Pallet Garden/chicken coop hybrid?

[AlohaChickens80]

So I have drawn up about a dozen different plans for a coop and I just can't decide what I want to do!

I am planning on getting two chickens who will be free range in my backyard (~400sq feet) during the day so I only need a coop, no run. I was thinking if I used two pallets and made them into pallet gardens and leaned them together like an a-frame I would have plenty of room for a nest Bo's and a roost. I'd also like to use chicken wire along the back and grow some sweet peas for the girls to snack on.

Comments? We are in Hawaii so predator/temperature control isn't really an issue.

Also I am leaning toward having it on the ground instead of having a built in floor.

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

You could use the pallets as a base and build a coop on top. This picture doesn't show it well, but the red coop part is built from 2x2s and plywood and sits atop a three-sided pallet compost bin. This puts the birds at easy feeding and checking height as well as gives them a dry place to roost when it's raining. You could always prop up a ramp so they can go up and down throughout the day more easily. I use mine for brooding chicks once they hit about 2 weeks and graduate from the brooder. I pitch shredded newspaper and other dry materials on top of the droppings that fall through the wire. Once the chicks move up to a grow-out pen, I can turn the residual mix with a pitchfork and compost it in place.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Just keep in mind that any exposed plants the chickens will eat up pretty quickly. They can be a bit destructive and will also demolish seeds and seedlings. I really surprised how much they digged when I first got them. If you have garden plants you want to stay nice for you and your family to eat I would try to find a way to separate those from where the hens are able to roam.

For the birds you may want to consider screens or living feeders to give the plants some protection while letting the birds graze off the top.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/764247/grazing-frame-box-salad-bar-for-chickens-diy-video

 

[LindaB220]

Just keep in mind that any exposed plants the chickens will eat up pretty quickly. They can be a bit destructive and will also demolish seeds and seedlings. I really surprised how much they digged when I first got them. If you have garden plants you want to stay nice for you and your family to eat I would try to find a way to separate those from where the hens are able to roam.

For the birds you may want to consider screens or living feeders to give the plants some protection while letting the birds graze off the top.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/764247/grazing-frame-box-salad-bar-for-chickens-diy-video

Keep us updated!!!

 

[tobit]

if you want chickens that don't destroy your backgarden within 1 week, you might want to get pekin bantams/miniarture cochins (same thing, different country) as i let my two cockerels free range al the time and they don't dig at all and i can't even see the difference they make to the garden after months where as the big girls... well we wont go into too much detail concerning their destructive power!

 

[tobit]

my picture is of the 2 little lads, just so you know the kind of chicken that im talking about