Bins for nesting boxes?

[Chicken'n'bees]

I remember reading that someone used some plastic bins of some sort as nesting boxes. Does anyone remember who wrote about them and where they got them? Is that a good idea for easy cleaning? Any ideas for nesting boxes would be appreciated, I'm a newbie.

 

[ChickieKeeta]

You can use almost anything. Covered cat litter box. Pet carriers. Flower pots. Storage bins. baskets. cardboard box.(replace frequently.) Dish pan. Your imagination is the limit.
I use pet carriers minus the door.

 

[The Wolf Queen]

Not to mention milk crates. I use those and they work better than a, not very deep, watering trough.

 

[Davaroo]

Yep, they need to be about 18" square and a little deeper than that.
Whatever meets these needs will work.

Have you considered a communal or box nest?

 

[imtc]

I use a cardboard box (the ones clementine oranges come in). It's much thicker cardboard so very sturdy and work great for my girls. They'll pretty much use anything like the other post said.

 

[Southernbelle]

I use 5 gal buckets turned on their sides and empty cat litter buckets. The cat litter buckets are the reining favorites. I buy cat litter at Sams - it comes in a squarish green bucket with a blue hinged lid - perfect!

 

[chicks rule]

Quote:
I use milk crates, and they work great until you have chicks hatch, I had a chick get it's head stuck through one of the holes in the crate, luckily I found it in time and she survived. What I did then was put parts of old feed sacks under the hay to cover the holes, no incidents since.

 

[Chicken'n'bees]

Quote:
Do the nest boxes need to be 18" square for each hen, or is that for a communal box? We have 6 hens, (except we are wondering if our Buff Orpington might be a rooster) I've read that you should have 2 boxes per 3 hens, is that right? Thanks for all the help.

 

[Bard's Rock!]

I am using stacking bins I got at the dollar store...Family Dollar if I recall. I started out with milk crates, but some of my girsl are pretty big so I went to something larger.

 

[CountryMom]

Try kitty litter boxes with the lids on them. Just make sure to weigh them down with a large rock or brick under the shavings so they don't flip the box when they get in and out. Works great and easy to take out and clean up.