Where are you getting scrap wood?

[spacetygrss]

I'm trying to collect scrap wood to build my chicken coop and finding it impossible! I have scoured craigslist and replied to ads for free/cheap wood and never get responses. I've even made my own ad with no such luck. DH and I aren't "handy" and don't have old pieces of wood/metal lying around to use. Furthermore, since neither one of us are handy we don't really want to go spending a bunch of money on new wood just to make a bunch of mistakes.

So, where are you finding your scraps if you don't already have stuff lying around?

 

[2txmedics]

go to old neighborhoods...places where there taking things down...we got ours from last years Hurricane that hit us hard...we went around town and collected from fence that was torn down. we asked the people if we cleaned up there yard if we could have it...we got like 2 dump truck loads...at the time we didnt have any chickens or the though of them.

none of us are hand at all...and yet I feel we built an awesome coop!!!! and didnt use any plans.

VENTILATION FRONT, THERE ROOSTS ARE DIRECTLY BEHIND THIS OPENING THEY LOVE IT AS THEY CAN SEE OUT ACROSS THE YARD.

WE USED A FENCE ACTUAL DOOR AS THE COOP DOOR, IM GLAD ITS THIS WIDE. WHEN I HAVE MY CHICKENS FOR SEPERATION PURPOSES IN A LARGE WIRED DOG KENNEL, I CAN LIFT THE KENNEL INTO THE COOP AT NIGHT FOR PROTECTION. AND CLOSE THE DOOR. AND THE HINGES WERE ALREADY ON THE DOOR.

Used old tin from an old torn down mobile home that the hurricane ripped off.

WE LEFT SPACE UNDER THE COOP FOR SHADE.....

Then we used our old Dog Kennel we had 10x10 and attached it, covered with chicken wire on top...we just bought the nails and chicken wire and maybe 2 corner post.

put an ad out for example like:
IF YOU HAVE OLD WOOD THAT YOU WANT TAKEN OUT OF YOUR YARD, I WILL COME REMOVE IT FOR YOU. FREE OF CHARGE, LIMITED ON SIZE OF JOB.
you dont want to end up with a huge removal job...

 

[woodward farms]

well just to drop a note..
i am to far away to help you ...
but
any one near north west indiana
(Highland to be exact)
my work has tons of free plywood
3/8 and 1/2 inch

full sheets like new

drop me a line and maybe we can fix you up


john

 

[edselpdx]

I drove around the neighborhoods looking for remodel projects, etc with dumpsters outside. I always asked if there was anyone around to ask, and didn't make a mess of the dumpster. Old basement style windows were made into hinged at the top window that are propped open in the summer and will be closed in the winter. An old 5 panel door is now the door to the pen. Be careful of using painted wood from older homes though, because chicken will eat the paint if it's chipping, and you don't want lead in your eggs! I've heard that others scavenge in new construction areas, though those are hard to find around here. I was lucky and had a wooden play structure/fort type thing that my daughter had outgrown to use as the structure.

Be imaginative on craigslist--don't just look for scrap wood, but people sometimes give away sheds or swingsets. The challenge if you're not terribly handy, is of course being able to "see" in your head how you can incorporate unusual items.

The only things I ended up buying were the welded wire and hardware cloth for the run and ventilation, as well as screws for assembly and zipties for attaching the wire to the 4x4's in the run.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

Join your local freecycle www.freecycle.org Then place a wanted ad.

Also, if there are any lumber yards in your area, they usually have scrap that is either for sale very cheap or even free for the taking.

 

[scarter]

Instead of looking for scrap wood could you look on Craigslist or Freecycle for specific things. We looked for pallets and used those for the walls and filled in with extra wood from the pallets. I've also gotten a shelf off of CL for a nesting area but that didn't work out too well so we use it for our llama supplies. You could look for rabbit hutches, dog houses, sheds etc. possibly.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

almost every larger city has a pallet manufacturer. go visit them, you can get them most amazing scrap wood for fre or next to nothing. also most stores that get big shipments (like feed stores) have old palletts stacked up and in the way and are happy to get rid of them - you just have to take them apart. Even my husbands mechanic shop gets overloaded with them.

 

[Julie's Silkies]

We have a sawmill down the road that has scap wood for free and all the shaving you need.

 

[spacetygrss]

Quote:
This might be a silly question, but what is a pallet?

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Quote:
This might be a silly question, but what is a pallet?

LOL the wooden thing in the pic is a pallet. they load things like, say, sacks of dog food on them. Then they can use a fork lift to move them around.