Recycling Materials to Build your COOP

[Cheep a'lil Talk a'lil]

Quote:
I love that idea, just wish I had more land!

 

[ducks4you]

Cheep a'lil Talk a'lil :

The past owners use to have a path into the blackberrys where they would dump with grass clippings...*Old windows from freecycle.org I reframed them and will use some in the coop and some for cold frames in the garden

* Oops paint that was going to be thrown out ~ exterior house paint, perfect to paint the coop and cold frames.

Love your "finds" and suggestions.
I have a 'berry' to pick with you--JUSt planted 2 blackberry bushes at my place!!
BTW, do you have any plans for cold frames?​

 

[zoomia]

Funny you should ask, because we just finished our coop. (Well, almost: we're recycling an old window as their entrance into their area that will have surrounded by electric netting. Still have that to do.)

However, the only thing we bought for this coop was one piece of lumber, chicken wire, and those chicken wire staples. The bf works in construction so he brings home odds and ends.

Frame from the old deck, roof panels free from a job. Old kitchen door and trim. All trim from stuff we replaced from in the house.

Old fence, window from built-in we replaced in the house

You know how you pass a construction site and there are all these huge panels blocking off access to the site and advertising the building it is about to become? That's what these doors are.

Nesting boxes are old shelving

 

[LilbitChicken]

GREAT ideas! We love to use recycled materials...or scrap that has been dumped. AWESOME

 

[New adventure]

My coop is insulated with 1" styrofoam sheets that I found in a dumpster behind an office furniture store.

My other dumpster finds this month are a small preshaped pond for DD's turtle; a pop-up tent playhouse for GDD, and two insulated canvas roll up shades that will shade the porch this summer. All of these were n perfect condition.

My family used to hide too; now they help me if they're around or applaud when I get home with my loot!

 

[mygor]

I used to dumpster dive at a semi trailer repair shop. I found plywood, fiberglass, and many other very useful items. Then one of the owners saw me. (I had permission from the manager) He said it was against his insurance policy to let people do that. So after talking with the manager, I now haul all of the scrap wood away for then. What I can't use for repairs or give to friends go into the wood stove. Now the owner is happy(it saves him several hundred a year in dumpster fees). I'm happy too free heat and, building supplies. Although during the summer the kindling pile gets rather large. LOL!

 

[Judy]

It is so sad to me that this lawsuit-happy society has made a lot of recycling impossible. Dumps and dumpsters used to offer most anything one needed to build things like coops and runs. I have read of people building ships and homes from stuff from dumpsters in NYC. Now we cannot plunder at all, it must all be buried. What a waste, and this is supposed to be waste management.... If I haul stuff to the dump, someone is right there to be sure I put it in the right place, and don't plunder. Builders/contractors discard huge amounts of roofing, siding, wood, etc., daily, and pay to discard it. So sad. No wonder contractors are ok with our scrounging their scraps; otherwise, they must pay to throw them away.

OTOH, an unspoken rule around here is, if you live in town and set it by the trash cans, where there is garbage pickup, it is free choice. I have put broken down lawn mowers, childrens' outgrown toys, unwanted furniture, etc. by the trash cans, and they are usually gone within 24 hours. At times, people have even knocked on the door to ask if it was ok to take them.

 

[Slywoody]

I live right in the middle of a big junk pile and love it. This particular area has a lot of "just summer people". For some reason or another, i became known as the local junk man. Now they bring me all kind of junk. I save all used lumber, windows, hinges, doors, tin, and lots of other "good stuff". I also do metal scrapping. I'm amazed at the amount of good stuff people just want to get rid of. I even have yard sales and sell the stuff i got for free!!! I also do "dumpster diving", Garage sales, auctions, hit up construction sites, and do demolition of anything and everything. I just put together another coop and run out of an old fishouse and never spent dime one on it. Life is good!!!!!!!! Woody

 

[mechagrue]

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I LOVE the idea of using those "billboards" in the coop! That is awesome!

A cautionary note that may or may not apply to your situation - just wanted to throw it out there. When I was building my first chicken tractor (about a month ago) I fastened the welded wire to the frame using staples like you have.

I share yard space with the property owner, who has 4 very large dogs (Newfoundlands, between 105 and 160lbs). The first afternoon after I "launched" the chicken tractor, one of the dogs kicked it right apart.

If you are a very large dog, and you pounce at the middle of the wire wall, the staples will pop right out of the frame at both ends.

For the current (second) tractor, I fastened the wire by screwing on thin lengths of wood. I think these are called battens? I used whatever scrap wood I had on hand, including some paint stir sticks. So far it has withstood Pounce By Giant Dogs many times over.

Just a heads up! Fortunately no chickens were harmed or freed. I happened to be looking out the window right when it happened, so I was able to run out before the chickens discovered that their pen had fallen apart.

 

[Cheep a'lil Talk a'lil]

Quote:
Love your "finds" and suggestions.
I have a 'berry' to pick with you--JUSt planted 2 blackberry bushes at my place!!
BTW, do you have any plans for cold frames?

Ugh, blackberrys!! I have a love hate relationship with them. Love to make jelly with them, hate them in my yard!!!

They are a nuiance and so invasive! You can find a runner 5 miles from the origional shoot!! And no matter what you do to it, it will pop up again a week later

We tore out most but kept one area that we (I) will try to keep under control. DH was not happy, he wanted them all gone, said I could go out in the woods and pick. I just want to be able to go in my back yard to get them and since I'm the one that does all the yard...ha!...I win.

I started a new thread in Random Ramblings called "Cold Frames", didn't want to get off topic.