Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Hedgeland Farms]

looks great.

I have heard that I can mix some soil with cement and make a sort of concrete instead of a pricy hardware cloth around coops. our soil has sand and pebbles in it. it is important to bury this concrete deep down (the same thing as hardware cloth) so that rats don't make nests under it.

This is really good solid (notice the pun ) advice. I don't know that I'll use it...but hardware cloth is super expensive so I find the info useful!!!

 

[McChooky]

That soil and cement mix would work great with old cinder blocks if you buried them.

 

[chickengr]

That soil and cement mix would work great with old cinder blocks if you buried them.

exactly. I have some cinder blocks in my new place. 3 years ago the neighbor's retaining wall collapsed and cinder blocks remained on my property. she built a new stone wall that should not collapse ever.

 

[raingarden]

I have heard that I can mix some soil with cement and make a sort of concrete

Adding gravel will make it harder.

We've used a product called Quikrete for that on our silty soil. It has pebbels, sand and cement mixed tgether. It comes in a 60 lb bag that is somewhat managable. Just sprinkle it on the ground and scratch it in with a hoe. You can wet it with a hose or just wait until it rains or wicks moisture up from the ground. The result is not rock solid, but solid enough to prevent digging by some varmit. My wife doesn't like it because it becomes a disposal problem if/when you decide you don't want it there any more.

 

[McChooky]

Where roots prevented me from securing the hardware cloth on a steep slope I used an unopened bag of ready mix. After it rained it got rock hard and made a great step.
Edit: Cutting the roots would have killed the trees that provide the chickens shade.

 

[gtaus]

Came across this pallet pic on another thread. I like how they used pallet wood in their project and making a dust bath for the chickens.

...maybe dig a small part of your run back down to dirt and put a wooden frame around it (to keep it from filling back in with your deep bedding) and let them have at it. That's what we did, and then we also used a couple pallets and some fiberglass roofing and tin to put a roof and sides over it to keep it dry in rainy/snowy weather... The girls love it!

 

[gtaus]

Your best bet would be find a broken cabinet or window that hinges open.

Yep, I am not in any hurry. Also, I would hate to put a lot of money into a pallet project that I take so much pride in costing practically nothing. If I can reclaim some hardware, that would be my first choice.

 

[gtaus]

piano hinge might work.

I thought of that. Maybe I'll find one in a reclaim project.

You could also attach removable shelves with pins on the 4 legs(above the one on the bottom)

I bought one of those shelving pin kits. Makes great moveable shelves. Used it to build a pantry storage shelf for food stuff. Easy to readjust the height of the shelves as needed.

 

[gtaus]

plans changed and we are now looking to start another BIGGER flock of dual purpose chickens!

Love hearing about your adventures. Keep on posting...

Minors and I put the roof on the other day. And even with all my measuring I still placed one of the metal sheets in the wrong spot (and didnt notice till it was screwed in *sigh*) and now have to look into buying a gutter as a precaution for the front as the overhang isn't were I wanted it. Oh well....
Easy fix I believe.

Yep, nothing like actually building something to show yourself where the perfect clashes with reality. Made more than a few miscalculations in my projects and had to find a fix. Good teaching lesson for the minors. Figure out a fix when things don't work out as planned. Probably a valuable life lesson in there, too.

I don't know what went wrong, but your build is looking pretty nice to me. You and the minors must be pretty happy with your progress.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Love hearing about your adventures. Keep on posting...



Yep, nothing like actually building something to show yourself where the perfect clashes with reality. Made more than a few miscalculations in my projects and had to find a fix. Good teaching lesson for the minors. Figure out a fix when things don't work out as planned. Probably a valuable life lesson in there, too.

I don't know what went wrong, but your build is looking pretty nice to me. You and the minors must be pretty happy with your progress.

Lol, thanks!!
I am all abt the minors learning life lessons!! And I am totally loving the fact that they've helped build this from the start!! Today we took down the Turkey Tower sign and filled in the front with board on board style. We put up the roosting bars and finished cleaning this set of 10 nesting boxes that someone gave to me!!! I am in the process of restoring them best I can. Hubby is building a stand for them outta the 11x4 pallets.