Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Swiss]

I think that is the tallest chick brooder I have seen! How long do you keep your chicks in the brooder?

I have my chicks in the brooder for about 8 weeks and then I have to introduce them to the flock. It's those first days of integrating the young chicks with the older hens that I always worry about. They did OK with the integration two years ago when the chicks were 8 weeks old. Still, they look so much smaller than the adults to me.

FYI, I am picking up an order of 8 day-old chicks next Tuesday. So, I have been cleaning out my garage today getting it ready for the brooder and the chicks. Looking forward to getting the new chicks, but it will slow down any pallet work I might want to do in the garage.

It's so tall because I didn't feel like cutting the sacrificial plywood. I have never had chicks or chickens before, and am planning on moving them around 6-8 weeks, depending on the weather and how feathered out they are.

I finished it up today, and moved them in. They immediately tested their wings and then the roosting bars.
Welcome to The Mini Coop:

(I did put something under the power strip so it isn't just dangling.)

 

[fuzzi]

I just want to say a few words about some tools I used to cut trenches in the ground to level off my pallet wood raised beds. Take a look at this picture with the highlighted boxes...

View attachment 3810895

The first thing I was going to use to trench out the lawn for the raised bed was my edger shovel. Those are really nice because the blade is perfectly flat, and you can follow a line with no problem. I have used it before on a number of jobs where the trenching had to be straight. It works great for that specific job.

Here is the edger shovel I bought from Menards a few years ago...

View attachment 3810894

I trenched out the first raised bed using the edger shovel and it worked fine. The only thing I would complain about is that it was slow going and I thought I could get the job done faster.

Since the ground I was digging into was soft lawn grass, no rocks, I decided to take out my reciprocating saw with a 9-inch pruning blade. That is my go-to tool for cutting out roots around stumps. That was a better choice for this job as the reciprocating saw with the pruning blade cut through the lawn grass like a hot knife through butter. Took me almost no time to cut the trenches, and then I used the edger shovel to remove the sod.

I suppose most people think of using the reciprocating saw with a pruning blade to prune branches...

View attachment 3810897

That was my main pruning combo for about 20 years. However, last year I purchased one of those small 6-inch pruning chainsaws and that is what I use for above ground pruning these days.

Picture of my 6-inch pruning chainsaw...

View attachment 3810925

You would never want to run any chainsaw into the dirt for cutting out roots, or trenches. That would destroy the chainsaw. So, I still have a reciprocating saw with pruning blade ready to go for cutting out roots in the dirt. Cutting into the dirt will certainly dull the pruning blade, but it does not damage the reciprocating saw itself. The pruning blades are relatively cheap and replaceable.

If my soil I wanted to trench was full of rocks, I think the better option would have been to stay with the edger shovel. But for soft soil, the reciprocating saw cut through the sod like nothing and I was done in no time with the pruning blade.

I used that small pruning chainsaw most of today when I was filling up the raised beds with hügelkultur wood. I used it to cut smaller pieces of wood to fill the gaps and voids. It is a tool that makes it easy to hold the wood in one hand and the saw in the other to cut it. My reciprocating saws and other chainsaws are all made for both hands on the tool. I find it really useful to have a one-handed tool for cutting those smaller (4-inch or less) branches.

I managed to level off and fill six raised beds in a matter of hours thanks to some of the power tools I own. In my younger days, I don't imagine I would mind too much using manual tools and working harder on the same job. But I'm at a stage in life where it's more important to me to finish a job and enjoy the rewards. If you have some of the power tools I mentioned, you can save a lot of time and effort on these type of jobs.

I use my cordless reciprocating saw to cut stump roots as well. It's so handy...I cut down half a mulberry tree last weekend as it was leaning on my shed roof.

 

[gtaus]

It's so tall because I didn't feel like cutting the sacrificial plywood.

That makes good sense. I hate to cut up nice sheets of plywood unless it is absolutely necessary. For a temporary brooder, I would have just left the sheets uncut as much as possible, too.

I have never had chicks or chickens before, and am planning on moving them around 6-8 weeks, depending on the weather and how feathered out they are.

You will find that they are fully feathered out around 6 weeks. I leave my chicks in the brooder until week 8 just to let them grow a bit more before I introduce them to the adult hens. At that age, they still get picked on, but they are big enough to run away.

I always get nervous when I introduce the new chicks to the existing flock. Last time it went OK, but still I worry....

FYI, I have learned that I can use a deep bedding type of litter in my brooder. When the chicks are so small, they don't have big poo so your pine shavings, or whatever litter you use, can probably just be fluffed up every other day. The poo works its way to the bottom and the top layer is refreshened. Then, after a couple of weeks, I start adding a fresh layer of litter maybe once or twice a week as they grow. Fluffing up any spots that might have more chicken poo than others. In any case, I don't clean out my brooder litter the entire 8 weeks I have them in the brooder. When I move the chicks out, then I just dump the used litter into the chicken run for composting.

I only mention this because when I got my first chicks - 30+ years ago? - I used to clean out the brooder litter every day. Experience has taught me that it's just not needed. I enjoy having the chicks in the brooder much more now that I have gone to a deep bedding litter system in the brooder as well as in the main coop.

Of course, that all depends on how many chicks you have in the brooder space. If your nose smells the brooder is getting off, then change out that litter. My highly tuned and sensitive nose is my main alarm for any cleaning action needed.

It is amazing how fast your chicks will grow. I suggest taking pictures of them as often as you can because it will surprise you how fast they change from their day-old fluff into their first feathers. It's a wonderful thing to be part of. And, who doesn't like baby pictures?

Good luck on your new chicks.

 

[gtaus]

I use my cordless reciprocating saw to cut stump roots as well. It's so handy...

The reciprocating saw has been one of my most used tools for many years. I love how you can change out a blade and go from cutting wood, to metal, to plastics, to PVC, etc... It's a great workhorse tool for me.

 

[bhawk-23]

Yes. I seldom pry apart the pallets I work with. I mainly use the circular saw method for breaking down the pallets. This leaves me with plank pieces about 18-inches-long, which I then cut down to about 16-inches-long for the raised beds I like to make.

Circular saw method...

That's my favorite method. I usually save all the 2X4's as well. I just pry of the bits and pieces of wood remaining on the 2X4's and use a good crow bar to pull the nails out.

Most of my pallet wood projects are fine with the shorter 18-inch-long plank pieces. This is simply the fastest, and easiest method for me.

Modified circular saw method: You cut off both ends of the plank on the pallet 2X4's and then wiggle loose the nails in the plank in the middle 2X4 stretcher. Then it is pretty easy to pull off the whole plank piece yielding a plank about 38 inches long.

If you really need to save the full length of the pallet planks, then my next method is using a reciprocating saw to cut off the nails between the planks and the 2X4's. This will give you full length planks, which is very nice, but you have half the nail in each of the planks and the 2X4's.

Reciprocating saw method...

I have a DIY pallet buster pry bar, but this is my least favorite way to dismantle pallets. In my experience, the pallet buster breaks more planks than any other method. However, every once in a while I get that perfect pallet for the pallet buster and then it is the perfect tool for the job. That happens to me maybe only 1-2 times in every 10 pallets I have.

Pallet Buster method...

Those are the main methods I use, but if you check out YouTube you might find variations on those themes. There are plenty of methods using hammers and blocks, but I think you wanted to avoid that.



Oh yeah. I can understand that as well. If time is money, then buying lumber at the store will save you lots of time. I would not pay someone time and effort to dismantle pallets and then build a project. That would not make $$$ sense.

But I enjoy repurposing pallets that I get for free. It takes me about 10-15 minutes per pallet to take them apart, and maybe that much again to remove all the nails. That's just a guess as each pallet will be different in my experience. I don't mind spending that time prepping the wood as it is just a nice hobby for me.

Then I build something like the pallet wood raised beds I like so much, grow food in them, and think about how I saved something from the landfill and used it to provide fresh food for me and Dear Wife and almost year-round frozen veggies.

Or, the many pallet wood flower planters I have built for Dear Wife which gives her so much joy. All from a free resource to me if I am willing to put some effort into the projects.



I hope some of the methods I have shown you might be useful to you. Even if you don't use pallets, maybe you can find some nice projects here on this thread and make them out of standard store-bought wood. Many of my pallet wood projects were just wood projects that I modified to work with my pallet wood. It's all good to me.

Thank you so much for this! In all fairness I think the pallets I had found were crappy. But I’ve found a local shop that sets beautiful pallets outside for the taking and it’s crossed my mind again to try.

 

[Sally PB]

I was perusing OfferUp this morning and saw a DW703 Dewalt miter saw listed locally. Ended up getting it for $40. That model was discontinued, but its replacement, the DW713 is selling for $239 new.

I absolutely LOVE hubby's Dewalt (model #??) miter saw. With that and the drill and driver, I'm good for most of my (really) beginner projects.

 

[Swiss]

That makes good sense. I hate to cut up nice sheets of plywood unless it is absolutely necessary. For a temporary brooder, I would have just left the sheets uncut as much as possible, too.



You will find that they are fully feathered out around 6 weeks. I leave my chicks in the brooder until week 8 just to let them grow a bit more before I introduce them to the adult hens. At that age, they still get picked on, but they are big enough to run away.

I always get nervous when I introduce the new chicks to the existing flock. Last time it went OK, but still I worry....

FYI, I have learned that I can use a deep bedding type of litter in my brooder. When the chicks are so small, they don't have big poo so your pine shavings, or whatever litter you use, can probably just be fluffed up every other day. The poo works its way to the bottom and the top layer is refreshened. Then, after a couple of weeks, I start adding a fresh layer of litter maybe once or twice a week as they grow. Fluffing up any spots that might have more chicken poo than others. In any case, I don't clean out my brooder litter the entire 8 weeks I have them in the brooder. When I move the chicks out, then I just dump the used litter into the chicken run for composting.

I only mention this because when I got my first chicks - 30+ years ago? - I used to clean out the brooder litter every day. Experience has taught me that it's just not needed. I enjoy having the chicks in the brooder much more now that I have gone to a deep bedding litter system in the brooder as well as in the main coop.

Of course, that all depends on how many chicks you have in the brooder space. If your nose smells the brooder is getting off, then change out that litter. My highly tuned and sensitive nose is my main alarm for any cleaning action needed.

It is amazing how fast your chicks will grow. I suggest taking pictures of them as often as you can because it will surprise you how fast they change from their day-old fluff into their first feathers. It's a wonderful thing to be part of. And, who doesn't like baby pictures?

Good luck on your new chicks.

It's a lot less work to leave them uncut, too!

Thanks for all the info! I am definitely using deep litter. I couldn't imagine having to change it every day. It truly is amazing how quickly those feathers come in!!! And they are so pretty!

They just peeped so ridiculously loud and long when I turned on their sunset light and turned off the big lights. It sounds like they've calmed down now. Probably because it's a new place and they have to find their new routine.

 

[gtaus]

Thank you so much for this! In all fairness I think the pallets I had found were crappy. But I’ve found a local shop that sets beautiful pallets outside for the taking and it’s crossed my mind again to try.

I understand. All pallets are not equal. When I first started picking up pallets, I took just about everything I could get ahold of. But now I have a nice stash of pallets in my backyard so I only pick up the better pallets these days.

FWIW, I still find value in almost all the pallets I find. I especially like to pick up some of those really old pallets where the wood planks have turned almost black. I use them in raised beds to give it that light-dark contrast which I find appealing. Like in this recent photo...

Certainly, some pallets have more value to me than others.

I usually drive my old Ford Explorer into town with the back empty in case I find some good pallets. I can only pick up a maximum of six pallets in the back, so I just take the best pallets that I think I can use.

No doubt if you find some higher quality pallets, you will probably have more luck in finding a good use for them in a project. I hope the different ideas on pallet dismantling methods will help.

 

[gtaus]

I absolutely LOVE hubby's Dewalt (model #??) miter saw. With that and the drill and driver, I'm good for most of my (really) beginner projects.

Miter saws just make everything go a little faster for me. For example, when I want to cut my plank pieces down to 16-inches for my raised beds, all I do is set a stopper on my miter saw stand and every board is cut to the exact measurements without having to measure and mark every board.

If I have to free hand cut every board with a circular saw, I could do it, of course, but it would just take a lot longer. I'm a big fan of the miter saws.

 

[gtaus]

[The chicks] just peeped so ridiculously loud and long when I turned on their sunset light and turned off the big lights. It sounds like they've calmed down now. Probably because it's a new place and they have to find their new routine.

That's living the good life! I pick up my new chicks next week. Almost got everything ready for them.