Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[UrbanHomesteadTX]

Suggestion: use a hasp instead of a bolt, the type you can turn the part a lock would go through. Slide a carabineer through. Raccoons can open bolts, so why not make it raccoon proof before they show up and decimate your flock? I had a raccoon wipe out my flock except for one that was brooding in a cage at the time.
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This is what I did with advice from BYC members.

Ah, yes! That's certainly good advice. Thanks!

 

[gtaus]

Finished putting it together, stood up and realized, 'aw hell, how the heck am I gonna get this up by myself?'

It's been a while, but I painted myself into a corner (so to speak) on a few jobs in my time. I looked at your framing on the ground and immediately thought to myself that was going to be a real challenge to lift up into place. Glad you worked it out OK.

I liked your pictures of the support poles in the chicken run to hold up your roof framing. I am thinking of upgrading my chicken run with some kind of pole support system as well. My chicken run fence is 6 foot tall and when I stretched out the bird netting over the top, I was still able to walk in the run without bending over when I built it. But over the years, I have converted my chicken run into a chicken run composting system and can have anywhere from 12 to 18 inches of litter sitting in the run. Now, when I go into the chicken run, I have to slighly bend over.

I'm at that age where bending over in the chicken run during the day ensures I have a bad night trying to sleep with a sore back! So, I have been considering adding some kind of support pole in the middle of each run section to lift up the bird netting high above my head even with that 12 to 18 inches of compost litter sitting on the ground.

Kind of like this tent concept with support poles to lift the centers, but of course I would be raising the bird netting maybe 8 feet high. I would not be making a solid roof in my case...

I also liked your idea of the water collection barrel for the birds. That's a nice touch. I never gave much thought to that when I built my coop and run because my setup is so close to the house, but having a rain barrel for water collection is a great idea for many people that would have to tote fresh water a long distance.

Thanks for sharing your project.

 

[gtaus]

I figured someone would mention that [chicken wire]. I'm in a very urban environment, only critters we have to worry about are cat and opossums.

Yeah, we all have different challenges with potential predators. My chicken run is predator resistant, but not predator proof. I mainly only have to worry about neighborhood dogs coming around during the daytime. At night, the chickens get locked up in a Fort Knox chicken coop. I felt my money was better spent on the fortifying the coop than spending all kinds of money on securing the chicken run from all potential predators.

 

[gtaus]

Suggestion: use a hasp instead of a bolt, the type you can turn the part a lock would go through. Slide a carabineer through. Raccoons can open bolts, so why not make it raccoon proof before they show up and decimate your flock?

That's a good suggestion. I myself use the carabineer and hasp type locks hardware on my coop and run. I have never (knock on wood) had a raccoon problem, but for me the biggest advantage of using hasps and carabineers is that I am still able to close, and lock, my doors and gates even though they sag and lift at different times of the year. There is enough play in the hasp systems I use that it does not affect me. If I used a slide bolt, there is no way the doors and gates would line up enough to actually slide the bolt into the locked position. I like my hasps and carabineers because it still works because of the "slack" allowed in the setup.

 

[gtaus]

Another Pallet Wood Protective Cover For Raised Beds

I have been busy planting stuff out in my raised beds the past few days. One problem that I have this year is that something is getting into the raised beds and digging around the topsoil. I suspect it is squirrels looking to dig up and eat the seeds I plant. But it could be birds as well.

In any case, I just planted beans in my elevated sub-irrigated planter. I did not want either birds or squirrels digging up the seeds and eating them. So, I built another protective cover with chicken wire to cover my beds. I expect it will be on the planter for maybe 3 or 4 weeks and then I will have to take it off for the bean plants as they grow too tall.

Here is a picture of a 2X4 foot pallet wood frame with chicken wire that I built today to put on my elevated planter...

Side view of same setup...

I want to point out that I am using those notched out 2X4 stretchers from the pallets that so many people just throw away. In this case, those notches make the cover both lighter in weight and easier to carry. Also, I used about the worst 2X4 stretchers I had in my pile of pallet wood for this project. You just don't need the best quality wood for these temporary protective covers.

Yes, I have some of my pallet wood sorted out by quality. This project only needs of the lowest quality. It's a great time to use up those crooked and warped boards that are not good enough for other pallet projects!

My only concern at this point is that it might be possible for a squirrel to squeeze through those notches. The notches are about 1-1/2 inches tall and I read online that squirrels can get into a hole as small as 1-1/4 inches...

If that becomes a problem for me, I'll just tack on some scrap wood to the inside of the frame to cover the notch cutout.

Anyways, these protective covers are a nice way to keep the animals out of the raised beds and also a good way to use up some of my less than great 2X4 stretchers that I had laying around.

I used old 2-foot chicken wire from previous projects and maybe only 10 cents of new screws to put the framing together. If it keeps out the birds and squirrels from digging out my bean seeds, that is time and money well spent.

The other day, I found a brand-new 50-foot roll of 4-foot-tall chicken wire out in one of my sheds. So, I plan on making some 4X4 foot pallet wood protective frames as well in the next few weeks to put over my full-sized pallet wood raised beds.

 

[chickengr]

Yeah, we all have different challenges with potential predators. My chicken run is predator resistant, but not predator proof. I mainly only have to worry about neighborhood dogs coming around during the daytime. At night, the chickens get locked up in a Fort Knox chicken coop. I felt my money was better spent on the fortifying the coop than spending all kinds of money on securing the chicken run from all potential predators.

x 2. I need to make 2 coops for ducks and chickens and a goat stall. any idea for the stall (for 4 goats, 3 girls that eventually will have babies).

 

[Sally PB]

I think I maybe have half my starts this year from my efforts at home. That's an improvement over last year, but less than what I was hoping for this year.

A topic of conversation on the garden thread was the poor/very poor/zero germination rate of seeds this year, and specifically those from Baker Creek.

 

[fuzzi]

That's a good suggestion. I myself use the carabineer and hasp type locks hardware on my coop and run. I have never (knock on wood) had a raccoon problem, but for me the biggest advantage of using hasps and carabineers is that I am still able to close, and lock, my doors and gates even though they sag and lift at different times of the year. There is enough play in the hasp systems I use that it does not affect me. If I used a slide bolt, there is no way the doors and gates would line up enough to actually slide the bolt into the locked position. I like my hasps and carabineers because it still works because of the "slack" allowed in the setup.

That's a good observation, thanks!

 

[NanaK]

I have hasp closures with carabiner clips on my run and greenhouse. I also find them easier to use than slide bolts with gloved hands in winter.

 

[UrbanHomesteadTX]

I have been considering adding some kind of support pole in the middle of each run section to lift up the bird netting high above my head even with that 12 to 18 inches of compost litter sitting on the ground.

Kind of like this tent concept with support poles to lift the centers, but of course I would be raising the bird netting maybe 8 feet high.

Certainly, sounds like a worthwhile investment! I've done similar set ups with tarps mainly, usually while at work. Something I'd suggest if you go this route is to secure your poles good, either by burying them down a foot or two or whatever other way works for you. Wind won't affect netting the same as tarp obviously, but it can still cause plenty of sway to net and pole and can damage your netting.
I'd honestly also suggest something more like this, to use a pole to go across the center ridge you create. This would help even out the weight and surface area the netting is resting on and prevent damage/wear and tear on the area's the poles are resting.

I also liked your idea of the water collection barrel for the birds. That's a nice touch. I never gave much thought to that when I built my coop and run because my setup is so close to the house, but having a rain barrel for water collection is a great idea for many people that would have to tote fresh water a long distance.

Thanks Honestly the idea to install the rain barrel was mostly figuring out how to manage the roof runoff. I needed to add a slant to the roof so I wouldn't have the issue I currently have with my other run of water collecting and leaking into the run. Only practical way I could slant it would be back towards the other run, which would mean water just shooting right in. (Slanting it away would have just had the water running straight into the fence and encouraging an early deterioration of the wood)
So the solution was to install a gutter, one thing lead to another, I saw what other folks had done with a gravity auto watering system and decided it would work perfectly in my runs. That, and hey, it's free water.
My plans have now developed to get a few more rain barrels to use for watering the garden through the summer. We get such intense droughts, and we end up with water use bans during the summer, if we can just catch up this excessive amount of rainwater we get during the spring to use in the summer, it'd be worth it.
And with the chickens, I'm not having to refill and/or clean water every day/week. It's a win

but for me the biggest advantage of using hasps and carabineers is that I am still able to close, and lock, my doors and gates even though they sag and lift at different times of the year. There is enough play in the hasp systems I use that it does not affect me. If I used a slide bolt, there is no way the doors and gates would line up enough to actually slide the bolt into the locked position. I like my hasps and carabineers because it still works because of the "slack" allowed in the setup.

Ooh, that is true! Thank you for bringing that up! Honestly, one of our biggest issues is foundation problems. We live atop black clay soil, the stuff shifts and moves so much, between summer's dry up and shrink up, and spring's soak and shift, gates especially become a pain in the tail. Some months we may be able to get our main gate to open and close with ease, other times it won't line up right at all and it's a battle. Shouldn't have such an extreme a problem with the run door, but knowing that it will be an issue, well, let's just say the idea of using a bolt latch is gone completely.