopping right out. So I need something structurally sound with 4x4s in the ground and field fence stretched tight and hardware cloth on top of it at least 2 feet up from the bottom. We were going to build it off of an old shed, but are rethinking that because of how far the shed is from the house (can't see/hear them at night). Soo..may have to build a coop too. I can help somebody do it. I have no problem swinging a hammer. There's just no way I can hold a peice of plywood in place and hammer the nails in at the same time. I need an extra set of hands is all and I'm not good at asking for help and especially don't want to ask someone to work for free in this heat lol. Dang it...I do need a boyfriend lol.

 

[Chickiemama1010]

you should try to make a hoop house style run and connect it with your coop. Its super easy. Cattle panels, chicken wire and a storm door. Thats what my run is made out of. Search "hoop house chicken tractor" on byc and you should find a pic. I modified ours a little, but its the same concept. It was soooo easy. Took me about 3 hrs total, not including water sealing the lumber. the hardest part was cutting the wire. I am a girl with very limited construction skill and I did it alone.You can do it too. just gotta woman up and go for it. Tools required are minimal. Drill, screws, zipties, wire snips and depending on your lumber, maybe a saw. I was going to cut the lumber to match the cattle panels, but I decided to just let them overlap cuz it was easier.

Now, some people may freak out, but theres no hardware cloth buried under the ground to keep things from digging in. I let the flock out in the morn, and put them to bed at dusk. theres a hinged pop door with a latch, so if something did manage to dig in, they wouldnt get into the coop. The coop is secure. The run is minimum security. I have only had 1 incident of loss from predators in this situation, and it was totally my own fault.

I know youre having issues building the coop itself, but depending on the size of your flock, and your neighborhood, you could get one from craigslist and attach the 2. Or a large doghouse. Or an old tool shed. Thats what my coop is. Very recycled, and people laugh at me. But there is an old twin bed frame in there, and thats where they roost. And there are 4 orange crates for nest boxes, like what clementines come in, held up to the wall with shelving "l" brackets. It aint pretty. But is works. We got the shed for $100. the crates were free. Really, the cattle panels for the hoop house were the most expensive part, besides the shed. My bantams lived in a doghouse. But they didnt lay. So....I guess the moral is, if you cannot do it, cannot figure it out,dont have the tools, and theres no one to help you with it, recycle and reuse. Need a roof? look for fiberglass panels, the wavy corrugated looking ones that sometimes make lean-to roofs, or get put in barn windows. At least they do here. You'll figure it out. And when you do, even if its ugly, if it works, and you did it, you'll be proud. Believe it

 

[Chickiemama1010]

PS i used romex staples to attach the cattle panel to the lumber base. (pound em in with a hammer, just like nails, but they look like mean, heavy duty staples)

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
This is BYC my dear friend size means nothing in this vast broad forum I bet you there is a local bycer in your area More then willing to come give you a hand out there. and help you secure your your coops. I know here in okie land our byc group is like a tight knit family we all do things for eachother when we can.

 

[Royd]

Quote:
This is BYC my dear friend size means nothing in this vast broad forum I bet you there is a local bycer in your area More then willing to come give you a hand out there. and help you secure your your coops. I know here in okie land our byc group is like a tight knit family we all do things for eachother when we can.

We've got it under control. She's got plenty of scrap wood, stacked up. We set the posts, today..It's going to be a simple shed roof, 16x8.
I have some old aluminum channel roofing, which I'm going to use.

We got stopped by, what looked like long term rain..I got home, and it hadn't rained a drop, at my house.

The benefit of heavy cloud cover and a good breeze, was nice, this time of year, in Florida, though.