The shed is here.... OMG NOW WHAT!

[amenfarm]

Not quite, not raccoon proof--

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National Hardware V2002 2-1/2 Safety Hook & Eye, Zinc

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[ailurophile23]

I don't know what these are called but I found a whole box of them. They were left over when the crew came out to put up the steel shell for the barn several years ago. They have hex heads, a regualr screw bottom, a small 'flange' around the head and a rubber 'gasket' under that. They work GREAT to secure hardware cloth instead of washers. And the price is right - free.
Anyone every use them? Know what they're called? Have any issues with them??


Those fasteners are for securing metal roofs - they work great in my experience and should do well with hardware cloth since they are made to be used with metal. The only issue I have ever seen is that as tin roofs heat and cool, the fasteners can sometimes loosen a little and need to be retightened - but that shouldn't be an issue with hardware cloth on a door.

The coop is looking terrific! A thought on flooring - we use crusher run as the base for all our horse stalls and the chicken coop - great for drainage and a solid base. I started off with sawdust over it for the chickens as that is what we use for the horses. After about 2 months, we removed the sawdust and put in sand and I could not be happier!!!!! It is dry and they dust themselves in it and it is easy to keep clean - I tend to clean daily with a litter scoop but if a miss a day or two, no worries at all. Also, as an earlier poster indicated, Sweet PDZ (stall freshener - Tractor Supply) is a truly awesome product to help dry out wet spots (if needed) or to put on a poop board/tray - it dehyrates the messes quickly and eliminates any smell that might exist. And it is compostable too.

 

[amenfarm]

that's what is under my stall mats too! crusher run--totally forgot what it's called.

 

[omaeve]

I work at a landfill - and it is grounds for immediate dismissal to 'scavenge'... Can you imagine the elaborate deals I have to work out with some of our regular contractor customers to 'have some of the load fall off' before they cross the scale and it officially becomes 'trash'?!?!?!?!? One guy figured out how to have a couple of small empty plastic barrels 'fall off' and nearly hit my car...

Of course, as long as they were laying right there, it was just responsible for me to pick them up and put them in the back of my car - to drop off at the dumpster after work.. yeah.. that's what I was doing.....
But since I forgot.. I may as well make them into waterers - right?

But really - was ANY of this stuff so expensive before DIY became a word and HGTV was invented? Once we realized that we COULD do this stuff, it became big business.

when we lived in CA people paid to have a pemit to recycle at the dump and the trucks dump on the ground and the guys rip open bags and sort stuff one employee there just to grab toxic stuff then leftovers shoved over the hill with a bull dozer. just think how much room they save in the landfill.

 

[canesisters]

FINALLY!!! Some Progress!

I finally had a chance to work on the coop again this weekend. And the 'project of the day' was replacing the window.

Here is the window that the previous owners were using as a pop door.




So after A LOT of measurements, and more measurements, and a few more, just to be sure - I took the plunge and starting cutting.
Apparently, a skill saw does NOT cut through a 2x4 stud completely - and about half way through it will kick back and go for your throat.
I stopped, hydrated a little, took some more measurements (while I was re-thinking the whole thing) and went back to the barn to look for 'better' tools. I have discovered that a saw-zall is a WONDERFUL thing!

This thing will cut through NAILS! Of course, that little saw blade zipping back and forth a bazillion times a second is really hard to control.

But, who needs straight lines? Right?

Finally, the hole is ready. Now, to figure out how to 'frame' it.




Another trip to the barn to look at the window in the feed room.
"do the 2x4's go against the wall wide-side or narrow-side???"
And the framing got put up - looks ok, I think.



Now for the hard part. To hang the window.
I'm sure there is some easy trick to holding a 40" wide window just off of the bottom frame while holding the hinge in place and screwing it to the wall.... but I didn't find it. I very nearly dropped the window a couple of times before inventing shims out of pine tree twigs.
THE WINDOW IS UP!



BUT IT DOESN'T FIT.
Sawzall to the rescue.
A little shave here, a little trim there, a great big WHOOPS down the right side... but it closes now.

I made a shallow tray out of hardware cloth and fit it into the window - attached with those great screws that I used on the door, found a 2x4 scrap to prop it with for now and BINGO! New window complete.

Bonus! The little cubby to the left of the window is the PERFECT size for a bottle of hand sanitizer to live.

 

[dominiques]

Hope you make them a nice dinner! Enjoy your new and awesome coop. Predator proof it and ventilation....key. Love the matts idea. May try that myself.

 

[canesisters]

OHH! Almost forgot. new feeder too!

The girls were making a MESS with their little feeder. Citizen (one of the wynadottes) would just stand there and scoop feed out onto the floor. I had seen several 'pipe feeders' here on BYC and since I had a long section of 5" pipe I thought I'd give it a go. I stopped by the hardware store Friday afternoon and picked up a couple of ends, popped them together (no glue needed) and let them try it. Citizen promptly started scooping feed all over the floor. So I sat there with Candy (the EE) on my head trying to figure out what to do now.
Saturday when I was working on the window, I had leaned it against the opposite wall to get it out of the way and when I was looking for where to re-mount it (now that the section of 2x4 it HAD been hanging from was missing) it dawned on me - LEAN IT!
The curve on the bottom fits nicely into the hole on a cinder block.

The first version - Citizen had no trouble scooping feed out of this.



But this works GREAT!

(Citizen the Wynadotte feed waster)

 

[Stumpy]

Great job!

 

[fishnet1971]

You are doing such a GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it looks wonderful. They are lucky girls to have you build them such a nice home.

 

[canesisters]

Thank you. I'm sure that I'm enjoying it more than they are though..