New to the beautiful chicken world......

[BruceAZ]

Now that sir is an awesome idea! Such great advice! I was just at Home Depot yesterday looking at the lumber and such getting myself geared up to build the run. I'm going to build it on to the side and down the front on my coop. I priced the lumber and it was less than $1.50 per piece. I'll rent the truck that they have there to bring my lumber back to the house and start building Away thanks to you! Did you use a regular hammer and nails or a nail gun when building? Also, did you staple the wire mesh onto the wood frame or use screws? I'm sorry I have so many questions, but you are a wealth of knowledge and I like the fact that you say you had no carpentry skills prior!

you were at home depot.. did you check the 70% off lumber? usually on a cart in the middle of the largest aisle in the lumber area of the store.. they will mark them with purple spray pain

i used a regular hammer and nails.. but there's one thing i learned (i'm a newbie as you when i started out)

i don't know which type of nails you bought or which type of lumber size..

but if you use 2 1/2 in nail into 2x4 .. it will split the wood.. nails will split the wood

after i noticed the a few splits with the nails.. i scratched that idea and use the pre-drill then screw ..

again the down side of screws is that they will break easily... which is why i pre-drill and then screw

nails or screw.. pros and cons for both.. so just pick one that is best for you

i stapled the hardware cloth (with a $9 stapler- wal-mart ).. for convenience i think you should just buy the electric type since it's faster and less labor..

wal-mart has some home improvement supplies at a cheaper price compare to home depot.. home depot has everything but pretty pricey.. so use both stores

i use wal-mart for most things and home depot for things that are not available at wal-mart


did i provide you with the link for hardware cloth?

it's cheaper here
http://www.amazon.com/Gilbert-Benne...1463965345&sr=8-1&keywords=1+2+hardware+cloth

home depot will charge $54 for a roll of 4'x25.. so for $3 more you can get 2x the size from amazon

i built my coop using two drills, sander and jigsaw by myself.. i didn't want to spend money for expensive tools so just worked with what i already have and within my budget

 

[BruceAZ]

i forgot.. screws will also strip-- it's another con of screws.. but construction type screws will not have that problem.. so don't buy cheap screws or put too much force on them.. this is why i pre-drill .. if you are using screws it's best to have 2 drills.. (similar method to the last video on this post-- the first part is an example of pre-drill)

some beneficial videos for you

 

[nharbison0722]

Man you're awesome! I have all the info to keep me real busy now! And yes, I checked out the 70% off wood- hardly anything there. I'll keep checking it. With the prices of untreated lumber so low, it really wouldn't cost me much to build. I have all the tools, would only need lumber, screws/or nails and hinges if I make a door to walk into the run. I also have the poultry mesh wire too.
It was costly and I wish I had seen your post first from Amazon. I bought my mesh at Home Depot for 75. It's like 250 feet or something crazy like that. I figured more was better and I would need some later on for repairs and such

 

[BruceAZ]

Man you're awesome! I have all the info to keep me real busy now! And yes, I checked out the 70% off wood- hardly anything there. I'll keep checking it. With the prices of untreated lumber so low, it really wouldn't cost me much to build. I have all the tools, would only need lumber, screws/or nails and hinges if I make a door to walk into the run. I also have the poultry mesh wire too.
It was costly and I wish I had seen your post first from Amazon. I bought my mesh at Home Depot for 75. It's like 250 feet or something crazy like that. I figured more was better and I would need some later on for repairs and such

i guess someone cleaned it out before you got there...

if you already have all the tools? .. wait.. so you are not really a novice then.. ? since why would you have all the tools already?

poultry wire might not be strong enough.. for peace of mind i would recommend to use hardware cloth (amazon link above)

you can always take it back to home depot.. they will accept returns even if you already opened them ( just remember to return everything and not half a roll!!)

 

[nharbison0722]

Well, to be honest, they're my tools but they're not. I inherited them from my grandpa when he died. He was like my dad. Yeah, I might take that back then. It's still in the packaging. Now I'm checking out that the link and see what I can do.

 

[BruceAZ]

Well, to be honest, they're my tools but they're not. I inherited them from my grandpa when he died. He was like my dad. Yeah, I might take that back then. It's still in the packaging. Now I'm checking out that the link and see what I can do.

if it's still in the packaging.. return it for full refund and order from amazon instead

staples are cheaper at wal-mart the same for screws and nails

before you are going back to home depot to return the poultry wire.. create a plan/list.. see if you will need anything else and make it one trip instead of keep going back and forth for little things.. save time/labor/gas that way

do you have a plan for your coop/run yet?

 

[nharbison0722]

I'm working on the plan tonight. I have a rough idea in my head. Very basic, but I would like to have a door on a hinge that I can open and walk into the run to clean it out.

 

[BruceAZ]

I'm working on the plan tonight. I have a rough idea in my head. Very basic, but I would like to have a door on a hinge that I can open and walk into the run to clean it out.

all runs will have at least one door ..since that's how you get in and out when cleaning..

if you are making a door i would recommend using at least 2 hinges and up.. a small door would be fine with 2 hinges..


a door with one hinge.. it's possible but it's not secure enough plus the door will sag over time..

how large your coop will be? you will house 6 chickens right?

 

[nharbison0722]

I think I'm going to keep the coop I have now- it will just barely fit the six chicks I've got. They list it as being able to hold 8, but I think six is pushing it. I like the coop I bought and the feel of it in the garden. The run will be the only thing I'm building. Yeah, I was thinking 3 hinges

 

[BruceAZ]

I think I'm going to keep the coop I have now- it will just barely fit the six chicks I've got. They list it as being able to hold 8, but I think six is pushing it. I like the coop I bought and the feel of it in the garden. The run will be the only thing I'm building. Yeah, I was thinking 3 hinges

oh.. i was under the impression that you are going to build your own coop+ run

so just the run then.. it should not take long then

be sure to build some support beams across the top so you can hange the feeder and waterer

so you don't have to worry about them throwing their manure into the feeder or waterer .