My square plastic bucket nestbox

[Nathan]

Hi. I've been doing some more work on my chicken tractor as my hens approach laying age.

I got the rollout nest bottom and figured I would find a box that matched it.

I got close by ordering a large square bucket with lid around 12 x 16.

I trimmed the nest bottom a bit to fit inside. It has a separater that is a piece of thin plywood.

Here is the entrance looking from the inside. It is big enough. I can lure one at least partially in with a tasty weed.

So do you all think this will be a sincere enough laying area that they will use it?

The first pullet egg was found today under the feeder pipe, but I'm not giving up yet. In my biased opinion, the nest box shoudl be a much better spot with superior privacy and ambiance. Eggs layed on the ground will be tough to collect and prone to getting dirty, so I'm striving for a place where we can collect them from outside.

Then again, I never have been able to get them to use the upstairs roosting area, so I'm not always good at convincing them what is best for them.

What should I do to encourage them to use the nest box? I'm guessing I should be putting golf balls or easter eggs in there to give them the idea. Or maybe throwing some marshmellows in there as bait just to get them in for familiarity sake.

I have enough materials to build another one the same way - or to build it differently. There will probably be 6-7 hens in there once I've given a few more away.

Nathan

 

[Zahboo]

The wire over the door needs to be folded so they don't get scratched. Also, just because you can lure them in with a treat don't mean they'll lay in it. If they have to work to get in they'll lay where they want to not where you want to. Other than that good job!

 

[sloallie10]

Ya, you might want to fix that wire in the entrance... OUCH!

 

[Nathan]

I'll commit to clipping back the wire in the entrance.

Since my telepathic powers don't work on these chickens, I can't tell whether they find the entrance restricting or not. I don't have much more vertical space, but I could expand horizontally.

 

[Nathan]

I wasn't sure if the golf balls would help - since they kept rolling down to bottom of the rollaway nest.

However, today I found another pullet egg, and it was in the next box, down in the collection area next to a golf ball.

An egg in the right place!

 

[fargosmom]

Sounds like you're on the right track!! I'd only wondered if they'd prefer that it was dark inside, in which case the white plastic may be less than ideal. On the other hand it probably makes it cooler inside if it gets any sun, and it at least worked for one of your hens! They'll probably all get the idea from that one pioneer.