Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

That's a great idea. My chickens don't have to worry about snow but I worry about the rain. There was one day we had so much rain I had to bring Darlin and Little One inside. They were so soaked that they couldn't even lift their wings.

Interesting, my chickens will stay out in a light warm rain in the summertime, but if it starts to rain hard, they all go into the coop until the rain passes.

I don't think my chickens are especially intelligent. Is there any reason that Darlin and Little One don't seek shelter in their coop in a heavy rain? Maybe a little pallet wood shelter out in the chicken run would provide them some cover to run under in a heavy rain?

Perhaps something as simple as this cleaver idea I found on Google pictures...

On a nice, warm, sunny day they could sunbathe on top of the pallet. On those hot days in full sun, they could go underneath for some shade. And in a heavy rain, they could wait out the storm under the roof of the shelter. All that, and chickens love to jump around and perch on stuff that is just a bit higher than the other chickens.

I built something similar, but different, for my chickens. A few years ago, I had the idea to add a pallet wood compost bin inside my chicken run...

Because I wanted my chickens to easily jump in and out of the compost bin, I cut the front pallet in half. Half of that pallet is used as the front wall and the other half I put on the top. My chickens love to perch on the top to sun themselves or get under the top where there is shade. I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system since then, but I decided to leave that pallet wood compost bin in there because it's the one thing my chickens seem to enjoy jumping up on and looking around.

If you are interested in making chicken run compost, that is a great way to get started as it confines the compost in one bin while the remainder of the run is not affected. You could still have a nice grassy run, or a neat wood chip run if you wanted, while still making compost with the chickens in the pallet wood compost bin modified for easy chicken access.

 

[Molpet]

Interesting, my chickens will stay out in a light warm rain in the summertime, but if it starts to rain hard, they all go into the coop until the rain passes.

I don't think my chickens are especially intelligent. Is there any reason that Darlin and Little One don't seek shelter in their coop in a heavy rain? Maybe a little pallet wood shelter out in the chicken run would provide them some cover to run under in a heavy rain?

Perhaps something as simple as this cleaver idea I found on Google pictures...

View attachment 4086126

On a nice, warm, sunny day they could sunbathe on top of the pallet. On those hot days in full sun, they could go underneath for some shade. And in a heavy rain, they could wait out the storm under the roof of the shelter. All that, and chickens love to jump around and perch on stuff that is just a bit higher than the other chickens....

I have my old truck cap on sawhorses in the poultry yard. They hang out there when it rains or starts to snow. The problem is I have to check at lockup, because they don't want to run to the coop if it's still inclement .

 

[akroberts1085]

Interesting, my chickens will stay out in a light warm rain in the summertime, but if it starts to rain hard, they all go into the coop until the rain passes.

I don't think my chickens are especially intelligent. Is there any reason that Darlin and Little One don't seek shelter in their coop in a heavy rain? Maybe a little pallet wood shelter out in the chicken run would provide them some cover to run under in a heavy rain?

Perhaps something as simple as this cleaver idea I found on Google pictures...

View attachment 4086126

On a nice, warm, sunny day they could sunbathe on top of the pallet. On those hot days in full sun, they could go underneath for some shade. And in a heavy rain, they could wait out the storm under the roof of the shelter. All that, and chickens love to jump around and perch on stuff that is just a bit higher than the other chickens.

I built something similar, but different, for my chickens. A few years ago, I had the idea to add a pallet wood compost bin inside my chicken run...

View attachment 4086129

Because I wanted my chickens to easily jump in and out of the compost bin, I cut the front pallet in half. Half of that pallet is used as the front wall and the other half I put on the top. My chickens love to perch on the top to sun themselves or get under the top where there is shade. I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system since then, but I decided to leave that pallet wood compost bin in there because it's the one thing my chickens seem to enjoy jumping up on and looking around.

If you are interested in making chicken run compost, that is a great way to get started as it confines the compost in one bin while the remainder of the run is not affected. You could still have a nice grassy run, or a neat wood chip run if you wanted, while still making compost with the chickens in the pallet wood compost bin modified for easy chicken access.

I'm not sure why they didn't but I wouldn't let them stay out there. When I brought them in they were doing so much singing I just didn't even think about another shelter. It also gave me time to just sit at home and hang out with my girls. I kept picking them up and talking to them so I think the time with them took an override to shelter.

 

[gtaus]

I'm not sure why they didn't but I wouldn't let them stay out there. When I brought them in they were doing so much singing I just didn't even think about another shelter. It also gave me time to just sit at home and hang out with my girls. I kept picking them up and talking to them so I think the time with them took an override to shelter.

I guess it was a good thing that you were at home to take them into shelter. I typically let my chickens out in the morning and don't do much of anything with them until I close the pop door at sunset. Often times I am not at home during the day, so I count on my chickens to take care of themselves and head into the coop if the weather turns bad.

My chickens are more like "petstock" in that they are somewhere between livestock and pets. I don't pick up my chickens, for example, and they will run away from me - unless I have food in hand. But I prefer them that way because they will run into the coop if a nosey neighborhood dog comes sniffing around the chicken run. I like to see that survival instinct in my flock.

I kind of liked that pallet wood shelter picture from Google. I think lots of people would find something like that out in the chicken run to be a benefit.

 

[gtaus]

I have my old truck cap on sawhorses in the poultry yard. They hang out there when it rains or starts to snow. The problem is I have to check at lockup, because they don't want to run to the coop if it's still inclement .

Yeah, I do a headcount before I shut the pop door for the night. But, so far, my chickens all head inside the coop about 15 minutes before sunset. The only times I have had to go into the run and pick up and put a chicken into the coop is when they are first introduced to the big coop from their brooder setup. It might take them a few days to figure it all out, but it's not too bad.

 

[chickengr]

Interesting, my chickens will stay out in a light warm rain in the summertime, but if it starts to rain hard, they all go into the coop until the rain passes.

I don't think my chickens are especially intelligent. Is there any reason that Darlin and Little One don't seek shelter in their coop in a heavy rain? Maybe a little pallet wood shelter out in the chicken run would provide them some cover to run under in a heavy rain?

Perhaps something as simple as this cleaver idea I found on Google pictures...

View attachment 4086126

On a nice, warm, sunny day they could sunbathe on top of the pallet. On those hot days in full sun, they could go underneath for some shade. And in a heavy rain, they could wait out the storm under the roof of the shelter. All that, and chickens love to jump around and perch on stuff that is just a bit higher than the other chickens.

I built something similar, but different, for my chickens. A few years ago, I had the idea to add a pallet wood compost bin inside my chicken run...

View attachment 4086129

Because I wanted my chickens to easily jump in and out of the compost bin, I cut the front pallet in half. Half of that pallet is used as the front wall and the other half I put on the top. My chickens love to perch on the top to sun themselves or get under the top where there is shade. I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system since then, but I decided to leave that pallet wood compost bin in there because it's the one thing my chickens seem to enjoy jumping up on and looking around.

If you are interested in making chicken run compost, that is a great way to get started as it confines the compost in one bin while the remainder of the run is not affected. You could still have a nice grassy run, or a neat wood chip run if you wanted, while still making compost with the chickens in the pallet wood compost bin modified for easy chicken access.

some chickens don't look for shelter even with heavy rain. I have had a few.

 

[gtaus]

some chickens don't look for shelter even with heavy rain. I have had a few.

Maybe I did get lucky and got some smart chickens. I have never had to rescue any chicken from a hard rain. They are happy to run into the coop and I see them peeking out the pop door waiting for the rain to stop before they go back outside again in the run.

 

[chickengr]

Maybe I did get lucky and got some smart chickens. I have never had to rescue any chicken from a hard rain. They are happy to run into the coop and I see them peeking out the pop door waiting for the rain to stop before they go back outside again in the run.

I am thinking that maybe, just maybe it is not cold when it rains they do not mind to get wet.

 

[gtaus]

I am thinking that maybe, just maybe it is not cold when it rains they do not mind to get wet.

That could be, which is why I mentioned a hard rain. In the summertime, if it's hot outside, my chickens are happy to stay outside in a light rain. That does not bother them. But if it starts to rain hard, then they run into the chicken coop.

 

[gtaus]

Winter Won't Give Up!

No April Fool's joke here, we are forecast another snowstorm coming in at 7pm tonight, Tuesday, and not finishing until 1am on Thursday. We could get up to 10" of new snow. That will make things messy for a few days, but snow in April should not last long.

I have been working on my new pallet wood mobile adjustable height workbench for the benchtop table saw I bought at Menards back in February. The idea is to make it so that I can bolt it together with my other mobile workbenches and use them as outfeed tables. The adjustable height concept is that I can raise/lower the platform half for the table saw and/or maybe a chop saw, so that the other half of the work bench is level with the saw's working surface.

Picture of my new table saw from Menards...

I got most of the wood I need for the project from some pallets I picked up a few weeks ago. I have completed the base of the unit, but it is slow going because my garage is only sitting at 43F, and I limit myself to working out there to about half an hour.

My lungs got damaged years ago when I was in the service stationed overseas. Now, I cannot stay outside in the cold air very long without getting a bad chest cold. Although 43F is not very cold for someone from Minnesota, my lungs just can't handle prolonged exposure, so I have been limiting myself to 30 minutes.

I keep waiting for it to heat up outside, so I don't have to use additional heat for the garage. We have had a few days in the 50F's, but only for a day here or there. I have a nice little Mr. Heater that runs on propane, but I have not taken it down because I keep thinking the weather is going to get warmer...in a day or two.

I'll be posting the pictures of my new workbench when I finish it. I am anxious to get my new table saw in action for my pallet wood projects this summer.