so how do you like your pallet coop??

[yomama]

I'm toying with the idea of making a large coop from recycled wooden pallets. I know there are a gazillion threads on here about how to make one. I'm actually more interested in seeing what people think of theirs. Was it easier to build, compared to a regular, framed coop. Is there things about it that you don't like, because it is made from pallets. Was it quicker to put together than a standard framed structure? The coop I want to build would be around 4 x 10 in size. Also, if you have any pics for me to possibly "borrow" ideas from, that would be great!

Thanks for any input!!!

 

[can you hear me now?]

I didn't know there were plans for pallet coops. I guess I will look that up, since we have pallets readily available here. thank you for your post. it has given me a good idea I will look it up now.

 

[Southernbelle]

MPC has pallet coop plans for sale and I think it looks really cute!

http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog...et-Wood-Chicken-Coop-Building-Plans-p622.aspx

 

[yomama]

Thanks for the responses so far. I am really interested to hear from anyone that has built one.
Anyone??

 

[oldchickenlady]

If you type pallet coop into the search box in the upper right hand of the page, it will bring up previous posts about coops made from pallets. The ones I saw while researching the best coop for me, were made from the wood salvaged from pallets, not from the pallet itself. So I don't know if it would be 'easier' or 'quicker' to make one from pallets, but surely it would be cheaper.

 

[Ariel301]

I use pallets for building housing for both my chickens and goats. I like it, because it is nearly free. Mine are really ugly, but they can certainly be dressed up if you have a little money to do so. I like mine so much I am building another, and this time the whole coop and run both will be pallets.

 

[yomama]

Quote:
I did alot of searches on "pallet coops" but couldn't come up with what peoples' experience was while building them. All I could find is how to build them, and that many were satisfied with them. I too, saw many that were built from the wood of pallets, but I did see one that a man made ( as well as a really cool horse stall/outbuilding) using the pallets themselves, them applying plywood over them. That is probably what I will do. I'm just thinking that using the pallets as the framework would be easier, and cheaper for me.I just want to see how people would compare using whole pallets, instead of regular framing materials. If it was more of a pain in the rear, or if it was easier.

 

[WallTenters]

We tried it. Never again.

2"x3"x8' boards at Home Depot are less than $2 ea. Ask them about the 2x3s, they aren't nearly as popular as 2x4s and are way cheaper, I think they're like $1.65 or $1.70.

The pallets are a ton of work, and they'll never look as pretty. Really, for our 8ftx8ftx8ft coop, we used 12 2x3s for the framing, and a few more for the roof. We didn't even need to use all 12, but we also put a board at each seam of the plywood so it would be nice and sturdy and no drafts. We used 6 more for the roof, so all in all we ended up spending less than 35 bucks on what the pallets would have saved us. And our coop is square and flush. WAY easier. And, we had probably spent that much in gas driving the truck to go get pallets. We did spend way more on the plywood for the coop though, but again, HD has right now the OSB siding for $7.70 per sheet, and if you paint it it works great.

The crappy part about the pallets is they are often varying sizes. If you find some that are the same size, you'll probably have to cut at least a few of them (think of the roof). It is a PITA to get the nails out of the end boards so you can re-nail them on to keep the cut pallets sturdy.. Just a nightmare.

All we have left to do on our coop is the roofing on the roof, and put a floor in (which we may not do... we have no problems now with predators or anything).

 

[TheReidHomestead]

We LOVE our Pallet Coop Duplex. I don't know that I'd say it was any easier than building one true. And it is not the most square thing if you are a perfectionist. And it still cost money because we had to buy the plywood, hardware and other misc. bits and pieces. We would probably go with OSB next time to save money. But it's cute, we had fun, we recycled some materials, and it works really really well. We would re-use this design again if we were to build another in the future, but you could easily use this design and build it with 2x's instead of pallets.

Here's a page with our project:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=22465-our-pallet-coop-duplex

 

[MydearWatson]

So glad you posted this! I too want to try and build a coop out of pallets. I had the same idea, to use the pallets as a frame since taking all of the wood apart seems like a ton of work. I plan on nailing plywood to the outside and filling the middle with insulation and then putting some sort of easy to clean vinyl or paneling on the inside walls. not sure what to do about the floor or the roof yet but I figured a square of 4 pallets for the walls would be a good start. I hope to hear from more people who used pallets.