New plan! (LOTS O PICS, adding them as I go)

[M To The Maxx]

 

[Valerie Dawn]

 

[WhySayWhat]

I'm a visual learner myself, so if I put up lots of pics of what I plan on doing...I'm more likely to follow the "design", lol.

I did finally decide on chicks today...no EE's in my near future (they weren't going to be getting any until mid-April). I'm a little bummed about that, but I'll be happy with my 3 fluffy butts anyway! I'm getting 2 SLW and 1 BR, so much for variety, lol. All three should be black & white when they've grown all their "big girl" feathers, but in my opinion, the SLW's are just a tad prettier. That opinion could change when my gals are bigger though!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Quote:
Me too! Oh, wait...

Well, the coop building will have to wait until Monday, let's hope for no rain! I have to finish getting my house picked up and VACUUMED since I have a friend coming over for dinner...yes, neccessity is a great motivator! It works for coop projects or so I'm told... My girls are arriving on/around 3/16! That gives me....46 days to get the brooder going and the coop HAS to be finished 8 weeks after that, lol.

 

[TigerLilly]

Great thread! Waiting on the building to begin & looking forward to the pics~

 

[wwalding]

Quote:
We didn't have any trouble buying the house, and like I said the previous owners kept rabbits in the same spot. The only difference will be the hardware cloth enclosing it, and that can be taken down easily enough with a screwdriver or simple power tool. The coop itself will be a stand-alone unit. Our cats will take care of anything that tries to find a way into the house, we very rarely get any inside except for the spiders that I can't seem to irradicate. When they do get in, the cats make swift work of make them "disappear".

If we do end up with an issue, We'll spend the $ to move the run farther away, but I doubt we'll need to. I haven't seen any evidence that there is a single mouse on the property, but that could be thanks from the local cats that patrol my yard a few times a week. Our dog makes sure they don't get to stay too long though.

I will have to agree... Chicken's bring tons of flies... A lot more than a rabbit would.. I had never seen so many flies before last summer. De will help dry the poop out faster so the flies won't lay there eggs on it as much. But expect to still have lots of flies in that area this summer...

 

[Dogfish]

Glad to see you steadily progressing. Tools are cool!

 

[WhySayWhat]

I was wandering around in my downstairs living area today and saw two sets of clear rope lights stuck in a corner...I had an "ah-ha" moment and decided they would be lighting in the coop. To go with that today, I purchased an outdoor timer (Intermatic brand). It isn't too fancy, but will do what I need it to do, which is turn the lights on/off so they don't have to be on 24/7. I found it on cearance for $7.78! Can't beat that when the normal price on it was $17.99! We have two 18' strands of rope lights, so my plan is to run them along the house above the window and into the coop, I just hope that doesn'tcause them to want to be out of the coop at night just because they can see a little!

I also bought some more seeds to plant (Patty Pan Squash, Rutabaga, and Morning Glory), a gardening apron (something with pockets I can stick things in!), and a Speed Square ($5.68) that came with a free "always sharp" refillable carpenter's pencil. I suppose it's better than trying to do it all by eye, lol. Today's veggie purchases are for me to eat, but I may share with the girls if there's leftovers! I just like the way Morning Glory looks (and I have successfully grown it before), but I thought I might be able to set up the trellis, that is leaning against the side of my house, in front of the coop/run area and maybe block the view from neighbor's that live on the other side of the backyard fence (which is chain link).

 

[WhySayWhat]

I also got another gallon of paint for $5...so:

Updated cost of materials list:

$ 2.04 - Pressure-treated 2x4's (4 at 4+' in length) - will be used somewhere, maybe not this project, we'll have to see
$ 2.04 - OSB (or whatever it is)
Free - 10 Pallets! (3 of the big blue kind...2 of which are going to be the bottom of the coop)
Free - 2 Pallet Crates
$ 6.52 - Paint @ Lowe's (MisTinted)
$ 17.94 - 2-4"x4"x8' Pressure Treated Lumber (for the floor to sit on)
$ 19.97 - 5# tub of 3" Drywall Screws (galvanized)
$ 52.46 - 1/2"x2'x100' Hardware Cloth (galvanized)
$ 0.51 - OSB
$ 10.92 - Concrete Blanks (the piers)...$2.73 each * 4 of them
$ 19.52 - Adjustable Galvanized 4x4 brackets (goes in pier to make it EXACTLY what they sell pre-made)...$4.88 ea * 4 of these too.
$ 5.00 - Interior paint in light beige! (1 Gallon)
$136.92

 

[WhySayWhat]

Non-coop related expenses (still chicken based expenses):

Free - Mason Jars, I have a ton of these at home!
$ 5.98 - SLW chicks times 2!
$ 2.39 - BR chick!
$ 2.99 - Chick Feeder
$ 6.99 - Red Heat Bulb
$ 1.99 - Chick Waterer
$ 8.99 - Brooder Lamp w/ 6' cord
$27.86 (After I got a 5% discount on the whole lot )

I actually was able to order my chicks on Saturday when I went in to ask about the exact date of sale along with what breeds they would have available for the first shipment. The EE's won't be in until mid-April, and I just don't think I could last the extra month waiting for them! So, I got 2 SLW's and 1 BR. I guess I could have gone with 3 of either one, but the SLW's have really been growing on me while I stalk everyone's chicken pics, lol. This way I should be able to tell at least one of them apart.

Since the rest of my life got in the way of chicken coop building this past weekend, I took a bit of time yesterday to fix a broken drawer front on an old nightstand I have (my grandfather built it when my mother was a young child, he would have been 100 this year, my mother is 59). The darned Gorilla glue had a clog and in trying to fix that issue, I managed to get it all over my fingertips! To make matters worse, once I thought I had all the glue off, I grabbed a paper towel only to find I was still coated in glue! Gorilla glue bonds VERY well with paper towel and skin...and NOTHING takes it off! The guy at Home Depot told me to try Nail Polish Remover....but that didn't do anything but dry out my skin.

In chicken-related progress though...my 100' roll of Hardware cloth shipped out yesterday! I ordered it from CSN, but it is actually being shipped from elsewhere (it is actually in my city) and should arrive today, as long as FedEx doesn't muck it up! The status currently shows it was "left at FedEx facility"...so we'll see!

And I just realized I added the wrong price for the hardware cloth to the materials list! So...

Updated cost of materials list:

$ 2.04 - Pressure-treated 2x4's (4 at 4+' in length) - will be used somewhere, maybe not this project, we'll have to see
$ 2.04 - OSB (or whatever it is)
Free - 10 Pallets! (3 of the big blue kind...2 of which are going to be the bottom of the coop)
Free - 2 Pallet Crates
$ 6.52 - Paint @ Lowe's (MisTinted)
$ 17.94 - 2-4"x4"x8' Pressure Treated Lumber (for the floor to sit on)
$ 19.97 - 5# tub of 3" Drywall Screws (galvanized)
$ 58.46 - 1/2"x2'x100' Hardware Cloth (galvanized)
$ 0.51 - OSB
$ 10.92 - Concrete Blanks (the piers)...$2.73 each * 4 of them
$ 19.52 - Adjustable Galvanized 4x4 brackets (goes in pier to make it EXACTLY what they sell pre-made)...$4.88 ea * 4 of these too.
$ 5.00 - Interior paint in light beige! (1 Gallon)
$142.92