Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Hedgeland Farms]

My pallet coop is finally finished!

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This looks so good!!!! Great job!!!

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Simple pallet project for the chicken run.

When I first got my chickens, I was all into trying to find toys and such for them to enjoy in their chicken run. Nothing I put in there as a toy, or diversion, worked. Maybe things like mirrors, balls, swings, etc... work for other people as chicken toys, but my chickens could care less about those things.

I pretty much gave up the idea of chicken toys, and tried to think of something maybe more in line with their nature and chicken behavior. At that time, I still had nice, beautiful, green grass growing in my chicken run. So, I thought why not put a compost bin inside the run and make it easy to access for the chickens? The idea was that I could toss in our kitchen scraps, leftovers, grass clippings, etc... into the compost bin and the chickens could jump in there and have a good time scratching and pecking through everything, finding good things to eat.

Well, they loved the compost bin I built and it was my first big success with them. Over a short time, the chickens destroyed all the grass in the chicken run, leaving nothing but dirt, so I converted the entire chicken run into a composting system. Now, all the chicken run is covered with wood chips, leaves, grass clippings, and just about anything else organic I can throw in there. The initial idea of the composting bin inside the chicken run has been overcome by turning the entire run into a composting system. But the compost bin inside the chicken run remains.

So, take a look at what the compost bin inside the chicken run looks like.

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This is a really simple pallet project build. I used 4 full pallets in total. I used 3 of the 4 pallets as the back and two sides. I cut the 4th pallet in half. Half of the 4th pallet was used as the front of the compost bin. That allows the chickens easy access to the inside of the bin and they can jump in and out as they please. I took the other half of the 4th pallet and placed it on top of the compost bin. That was a really good decision, as it turns out.

On a nice sunny day, the chickens will jump up and sit on the top half of the pallet, sunning themselves, like Queens of their domain. If it gets too hot, they jump down inside the bin and take shade under the half top. In a light rain, they will also seek shelter under the top of the compost bin. In a heavy rain, they go back into the coop. It's not uncommon for me to see all my chickens roosting on top of the compost bin in the afternoon sun, but they also roost on the side pallets and the half front.

Even though my initial idea was to keep all my compost material inside that bin, and let the chickens run on the grass inside the coop forever, reality was that it did not take long before the grass in the chicken run was ripped out down to the dirt. Although my entire chicken run is now filled with composting litter, I decided to keep the compost bin just as it was because it's used every day by the chickens.

If you are thinking of an easy pallet project that has immediate benefits, then this pallet compost bin for the chicken run should high on your list.

A few bonus pics of my chicken run after I converted it into a composting system. Here, you will see my fall leaves all tossed into the chicken run. The chickens love leaves and scratch and peck all day long looking for bugs to eat.

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Compost bin IN chicken run..great idea

 

[gtaus]

Compost bin IN chicken run..great idea

I'm not the first to come up with the idea of putting a compost bin in the chicken run, but I think using half of a pallet for the front and the other half pallet for a top is a twist that worked well for me. The chickens break down the material in the compost bin much faster than my other compost bins.

I eventually turned my entire chicken run into a composting in place system and I now have more chicken run compost ready to harvest than I can use. If you are interested in composting with chickens, I had a nice little thread going back too long ago called Harvesting my Chicken Run Compost - Black Gold!

If you are interested in composting more than a compost bin or two, you might find that thread informative. Here is a picture of my cement mixer compost sifter I built to harvest my chicken run compost.

Speaking of gardening, rabbits ate all my cucumber and bean plants this year out in the main garden. Maybe I should think about building some kind of pallet wood garden fencing. Anybody know how high a fence has to be to keep rabbits out?

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Anybody know how high a fence has to be to keep rabbits out?

Rabbits can jump 3 to 4 ft depending on age and breed.

I eventually turned my entire chicken run into a composting in place system

I do deep litter in my run, works well for us, but even still...an actual composting bin where I can throw scraps of food and such...sounds like a new project for my list.

 

[NanaK]

Love everyone's projects!

Anybody know how high a fence has to be to keep rabbits out?

2 ft X 1 in chicken wire worked great for me. That's all I had around my veggie garden for a long time. Then they started logging down the road and here came the deer. Now I have 7 ft tall netting around it. Also no hosta in my front yard anymore.

 

[gtaus]

Rabbits can jump 3 to 4 ft depending on age and breed.

I was thinking 2 feet would be enough for the cottontails I have hopping around in my yard.

I do deep litter in my run, works well for us, but even still...an actual composting bin where I can throw scraps of food and such...sounds like a new project for my list.

Yeah, the compost bin in the chicken run is a really simple project, but it can yield lots of great compost for your garden beds. When I state that I converted my chicken run into a composting system, I am talking about litter up to 18 inches deep in the fall, and maybe down to 12 inches deep in the spring after the winter snow melts. Because my chicken run compost is so deep, I just toss all the scraps right on top of litter. But, the compost bin would be a great choice if you want to contain your composting area.

Anyway, the compost bin in the chicken run was one of the only things my chickens actually use and enjoy. So, it stays where it is.

 

[gtaus]

Love everyone's projects!


2 ft X 1 in chicken wire worked great for me. That's all I had around my veggie garden for a long time. Then they started logging down the road and here came the deer. Now I have 7 ft tall netting around it. Also no hosta in my front yard anymore.

Yep, love those pics and projects people share. Gives me inspiration to try to new things.

I was thinking 2 feet would plenty tall for a fence to keep out our small cottontails. However, like you, I too have a deer problem. The deer found my bean plants in my 16 inch high raised beds. At first, considered it might be more rabbits, but upon closer inspection the plants were eaten from the top down. They left all my other plants, only ate the beans. Maybe they don't like kale, lettuce, onions, or peppers?

Might have to put deer netting over the beans next year. Don't want to spend a lot of money on a deer fence if I can get by without one. A friend of mine had to install a 7 foot fence to keep the deer out of his orchard. Unfortunately, the deer had no problem jumping the 7 foot fence. So, he had to add about 2 feet of additional fencing angled out, making it look like a prison yard. But it now keeps the deer out.

 

[gtaus]

Just looking at some pallet wood garden fences on Google....

Not quite what I have in mind, but thought the pictures were interesting. A garden fence with plants growing in the fence! Might be just the idea somebody will love to try.

 

[gtaus]

OK, found a Google pic of a pallet wood garden fence that I am thinking about...

My plan would be to breakdown the pallets, make picket fencing out of the slats, and fasten them on to the 2X4 stretchers to make 4 foot wide panels that can be easily moved around by me. Looks like this person used metal tee-posts to support the fence panels. I could do that or cut down some 2 inch trees and trim them into posts. Since I'm thinking 2 foot high fencing, maybe the wooden posts would be the better option.

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

Won't rabbits dig under a fence to get into a garden?