Use what you have, do more with less.. share your ideas..

[638858]

Several years ago I made a 10x10 outside brooder/grow out pen out of scrap wood, barn tin and chicken wire. I use it for all kinds of things here on the homestead.. it has raised many chicks, rabbits, puppies, it’s been a rehab/isolation/quarantine set up,

I have even removed the hinged top (used it for a covered area to shade puppies in the summertime) and used the bottom as a quick hoophouse (add pvc hoops and skin it with clear poly) I have found that building/repurposing things into low cost, multi use items is key to running an efficient and effective small farm.. do more with less, it’s not a competition, find your comfort level and use it to your advantage, keep on keepin on..

 

[Sally PB]

I am a repurposer too! Hubby brought home a few boxes of wood scraps from building projects at work, for kindling. First thing I did was go through them and inventory anything remotely big enough to build something out of. I have a box of pieces that will become a jungle gym for my chickens. I do have to provide screws, of course. The nice thing about using screws is if I ever deconstruct it, they're reusable for something else.

My chicken run is built on a metal frame that was to be a neighbor's green house. The neighbor moved, and the new owner said, heck yes, take it and get that junk out of here!

Someone took down a dog enclosure made of chain link fence, and it was sitting by the road, with a sign that said "Free." 6 foot tall chain link fence... oh, goody!

It helps to let people (neighbors, coworkers) know you are looking for stuff. It also helps if you're a nice person who keeps others' needs in mind too. Hubby has gotten some great stuff from his bosses, and I'm more than happy to give eggs away in return.

A neighbor had a roll of hardware cloth that she wanted to make a compost bin out of. Unfortunately, she "decommissioned" her shoulder and was unable to do it. I made the bin for her, and she gave me the remainder of the roll. Both of us felt we won in that deal.