I’ve found a reliable source for used wooden pallets (as well as heavy-duty plastic ones from time-to-time). There’s always a use for them – whether it’s stacking firewood, scavenging the wood for another project, or using them intact (or mostly so) for one thing or another.
Here are my latest two pallet-projects:
Muscovy Nesting Boxes
The muscovy nesting boxes started life as a 4×4 pallet. I cut it into four sections – one with three flat boards across (for the base), the other three with two. One of the smaller sections, I cut in half to make the sides. The other two made the front and roof. Some scrap 2×4 and pressboard (for the floor) and ecco! I took another length of 2×4 from the long section I’d been using to prop the peach tree limbs and put a perch across the barn stall.
Next up – Boer Goats need dry hay for roughage, but they’re notoriously bad about wasting it. They’ll pull a bunch out of a standard hay rack, eat a bit, drop the rest on the floor and poop/pee on it. Once that happens, they won’t touch it – it’s just waste. Another crate, scrap 2×4, and some salvaged 2″ woven wire fencing, and here’s the fix:
Wooden Crate Hay Feeder
Wooden Crate Hay Feeder
Note from the side view that I tilted the top out a bit so the hay falls down and forward as it gets eaten.
It seems to work pretty well. They can pull hay out with their lips and tongue through the mesh, then munch on it without dropping much at all (note all the waste hay below from the previous method). Now to make an identical one for the shack in their mini pasture (behind the chicken coop).
A Joyful Birth
The Flying T Ranch Blog 
Posted by redgatefarm on September 13, 2011 at 10:13 am
Thanks so much for subscribing to my blog! I just read through yours, start to finish, and it sounds we like we both have lots of learning ahead of us! And of course, we are building our wish list as well–with the chicken plucker near the top!
Posted by The Flying T Ranch on September 13, 2011 at 10:40 am
Thank you for commenting. It appears we share quite a bit in common – from faith to vocation to passions. I look forward to reading more of your adventures.
Posted by ChickenMama on September 13, 2011 at 10:47 am
We love wood pallets around here too! Never thought of the feeder idea…that’s brilliant. Thanks!
Posted by The Flying T Ranch on September 13, 2011 at 11:02 am
You’re welcome – and I enjoyed reading the blog you just started. Hopefully we can help – or at least entertain – each other in our endeavors (and laughs are always helpful)!
Posted by sccliving on March 1, 2012 at 11:34 pm
Great ideas! We love re-using anything that can be scrapped! Thanks!
Posted by New Life at the Flying T « The Flying T Ranch Blog on May 20, 2012 at 7:11 am
[…] of those eggs to lay their own in the same place. In this case, they chose to lay in one of the nesting boxes I made out of recycled pallets. The eggs don’t begin to develop until she sits on them for an extended period of time. […]
Posted by Nori Naylor on March 13, 2013 at 6:20 pm
Thank you for liking my blog post. We are thinking about getting goats and maybe chickens, too.