My coop is going to end up in a divorce!

[sattoritx]

Quote:
I wanted to just build it as we went, my hubbie spent 3 weeks planning how to build it and we are still making as many last minute changes to the plans that I was planning for, lol But I get what I want a nice sturdy coop who cares that i cant help move it thats what I have the men in my family for.

 

[RocketDad]

I agree with penturner on this. There's a time and place for recycled materials, but you have to use them carefully and selectively. The more experienced one is with making things the more seriously one takes each piece.

I tore down a 10'x12' shed to make room for a 4'x8' coop. The neighbor looked over the fence he built with mostly recycled junk and asked if I was gonna build the coop out of the stuff from the shed. I graciously told him that I would try to use some of it. I ended up cutting a few 2x4's shorter to get rid of ends torn up from demolition, but most of it went to the dump or into the firewood pile. Mr Neighbor waxed eloquent about the siding boards, and suggested I list them on craig's list. Meh. They were 100 years old ALREADY when the previous owner of my house tore them out of a grainary and dragged them home to build the shed. In 1974. The "Perfectly Good" shed in my yard was "cute" in a splintery-old-wood way, but it was a bug infested firetrap and the cedar shingles had started failing years ago. Worst feature: The floor boards were used 1x8 from the grainary. I nearly broke an ankle one day when one snapped.

The whole shed was built on top of the worst material available. If it had been built on a better floor, I MIGHT have fixed it up and put chickens in it. But it was failing at all the crucial points.

Here's how I see it. A stick has three parts - a middle, and 2 ends. If you make a windowframe and get the middle right but both ends are wrong the window frame looks like crap. The end 1/4" is the most important part. But most people don't see the end of the stick - they see the "perfectly good" middle. It takes the experience of working with the materials to understand how to see the whole stick.

 

[sattoritx]

Quote:
Although the main coop for us was built with new material, 4x4's, 2x4's, 2x6's and siding panels. we did use lots of free scraps left over from my husbands clients projects so that was nice.

 

[CityChook]

Thank you Penturner and RocketDad.

 

[bad_coffee]

I wholeheartedly agree with Pen Turner and Rocket Dad.

But I still wish I could have used a bit more recycled material on our coop. Both for the environment and my wallet. I didn't have time to actually search for and clean up used lumber. I had to build the coop in the time I had,hich meant buying almost all of the material new. Was it less work? Yes. Did it cost more? Yes.

And to all of you complaining about the coops your DH/etc are building FOR YOU, remember a couple of things:

They are spending THEIR time working on the coop. They probably would rather be doing what they want to be doing, not what you want them to. "Honey, I need a chicken coop built by ________" sounds to me like "I need to tell the guys I can't go watch the game because She wants a chicken coop built, and it's the only free day I have this week." However, given enough lead time, it's okay. "Honey, these chickens will be ready to go outside in two months. Do you think we can build the coop before then?"

Offer to go to the lumber store with him. Offer to help with the actual construction. Spend your time helping him. If he doesn't need help, spend your time doing something for him. Make a special dinner for him, buy him a bottle of his favorite drink, or [self edited, it's a family board, but you get the idea,] do something other than just demand a coop.

Plans: Sit down and have a design meeting. Show him pictures, and tell him what size you expect it to be/what size you need it to be. "I was hoping the coop would fit between the garage and the fence, and the run would go along the fence to the garden. Would that work for you?"

Then start drawing (rough sketch on paper) the coop the way you want it, where doors/windows/nest boxes/pop doors/etc go. Which way do you want the door to open? How big does the pop hole need to be? How do you get into the nest boxes? What kind of roof? What do you want the outside to look like? What color paint? Relay all the info to him, then let him do the actual design. Trust me, it's just easier for him to design it if he's building it.
Option B: Spend the cash and hand him the plans.

Also, realize that you might not get exactly what you want. "I want a small coop that I can move myself. It has to hold 10 birds, with water and food, have terra cotta roofing, and be insulated for winter" UM no. That's just not gonna happen. (sure, that's an extreme example but you get the idea.) If you ask for a 5'x7 foot coop, realize a 4x8 coop will be easier to build.

"The hardware cloth needs to be buried in the ground 8 inches, too" Would sound a lot better to me if it came out of her mouth like "Where's the shovel?" Don't expect him to do it all because it's 'labor.' You can do more than just paint! I promise. You can do the construction too!

but in the end, realize they're just chickens! They'll be fine in just about every coop you put them in.

[rant off]

B

 

[tdkmom]

Quote:
OH that's my husband! I have the idea tell him what I want and he says OK. Then as he's building I say but that's not what I wanted. And he replies Don't worry. This is bigger and better. I DON"T WANT BIGGER AND BETTER! You should see the huge fireplace I have in my living room! Why won't they just listen to us?

And to Bad_Coffee: Trust me I spent every second in that coop with him and to the hardware store. Plus more trips on my own. The chickens were his idea to begin with and now my son & I are the ones caring for them. Thank goodness we love them because once the coop was built I haven't seen DH there again!

 

[Southpaw970]

Quote:
Just like Tdkmom said...the chickens were HIS idea. He raised chickens when he was a kid. I did get enthusiastic about having chickens this spring after getting used to our first chickens that we got last year. I was hatching some eggs in a homemade bator- and HE wanted to go buy some "just in case" they didn't hatch. We bought 6 from TSC, and 3 weeks later 4 out of 6 of my experimental eggs did hatch.

He did know for 3 weeks that these teenagers needed a place to go til they were big enough to play with the big girls. I did appreciate that he was able to build it too. If you haven't been married to my DH for 21 yrs then you totally wouldn't understand.

Sometimes people just want to vent and share stories about married life- no need to get all defensive.

There is A LOT of humor in how men and women think differently. I thought my husband was the only one who did a lot of things, because I didn't work outside the house for the first few years of our marriage. Then when I did go to work with a bunch of other married women, I found out that we shared a lot of the same stories.

 

[RocketDad]

I'm a stay-at-home dad, have been for about 10 years with a few remodeling jobs and custom furniture pieces scattered in there.

I can probably share a lot of "wife" experiences too

We joke that our division of labor was that she had to be pregnant and I'm the one who's barefoot in the kitchen.

 

[AHappychick]

Quote:
um that is amazing what imagination you have!!!

 

[sattoritx]

I think just cause people rant, doesnt mean that all they are doing on their coop is painting it. Give us women some credit...
Yeah I've done my wifely duties, I grilled, made lemonade and iced tea. picked up scraps kept his work area clean. Made a feeder out of a coffee can, and installed the hook to hang it under the coop, a waterer out of a giant pancake syrup bottle. I've done projects with my step dad my whole life, I know how to build things yet the husband wanted it done his way and done quick (two weekends) Explaining stuff slows him down, but even though I complain I still love him and am proud of the work he did on the coop.

I wonder how many of us fairly competent wives were not allowed to touch the chicken coop during construction, or his tools? The truth is that materials are expensive..
I know how to measure twice cut once, but we couldnt afford to mess anything up and DH (darling husband) was sure I would mess something up.

Me- "Hey hun I can hammer the wire onto the framed door for you......
DH- "No Thanks".....
Me- I'm not an idiot you know I can hammer chicken wire to a door frame... "No Thanks"
Me- So if I grabbed your circular saw and cut the poop pit you'd flip out? .......
DH- Yep
This is about the time I realized he was still wearing his PJ bottoms and it was 5pm.....
Me- So when I announced this morning that I was going to work on the coop, you threw your boots on and ran outside to start working didnt you?
DH- (big smile)
Me- Your still wearing your PJ bottoms...
DH- (Big smile)
me- you didnt want me messing anything up
DH- "What are you talking about?" (Big Smile)
Me- Yeah I'm not an idiot dear.
DH- Why dont you just relax some more..
Me- I've been relaxing all day I need something to do, lol

Yeah so you see, fairly capable women that can build things are also ranting here, so dont be so eager to put women back a century.