Sky high lumber prices = thinking outside the box.

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Maderfarms said:
We recently got chickens and needed to build a chicken coop and run. Thankfully we had a TON of reclaimed wood from tearing down a shed on our property. We used all of that for the coop. The only thing wood wise we bought for the coop was 2 sheets of plywood siding that was about $80. We needed a cheaper option for our run since lumber prices are crazy right now! We will eventually upgrade to a bigger, nicer run when/if lumber prices ever drop. We still have some finishing touches to do on the coop but I wanted to share with those who needs cheaper option for a run what we did.

For the run we used 5 (6.5ft tpost at $4.50 a piece) and chicken wire. All in all we spent around $60 for the entire run which, not including the coop, is 10ftx4ft. We dug around the run and buried the wire about 6 inches to a foot. We secured the chicken wire to the tpost. We placed a piece of chicken wire on top and secured with plastic tie wraps. We will be placing pavers around the outside parameter in the coming week. Again this is a temporary options for us until lumber prices drop. It’s not the prettiest thing out there but all in all we have under $200 in the entire run and coop! Our girls love it and we are pleased.

We left the top open and the floor bare so that nature can take its course. It’s in an area that is covered densely by trees so they have plenty of shade. We hope this will be successful for us.
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saysfaa said:
Would you use Hardiebacker for a floor? I'm not sure it is the same thing as Hardiepanel, I'm guessing not exactly because Hardiebacker is 1/4" thick and 3x5 and costs about $12.

My just delivered shed has a floor... plywood on top of 2x4 joists. I think the joists are too far apart for the strength of the plywood; the floor bounces and has broken in one place so far. I think another will break soon if it is walked on normally.

Last year, I would have put 1/2" plywood on top of the existing floor. Now, that would be $300. The hardiebacker would be $108 and I don't have to cut it.
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Whatever works and is cheap is my mantra. Chickens only care about food, water, and safety from predators. If it accomplishes that, the chickies will be happy.
 
Tre3hugger said:
I just bought a small log Granberg Alaskan Mill and a new chainsaw. It should pay for itself in 2-3 projects with the cost of lumber as it is!
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We got one this year too. And a 36” bar for the chainsaw. I’ll take a pic of the support hubby made to hold the logs up at a comfortable cutting height. It’s awesome!
 
Farmgirl1878 said:
We got one this year too. And a 36” bar for the chainsaw. I’ll take a pic of the support hubby made to hold the logs up at a comfortable cutting height. It’s awesome!
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Yes please!! So far I have done 9' lengths so I couldn't lift them onto a saw horse. This week I am going to do some 6' lengths though, and some height would be soo helpful. Thanks!
 

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