Nesting Box Idea...Is it a dumb idea?

[ashlieneevel]

So I was thinking about nesting boxes and came up with what seems to me could be a good idea but perhaps not (ive tricked myself before lol) and I wanted to ask here and see what people thought. I like the idea of the nesting boxes that are fixed in such a way that the egg rolls out but those nesting boxes don't look too comfortable so I thought well what if instead of being a bare box that is tilted that instead you used a thick chair type of foam (covered in an easy clean material of course) but shape the foam like a funnel so that it ends with a hole in the center through which the egg could pass through then roll down a padded incline to the egg collection area. Is this a good idea or a dumb idea? If you need a more detailed explanation of what im talking about im sure i can elaborate

P.S.
If this is in the wrong section I apologize out of the choices on the main list this seemed like the best one.

 

[1muttsfan]

I would think the foam would be hard to keep clean, and the eggs might not roll very well. Some people put plastic fake grass mats in their boxes, similar to these

http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/kuhl-plastic-nest-pads.html

 

[ashlieneevel]

I think you must have missed the part where i said the foam would be covered in an easy to clean material. I made this mock up of the basic idea behind it. I try to make it as if i cut it in half to see inside.


The foam would be shaped to taper in to the center where there would be an opening large enough for an egg. The foam would be completely covered in a rubber type of material that is bird safe and easy to clean. The egg would drop through the center of the nest onto a padded ramp and then the egg would roll down into the padded collection area. Naturally this mock up just shows the guts of it all and not the actual box that the nest would sit in and all that. I'm pretty sure the egg wouldn't have any trouble rolling on the foam it would just have to be a good foam choice and a proper grade of the incline for it to be functional

 

[speedy2020]

I think you must have missed the part where i said the foam would be covered in an easy to clean material. I made this mock up of the basic idea behind it. I try to make it as if i cut it in half to see inside.


The foam would be shaped to taper in to the center where there would be an opening large enough for an egg. The foam would be completely covered in a rubber type of material that is bird safe and easy to clean. The egg would drop through the center of the nest onto a padded ramp and then the egg would roll down into the padded collection area. Naturally this mock up just shows the guts of it all and not the actual box that the nest would sit in and all that. I'm pretty sure the egg wouldn't have any trouble rolling on the foam it would just have to be a good foam choice and a proper grade of the incline for it to be functional

The design seem too complicate to build and require lot of space (just comment so don't get upset) . I made my roll down nest box too. It needs to be modified to prevent egg from crack. You can find lot of information on roll out nest box.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/703571/my-roll-out-nest-boxes-pic-heavy

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/757826/roll-out-nest-box-input-suggestion

 

[ashlieneevel]

No reason for me to be upset lol i asked for peoples opinions. I agree that it is a bit complicated. It is much easier to have the bottom board of a nest box tilted one way with another board below it tiled the opposite way leading to the collection area but i thought this would be more comfortable for the chicken so their comfort to me would be more important than the extra work to make something a bit more complicated. Perhaps i'm just projecting what i think i would like if i was a chicken instead of what a chicken actually cares about lol. I wholeheartedly agree that it would take up probably a lot more space what is likely desirable for what it is. owell its nice to have ideas even if they are bad ones LOL thanks for taking the time to respond

 

[PapaChaz]

foam or not, I'd worry about the eggs cracking. Not a dumb idea at all though, a lot of people have their nests fixed so the egg will roll out the back, with a divider to keep the egg safe from a chicken that has developed a taste for them......just high enough to allow the egg under, and far enough out of reach to be safe from pecking beaks

 

[ashlieneevel]

Thanks for your response. Would an egg really break falling 4 inches onto a foam padded rampy incline thingy? (technical term lol)

 

[PapaChaz]

Thanks for your response. Would an egg really break falling 4 inches onto a foam padded rampy incline thingy? (technical term lol)

you'll have to be careful with all that technical talk, I'm not sure I can fully comprehend too much of it! LOL

would it be a regular thing for them to break? probably not. I'd for sure do my due diligence and keep plenty of oyster shell available. I just don't like the idea of an egg dropping at all

 

[ashlieneevel]

well thats definitely understandable. I'm still such a long ways off before i'll be able to have chickens so this was just a hypothetical anyway. I'm chicken obsessed without even having any chickens. I spend my free time designing chicken coops and nest boxes and reading about chickens and looking at pictures of them lol im a mad woman. I've been designing a whole chicken barn all day today LOL I know I wont be satisfied with just a couple chickens so I better plan for 100+ LOL

 

[PapaChaz]

well thats definitely understandable. I'm still such a long ways off before i'll be able to have chickens so this was just a hypothetical anyway. I'm chicken obsessed without even having any chickens. I spend my free time designing chicken coops and nest boxes and reading about chickens and looking at pictures of them lol im a mad woman. I've been designing a whole chicken barn all day today LOL I know I wont be satisfied with just a couple chickens so I better plan for 100+ LOL

what program did you use to design that? I am totally in love with google sketchup! check my thread on my 'future coop and run' about half way down the page here, drew it out in a few hours, exported the pic to a .jpg and uploaded it here