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

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Our rollout nesting boxes work very well. Haven't had a single cracked egg or problem with them. It's far easier for the grandkids to gather eggs if they don't have to open the coop and go in, risking having to chase down escaping chickens all over the yard, when they are chicken sitting for us. As soon as the weather is better, you can bet that I'll have the insulation out of the outer gathering access and be back in business with the rolling nest boxes.
 
KellyBChickens said:
EXACTLY!! Why would rolling eggs be a good thing. Sounds like a lot of extra work? I have two nesting boxes and 9 hens so far, and they ALL go into the two just happy as can be. I open the door in the afternoon and there are 9 eggs. Perfect. And isn't there someone who might gather your eggs while your gone? The reward being fresh eggs??
Cool idea yes, but too risky.
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Perhaps you weren't aware there are already commercially available roll out nest boxes. My idea was just what I seen as an improvement to what is already available. Their purpose is to aid in the protection of the egg from chickens eating them and to make gathering easier.
 
ashlieneevel said:
Thanks. it certainly is a bit more complicated than what most people have for nesting boxes that have the egg roll out option but i dont necessarily see more complicated as a bad thing if it means the chicken could potentially be more comfortable while in the nest box plus the ease of gathering and prevention of chickens eating the eggs. I am really good at shaping foam because of my theatrical prop making in my past. We would take seat cushion foam and carve it and shape it with an electric carving knife to make padding for hips and such so it would be no trouble for me to shape a contoured nest with an opening in the center. This nest box idea came ot me when i was watching youtube videos of people making egg roll out boxes. they worked great the ones the people had made the typical way but they didnt look like they would be all that comfortable for the chicken which is why i thought there must be another way to have the same functionality but be more comfortable
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lol I have 2 girls that would have the foam cushions totally destroyed in a day. My boxes are simple. They are 12 X 12 x 12 with straw. An opening from the roost for the girls and an opening from the out side for egg collection. Being in Wisconsin i decided to keep it all in the roost and not hang out the side. I also made the box assembly removable for cleaning. It originally had less boxes that were bigger but this works better as it is only 2 hens to box at a time instead of 3 to 4 lol. As For rolling eggs i do not think it would be that big a difference unless you have a huge operation. With 25 layersit takes longer for me to get our 3 duck eggsthem collect the 2 dozen chicken eggs. Our ducks like to lay where ever they happen to be at the moment. Lol they have made like 12 nests all over the paddock.
 
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It's a cool idea, remind me of Willie wonka! If you wanna do it, go for it, I think itd be worth if its something you wanna try. Of course there are harsh realities with having chickens, and things don't always work so smoothly, but things could go wrong either way, and you can always fine tune it, curious how it will turn out.
 
arkwelded said:
lol I have 2 girls that would have the foam cushions totally destroyed in a day. My boxes are simple. They are 12 X 12 x 12 with straw. An opening from the roost for the girls and an opening from the out side for egg collection. Being in Wisconsin i decided to keep it all in the roost and not hang out the side. I also made the box assembly removable for cleaning. It originally had less boxes that were bigger but this works better as it is only 2 hens to box at a time instead of 3 to 4 lol. As For rolling eggs i do not think it would be that big a difference unless you have a huge operation. With 25 layersit takes longer for me to get our 3 duck eggsthem collect the 2 dozen chicken eggs. Our ducks like to lay where ever they happen to be at the moment. Lol they have made like 12 nests all over the paddock.
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Im glad what you have works out so well :) I just wanted to note that the foam in my idea would be covered in a vinyl upholstery type of fabric so they wouldn't be able to tear it apart
 
ChickenNamaste said:
It's a cool idea, remind me of Willie wonka! If you wanna do it, go for it, I think itd be worth if its something you wanna try. Of course there are harsh realities with having chickens, and things don't always work so smoothly, but things could go wrong either way, and you can always fine tune it, curious how it will turn out.
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yeah it reminds me of willy wonka too!!! someone had pointed out that the chicken's foot could drop through the center hole and startle them causing them to thrash around to try to free themselves ultimately causing them harm because they were too dumb to just lift their leg back out. That was something I had also thought might pose an issue as well so I think this idea is one of those things that seemed ok on the drawing board but in functionality would be a let down.
 
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