Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Smokerbill]

Well, a pneumatic tire will have an air nozzle to fill the tire with air...

That never crossed my mind. I'll look for a Schraeder valve on the rim.

 

[Smokerbill]

When I checked the new nest box at 7 this morning there were no eggs yet, but three chickens were in the nest, ready to lay. A couple hours later there were 7 eggs in the nest box from my seven hens. They are learning how to use the new communal nest box.

 

[gtaus]

When I checked the new nest box at 7 this morning there were no eggs yet, but three chickens were in the nest, ready to lay. A couple hours later there were 7 eggs in the nest box from my seven hens. They are learning how to use the new communal nest box.

View attachment 3782452

7 for 7! I'd say that communal nesting box is a big success.

 

[Smokerbill]

@gtaus , The tire on my wheelbarrow doesn't have an air valve, so it's flat free. Maybe solid rubber? And it's a Firestone.



And I added another 6 inches to three sides of the nest box, plus a few barriers to keep chickens from standing on the sides or back.

 

[gtaus]

The tire on my wheelbarrow doesn't have an air valve, so it's flat free. Maybe solid rubber? And it's a Firestone.

I don't know much about tires, but that solid filled tire looks like it will last a lifetime, and probably longer.

And I added another 6 inches to three sides of the nest box, plus a few barriers to keep chickens from standing on the sides or back.

That's a good idea to keep any hens from perching on, and pooing inside, the nest box.

I have a problem for a few weeks now with 2 hens sleeping (and pooing) in the nest boxes. I don't know why they started sleeping in the nest boxes, but will have to try to break them of that habit when it gets warmer.

Not that's it's a big deal, but we are in the tail end of a 3-day winter storm that has dumped more snow on us then the whole of the winter. We have not had any snow on the ground for a number of weeks, with temps even in the 50F's as early as February. Very unusual for us. Dear Wife actually was out on the BBQ in February cooking! That never happens here. Except for this strange winter.

Here is a quick pic around supper time, still snowing...

This 3-day storm has kind of put the skids on some of the outdoor projects I was working on. Such as the pallet woor/salvaged wood trellis frame I was going to put up for my tomatoes this year. Just this past Saturday, I was outside cleaning up the yard and raking up leftover leaves from last fall. It will probably take at least a couple of weeks to melt off this snow with sub-freezing temps in the forecast. Oh well, winter won't last too much longer.

 

[ChicksnMore]

years ago all of my hens (almost 20) wanted to lay in just 1 nest box. I made them something similar to your new nest box but at least double in size so they were happy to lay there without fighting.

That's what I did for my dwarfs.... they'll all crowd into one box even if they're tighter than sardines. Very silly chickens.

 

[UrbanHomesteadTX]

Good weather, available time, and the urgency of needing to move chicks around has me finally getting into gear to hopefully have this run constructed over the weekend!

Used my new Sawsall to deconstruct pallets during the week, got a nice pile started. Today I finally started enacting my plan on constructing the roof. The space is 13x10', so I decided to take the four foot 2x4s and 1x4s to build square 4'x4' frames which I intended to attach together as a framing for the roof. I started the project using some reclaimed screws that I had set aside from deconstructing another project (all my other available screws being too long or two short), and unfortunately ran out of them after only 3 frames were built. Planning on picking up some new ones tomorrow so I can finish.

I'm also hoping to see if I can still get my hands on some corrugated tin my neighbor had left over from another project to use for part of the roof. The rest of the roof I'll use more reclaimed wood, pallet wood, and chicken wire to leave some space open for some sunshine.

And because of the space that I intend to build the run I'm not even bothering with building walls, they're already there! I'm going to used my fence, house wall, and primary run as the walls. That way, all I have to really worry with is a roof and door. But to start prepping, I still need to close some gaps, so for the gap in the fence corner I grabbed a couple of wider planks and cut some notches with the wonderful Sawsall and now have a perfectly secure corner

It's not much, but its progress!

 

[gtaus]

Good weather, available time, and the urgency of needing to move chicks around has me finally getting into gear to hopefully have this run constructed over the weekend!

Thanks for sharing your project. Really love looking at the pics from others. Not quite sure how those 4X4 frames will make a roof, so please upload some more photos as your build progresses.

Sounds like a good plan to use existing walls to make that run.

Used my new Sawsall to deconstruct pallets during the week

What kind of reciprocating saw did you buy? Sawzall is a name brand that has been used to describe any reciprocating saw by most of us. But I would be interested in what you bought since you like it so much.

The reciprocating saw method to deconstruct pallets is my second favorite way to reclaim the wood. Most of my projects only require shorter 16-inch lengths of those planks, so I use the circular saw method most of the time. Then I de-nail the 2X4's with the bits and pieces of plank board left on them. If I use the reciprocating saw method, it is almost always with the idea to keep long plank boards if they are in good condition. But then I don't plan on de-nailing the bits of nails left in the 2X4's because it's too much work at that point. In any case, I have a separate pile of wood with nails still in them, so I don't run them through my table saw or miter saw and ruin a blade.

FWIW, I bought into the Ryobi 18v One+ line of tools almost 20 years ago. I have 4 different various Ryobi reciprocating saw models that came in multi-tool kits over that period of time. They have served me well. All of them still work long after their warranty expired. I keep different blades on each reciprocating saw so I just grab the saw with the blade I need.

Along with that, did you buy any special blade for your reciprocating saw? I bought some 12-inch-long demolition reciprocating blades last year and really like them. I see that Harbor Freight has a Clearance sale on some 12 inch demo blades at the moment...

The Warrior brand is not the highest quality, but at this price, it's probably a great deal. All those blades are consumables and will wear out.

I previously had 6-inch and 9-inch demo blades, but I find the 12-inch demolition reciprocating saw blades to be the best length for me to reach into the middle of the pallet to cut off the plank form the middle 2X4. The extra length just makes that job easier.

I still need to close some gaps, so for the gap in the fence corner I grabbed a couple of wider planks and cut some notches with the wonderful Sawsall and now have a perfectly secure corner

It took me a couple of looks in those pictures to see what you did. Very nice job in closing that gap. Looks like a custom fit job.

Again, please post your progress photos if you can. Love to see how a project comes together.

 

[UrbanHomesteadTX]

Really love looking at the pics from others. Not quite sure how those 4X4 frames will make a roof, so please upload some more photos as your build progresses.

I've done a similar style build when framing a wall for enclosing my porch a couple of years ago. I intend to screw them together to make a larger frame. Hopefully will work as well for a roof as it did a wall. I'll certainly share some more photos as I make more progress!

What kind of reciprocating saw did you buy? Sawzall is a name brand that has been used to describe any reciprocating saw by most of us. But I would be interested in what you bought since you like it so much.

The Warrior brand is not the highest quality, but at this price, it's probably a great deal.

My line of work we always call all reciprocating saws a Sawsall. I originally had an old piece of junk a neighbor gave us until it burnt out a couple of years ago. Just needed something to work for a while and bought myself a $40 Warrior. Like you said, not the best quality brand, but Warrior tools get the job done when you need it, so I cant complain too much.

It took me a couple of looks in those pictures to see what you did. Very nice job in closing that gap. Looks like a custom fit job.

Ah yes, the picture's not great. It took a while to get right, but worth it. Wanted a solid solution for the gap, so tried to make the fit as close as possible. Pretty happy with how it came out so far!

 

[gtaus]

My line of work we always call all reciprocating saws a Sawsall. I originally had an old piece of junk a neighbor gave us until it burnt out a couple of years ago. Just needed something to work for a while and bought myself a $40 Warrior. Like you said, not the best quality brand, but Warrior tools get the job done when you need it, so I cant complain too much.

I don't make my living with my tools, either. Basically, I just need something to work on a project every once in a while. I am all for only buying as much tool quality as I need for my limited use.

I used to watch those comparison videos of a DIY Ryobi drill or saw compared to a "professional grade" tool. Yeah, the Ryobi took a few seconds longer to cut the wood, or perhaps several seconds longer to drill a large hole, but for something that I only use a couple times a month, it's not a big deal. I have a few more seconds to burn with my $50 Ryobi tool instead of buying that $200 contractor grade tool.

I have a few Harbor Freight Warrior electric corded tools I bought on special sales. They all have worked fine for me.

Ah yes, the picture's not great. It took a while to get right, but worth it. Wanted a solid solution for the gap, so tried to make the fit as close as possible. Pretty happy with how it came out so far!

Yeah, that was a good job.

I am looking forward to seeing how you frame up that roof. I have been considering building a partial roof over my chicken run to keep the snow off the ground in the run in the winter. My chickens won't walk on white snow. But I would want to remove the roof in the summertime to let the rain fall on the composting run litter.