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Tag Archives: do-it-yourself
Make a Thrifty DIY Swingset Chicken Coop
Make a Thrifty DIY Swingset Chicken Coop
Do you have one of those old A-shaped swingsets rusting in your backyard? If you do, then you have the basis for an awesome swingset chicken coop! (And if you don’t, watch Craigslist – there are frequently people offering them for free to whoever comes to pick them up.) Creativity is key when you go DIY for your coop.
When we moved recently we had to leave our wonderful chicken coop behind, since it was attached to the barn. While I drooled over some of the beautiful chicken Taj Mahals that are available, I’m on a pretty tight budget so it was important to use items that I could acquire either cheap or free. Luckily, the house we moved to had some pretty interesting stuff in a shed and an old rusty swingset in the woods.
I don’t have a lot of construction skills but the guy who put up my fence does, and luckily, he was on board with my wacky, freebie-scrounging ideas.
For the price of some labor, some hardware, some chicken wire, and a fancy-dancy hanging chicken waterer, I got a snazzy new coop that keeps my chickens safe and sound. (Some of the tips for predator-proofing came from this guide.)
Here’s what we used:
- A swingset with the swings removed
- 2 pieces of corrugated metal on the top 3/4 plus a strip of it over the top to help weather proof
- Some sheets of plywood for the bottom back of the coop
- A piece of chain link fencing for the bottom in order to keep out predators
- Some old pieces of fence posts for the bottom of the coop to attach the chicken wire and chain link to
- Some lumber for the door
- Chicken wire (It was cheaper from Amazon than from my local store)
- A double-hinged latch
- A chicken waterer
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
How to Build a Compost Tea Brewer and Brew Tea
Compost Tea Brewing
I had a free 55 gallon barrel that I decided to turn into a compost tea brewer. Compost tea is a great way to magnify your compost by breeding the beneficial microorganisms and spraying them on your plants. Plants sprayed with high quality compost tea will be healthier, less affected by pests, and produce better fruits and vegetables.
Tools Needed
- 1.25 inch hole saw bit and drill
- Skil saw with wood blade
- Pipe wrench
55 Gallon Barrel
Materials Needed
- 55 gallon poly barrel
- 1.25 inch brass bulkhead fitting
- .75 inch brass hose bib
- 1268 GPH Pump
- Tea Lab Aeration Hose
- Thread seal tape
- Tea Lab mesh bag
Hole Saw Bit, Spigot, Bulkhead Fitting
- The first thing I did was cut the entire top off the barrel. I used a skil saw with a wood blade on it. This may not be the best way to do it, but it worked. It did make tons of plastic shavings to clean up, so do this on concrete. Once the top was cut off, I could flip it over, and it made a perfect cover for the barrel.
Top cut off barrel
- Next, I drilled a 1.25 inch hole near the bottom of the barrel. I used a 1.25 inch hole saw drill bit.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
The Self-Reliance Weekly Report – Jan. 20, 2016
The Self-Reliance Weekly Report – Jan. 20, 2016
Dear Friends:
If you are a regular reader or subscriber of this site, you’ve probably seen my Survival Saturday posts and newsletters. Because I am a voracious reader and a current events junkie, I decided that I’d write a weekly post and let you know what I found to be the pertinent news stories of the week.
Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this feature to be so incredibly popular. The feedback, the number of views, and the encouragement has been astounding.
So, I figured if you liked the same news stories that I like, you might also enjoy some other types of articles. Just to try it out, I wanted to do a couple of extra posts per week of the things that I have found valuable that don’t necessarily fit into the Saturday news post. Today I want to introduce something I’ll continue weekly if you enjoy it, tentatively named “The Week’s Best Self-Reliance Strategies.”
This will be a collection of articles, products, and books that I found personally helpful during the week. The topics will be related to our shared love of self-reliance: prepping; homesteading on all levels (whether you have a balcony or 100 acres); DIY projects so you can make stuff instead of buying it; and some posts that will inspire you to seek independence in all things. Mixed in, I’ll talk about some of the things going on here at my little farm, so you can see how I found these articles to be relatable, and just because it’s nice to get to know each other better.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it (cue Mission Impossible theme music) is to share the things that YOU learned this week.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
