My family always kept chickens in the backyard. Just a dozen birds or so, enough to supply us with eggs and keep the yard looking well groomed. Eventually I decided that they deserved a chicken coop. This would be more convenient for the birds, help them provide more, and better, eggs, and allow us to get a few more chickens too! I was just 15 at the time, with no experience and absolutely no money to spend, so I wanted to use all “found” materials. That means I was going to use only what we had around the house, or what I could scrounge up for free around the neighborhood. I got together some plywood, and a few sturdy wooden beams, but I needed something strong to use as a foundation. One of our neighbors offered me a huge pile of rebar rods, as well as various coils of tie wire and forming wire. He explained to me how the rebar and the wire had been sitting unused in his yard for over two years, and if I could haul it I could have it. I was surprised to hear that, because the rebar rods did not look like they had sat outside in the elements for two years, they looked as good as new! This was very heartening to me, because using the rebar rods and the bar ties, I could craft a structure that could last for decades! The hardest part of the process was transporting all the heavy rebar rods and wire ties up the road to my house.