The inside isn't finished yet, I will post more updates when we get more done.
Learning to live well on a budget
Follow along while I learn new skills and get creative raising my kids on a limited budget.
We got some free shingles from a company that was moving and used it to side the art studio. We have it nearly finished and haven't spent any money on it in months. If you are patient, the materials will come! Here is the little wood stove we got to warm it in the winter. It's in need of a good clean.
The inside isn't finished yet, I will post more updates when we get more done.
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The coop is progressing and the chickens seem to like it. We finally collected enough tin cans to finish the "siding" (it's harder than you think! Most tin cans have a rounded bottom these days, but you need the kind with a bottom ring so you can remove both ends.) This is the view from inside the run. The walls are constructed but not sided yet. Here is the bottom floor. We used poultry feed bags as flooring to keep the wood dry. We are trying to make almost everything from recycled materials. The bottom floor looking to the left. Upper floor. View of second story when looking to the right. Chicken "staircase." Brooding box I made. Bedding is in, looks cozy! Clean and ready to go, now just waiting for night to fall. I snuck a picture of the upstairs patrons.. And our ladies who prefer the downstairs!
Get a good night sleep ladies. In a few weeks you will be producing eggs! We are proud of how the siding is coming out on our shed (hubby's art studio.) The free shingles we found are a boon. We counted the mis-matched shingles and put them into a color rotation, and like a sweater knit from multicolored yarn, it is coming together perfectly.
The shed is coming along, and I am actually sort of enjoying it's "coat of a thousand colors" theme. Because it is made from mainly re-purposed wood that we got for free it is a mutt in nature, but a beauty in our eyes. We got a huge pile of brand new roofing shingles from a re-locating local business which we will be using as siding and we are excited to get going on it. Slowly but surely it's coming together. Money spent so far: $155. (keeping in mind the roof and main supports were already existing. Windows-free, door- free, some of the wood- free. Mainly spent money in two by fours, screws, bricks and great stuff)
Just because you are adhering to a budget doesn't mean that you can't get into the spirit of things. I went to Walmart and was looking for a flag for the porch, they were all over $12 and I couldn't afford a flag AND sparklers unless I was willing to get a little creative. I then spotted a package of two smaller flags for $2.40, meant for use at parades or for cemeteries. I figured why not. I got them home and made homemade flag holders from a cottage cheese container (which I will show you below) and I am so happy with my purchase. They look amazing and are eye catching. I can keep them for Veterans Day and Memorial Day too, or maybe I will leave them up all summer. To install cut up a plastic container until you have two squares approximately 3x3 inch square. Fold in half around the flag stem white side out and staple it tight. Voila! Easy as apple pie! Actually, I think apple pie is harder.
We re-purposed our Christmas tree from last year as a roost for the chickens. We cut the branches off (to be saved as fire starters) and buried it into the ground about a foot. We used a hole saw and drilled some holes at varying heights and pushed some straight sticks (from a different tree) through the holes.
It took them a few days to accept it, but now they quite enjoy it. Coop still unfinished as of yet. Wall frames are up and recycled windows are in place in our glorified shed. Soon we will be closing it up but I have a feeling the work on the inside will probably be more challenging as the roof (from the existing structure) has holes in it. I think the tin was recycled when the old owners built it. Keeping the spirit alive! Side view. This is the before picture of the old shed that had rotten walls. We tore them off ages ago, but are going to replace them and make this a studio for my husband to do his art in. The supports and roof are still good. It will have a wood stove in it for winter. We are trying to use as much recycled or free material as possible. I will update with progress as it happens. We put a window in the coop because we want to ween them off the light bulb being on all night, but would like for them to benefit from seeing more sunlight in the morning and evenings. Especially on cold mornings when we don't let them out until it warms up. It's no fun sitting in the dark all the time, and it isn't good for egg production (when they start laying, that is.) The effect is hilarious at night when the light comes on! A friend told me she calls watching her chickens "chicken TV," but I think this takes it to a new level! Oh my bawck, look at what they did to this window! Just like kids and dogs, they gotta put their little bodies all over the (plexi) glass, and the static cling layer of dust isn't helping. Good things these girls aren't for eating, because it kind of looks like a deli case! I feel like voyeur! Made progress with enough tin cans to cover about half of the front panel and a couple old license plates too. Used a dead and fallen tree to make a rustic pine support for the overhang. We used some salvaged vinyl siding on the sides, and painted it the coral color from the front (not visible in the picture.) The girls begging to be let out. They just love people, and if we are out, they want to be out too. Added the speech bubble this afternoon. Sorry about the solar flares in the pic.
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