Pallet Coop

[Safado]

My 9 Chicks are getting bigger and bigger, so I decided to start building their permanent home. We have a barn, which has a roof extending about 10 feet out on one side. It was built as a three sided protection for horses. Since our sheep don't need all that space we're turn about a third of it into the coop, and they'll have a 7'X48' previously unused part of the yard as their run. I picked up a truckload of pallets, and am going to use them as much as possible in the coop construction. I am hoping to get away with just 3 pressure treated 4X4X8s.

This is how it looked with me just standing up the pallets to get an idea on size. It'll end up around 9'X9'. A people door will go on the left. The other wall will have a fold up door in the middle aroung 2 feet tall, which can be used to shovel out the deep litter. It will have a window above it, as it is an east facing wall.

Here's where the run will be. I'll be putting a chicken wire roof on it. I'll also be punching a hole in the wall on the close left of the photo for the chickens to get from the run to the coop.

Here's a full shot to give a better idea of size.

Here is their current setup.


A few questions:
Has anyone found a better way to break down the palletes? Currently I am using a circular saw to cut off the boards on one side, then putting up the pallet as is. to fill the spaces I am cutting the boards off one side, then prying off the boards from the other side, and using those boards, so I am "wasting" about half the boards, but it seems so much quicker to me.

Can I leave the run as is, or should I try to level it out and clear the weeds? Currently there are some mounds of left over gravel, around 12-18" higher than the rest of the run.

Probably a silly question, but is the almost 45 feet of run too much for a chicken? I'm kind of worried about them not keeping the weeds down. From what I have seen its about four times more than the minimum. Or should I just get more chicks now?

 

[Judy]

Minimums:

Coop = 4 sq ft per chicken. Yours is 9x9= 81 sq ft, or about 9 sq ft per bird.
Run= 10 sq ft per chicken. Yours is 7x48 = 336, or about 37 sq ft per bird.

So you are well above the minimum, which is great, but they will still eat your run down to the dirt. Avoiding that takes about 90 sq ft per bird, but only with rotated plantings. And both you and the birds will appreciate some elbow room in the coop. If nothing else, there will be room to store feed (in metal trash cans) and other items for care. I have a folded up lawn chair in my coop, and spend time each day sitting in it and watching or interacting.

I would leave weeds and gravel alone. The leftover gravel might provide a great source of grit for them. They will likely level the whole thing in short order. They will pick over the weeds and eat what they want, and do not need it to be level. The standard of 10 sq ft of run per chicken results in total deforestation. I have a chicken yard which is 75' x 75', and it is already half denuded, by (30) 13 week old chicks.

I have never built with pallets, but many here have. Usually they seem to leave them intact. They certainly don't come apart easily, I know.

 

[codybird]

That is going to be a nice setup.

I think palette deconstruction goes fast or slow, you are doing it the fast way. If the palettes are dirty be prepared to buy more blades. A jig saw works also.

I read that chickens will not eat down weeds if they are too talll, they just walk through them on paths.

This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

[chickens3]

That is a good idea i think i am going to make my chicken run out of skids that is a great idea.

 

[Safado]

Well, I have been delayed on other projects, but I need to step it up on the coop, because the chicks have far outgrown their previous home, and have taken over the barn.

here they are roosting on their "brooder," and wondering why I woke them up.

Today I hung the door, and put another layer of pallets, so the frame of the wall is almost done.

 

[Safado]

The "chicks" are in. I used an old closet door to seal up one segment of pallets, because I was afraid they could get out. we put a piece of plywood over their door, as I want them to get used to sleeping in the coop. I still need to build their nest boxes, so I'll be searching for some of the many threads on that subject. the floor is sand, and I have been sprinkling "straw" on the ground. It's actually the portion of the alfalfa that my sheep won't eat. I also have a few bags of pine shavings in case I need extra litter.

The white door will be removed as soon as I am able to break down some additional pallets.

In the above pic, note the hole here will be filled with the nesting boxes.

Here's the other side. The hole, which is wired shut is going to be a window, or solid on a hinge. the portion below it is hinged to make cleaning the coop easier.

here is how the walls look from the inside. Plenty of ventilation for the summer, but I'll probably need to look at sealing it better for winter.

A funny thing about this is we put them in around 5:00 in the afternoon, and when we went to check on them in the evening they were nowhere to be found, when looking through where the nesting boxes will go. Seems they didn't like the temp roost I had set up, and instead are roosting in the windowseal.


Things I still need to do: Mount the water and feed pipes, build a proper roost, and build the nest boxes.

 

[country freedom]

Good Morning! The set-up that you have is excellent! All that extra space - All you really need is more chickens to fill up that space

. You actually have an abundance of room. More peeps wish they had more room, or had built more room for their chickens.

 

[Granolamom]

What a pretty, colorful flock you have! You did a wonderful job for your girls.
Don't go crazy with the nesting boxes: I have 6 hens, we built them 4 nesting boxes, and they only use 2 of them, ever.
Congratulations to them on their nice, new home!

 

[kagedgoddess]

i ran out of plywood when building mine, so i used some pallet wood too. one thing i learned is check to see how many nails are holding them togeather! some had two nails on each end of each plank and some had 4!!! so those ones we cut with the circular saw and added a little fence picket to the 2x4 wall post so they wouldnt be too short.... well truthfully, that was my husbands idea, i was out in the heat prying out nails till he came out with that suggestion. we then usd the middle wood part for a roost.

 

[ibpboo]

Great job! Nice chickens!