nesting box size? Dresser?

[sarahswank]

so I saw a dresser with out most drawers in the trash pile on the side of the road today, and for some reason it screamed nest box! Anyone tried making one out of a dresser? If the inside is only 8 inches tall and 12 inches wide, does that seem like too much of a squeeze?


It is somewhat this style, so I was hoping to get 3 high by knocking out that top row and combining it with the one below it. and either 4 or 5 wide... (I didnt really measure how long it was... it was weird enought to stop and measure inside space on a trashed dresser.)

 

[sarahswank]

I guess I should mention, I will have 6-8 bantam hens, plus a majority of red sex link and rainbow layers (no idea what breeds...). There is going to be an estimated 35 or so standard hens along with the bantams. So this would not be the only nest boxes, but it would probably be a majority of them.

 

[Crazy4mypeeps]

I think that it would work fine. Just put your "floors" and dividers in and your good to go. Plus if you need to, you could put it under the roosts with some linoleum on it and it could double as a poop board.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know how wide that is but what I’d consider is to take out the top row of drawers and the second from the bottom, just leaving the bottom row and the third one up. That gives you 16” of head room. Leave the top open so they have a place to get in. That gives you an 8” lip to hold the nesting material in.

The 12” deep is not a problem. Whatever that width is put partitions to make separate nests that are each 12” or more wide. I’m guessing you could get four across at both levels, maybe six for a total of twelve.

Another option is to not put any dividers in at all. Just use it like a community nest box, well four community nest boxes. Four community nest boxes like that should handle all your hens. Assuming the drawers are solid enough, all you have to do is take those drawers out and put bedding in the remaining drawers. How easy can it get? That assumes you don’t have to knock some horizontal dividers out.

It looks like a real find!

 

[sarahswank]

I don’t know how wide that is but what I’d consider is to take out the top row of drawers and the second from the bottom, just leaving the bottom row and the third one up. That gives you 16” of head room. Leave the top open so they have a place to get in. That gives you an 8” lip to hold the nesting material in.

The 12” deep is not a problem. Whatever that width is put partitions to make separate nests that are each 12” or more wide. I’m guessing you could get four across at both levels, maybe six for a total of twelve.

Another option is to not put any dividers in at all. Just use it like a community nest box, well four community nest boxes. Four community nest boxes like that should handle all your hens. Assuming the drawers are solid enough, all you have to do is take those drawers out and put bedding in the remaining drawers. How easy can it get? That assumes you don’t have to knock some horizontal dividers out.

It looks like a real find!

OH... I totally LOVE that idea!!!! Then I basicly have pull out nest drawers too! I always worry about reaching into a nest box and coming out with a snake biting my hand. (It happened to my uncle last year with his chickens.. and being sort of near a river makes me worry more.)

Thanks!!!! LOL... My $15 coop didnt get anymore more expensive!!!