You'll probably find that deals on this stuff used come up now that you're looking.
I find that I use my calipers way more than micrometers. I'm just not working to that close of tolerances on most of my stuff and .001" is plenty good. Most of us have a set of beater digital calipers we use for just about everything, you can go high end eventually but you will want at least one set of these.
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-...sae-and-metric-fractional-readings-63731.html
You'll also need a dial indicator and stand, and perhaps a test indicator.
Amazing deals on this 1In Travel Machinists Dial Indicator at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com
You can also go cheap with these but if you need to measure things beyond 001" having a good quality stand really makes it less frustrating.
I recently decided to up my measuring game and was very happy with pricing and service from these folks.
MSI-Viking Gage is a leading supplier of precision measuring technologies. MSI-Viking provides Total Metrology Solutions for precision products, ISO 17025 calibration, inspection, repair, and engineered solutions.
www.msi-viking.com
So, yes you can get measuring tools from Harbor Freight. I've used fairly cheap measuring tools to build some pretty darn good racing kart engines. You probably won't need a micrometer for building your chicken feeder but calipers, a combination square, steel rule, scribe, center punch, and a sharpie will get you a long way towards being able to measure, mark and otherwise build stuff accurately.
John