I finally finished my nest box. What do you think?

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gringold

gringold

Chirping
May 2, 2015
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I finally finished my nestbox. I hope it is the correct size. I didn't put a divider in the middle, but I could add it if I need too. What do you think? I have 5 chickens, three Australorps and 2 Wyandottes. They will have to duck down to get in, but it is 12 inches tall. Thanks for the advice.












 
Looks like a good start. I don't see much of a "lip" on the front bottom - this will be an issue as eggs will get kicked out of the box and into the general coop floor area while the birds are in there scratching about and nesting down to lay.
 
You can't tell, but there is a 2x4 across the bottom. You step down into the nest. I hope that works. I also thought about putting baskets inside, but I was afraid it would make it too squished.
 
Last edited:
Ol Grey Mare said:
Looks like a good start. I don't see much of a "lip" on the front bottom - this will be an issue as eggs will get kicked out of the box and into the general coop floor area while the birds are in there scratching about and nesting down to lay.
Click to expand...

X 2. You'll probably want a lip they have to step over to keep the nesting materials, and eggs in. Like a 1 x 4. I have a community box, too and it's working really well.
 
MeepBeep said:
You will likely need a divider, if one hen goes broody she will defend the entire box forcing the other hens lay somewhere else and also create stress...
Click to expand...

Mine worked fine and my broody only defended "her spot" and stole everyone else's eggs. Might be a good idea to plan out a divider though, in case you have a broody like MeepBeeps.
 
I thought about trying to find something like this.

Would that be enough of a separation?
 
Just wanted to say I really like your set-up. I'm thinking of building a small coop inside my run for a breeding trio to stay in. It's in a converted carport so a flat roof like yours would work well.

Nice job!

I was thinking you could make a partition out of scrap plywood you could drop in from the top if you needed to, and leave it open the rest of the time. Just ideas, and what you have will definitely work for now and can be easily modified if you need to!
 
FridayYet said:
Might be a good idea to plan out a divider though, in case you have a broody like MeepBeeps.
Click to expand...


I have all types of broody birds... My Black Sumatras are fierce defenders, they will squawk at anything that even walks by the opening to their nesting box, and peck anyone that gets close... While some of my other birds share broody duty, it's not uncommon for me to find one of my standard sized birds not only trying to sit on eggs but also sitting on a bantam that is trying to sit on the same eggs... And just by coincidence tonight I had my first broody Guinea Fowl... My Guinea's lay all over the coop, it's almost as if they just go about their business and when an egg falls out it falls out... Anyway said broody Guinea had managed to round up 9 Guinea eggs (and 3 chicken eggs) so she much have went all around the coop rolling the eggs to her new nest area in the corner stealing what she could...

Anyway my point is you can't predict broody birds they all have their own quirks, habits and personalities...
 

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