Nesting box ventilation and setup for broody hens?

[roberthleeii]

I am planning a Carolina Coops style build and I am stuck on my nesting box design. It does not seem that the Carolina coop nesting boxes design has enough ventilation especially if a hen goes broody and is going to sit in there for a month. I do not have much experience with broody hens and it is something I ultimately want. While watching videos for my coop inspiration the guy from Carolina coops talks about letting hens hatch chicks in the nesting boxes and just removing one of the dividers to give them some extra space. If this is actually doable this is a much easier alternative than creating a separate area/coop for broody hens to hatch out chicks.

Is this a viable option and if it is should I set up more ventilation for the boxes?

Thanks in advance,
Robert

 

[DobieLover]

It is not a good idea to let a hen set in the nest boxes.
The other hens will disturb her because that is where they normally lay and when the chicks hatch, there is a risk of them falling out of the nest. The fall wouldn't kill them. Being without their mother's heat will.
I am not really a fan of the Carolina coops, mostly because they are not a walk-in style. I much prefer a walk-in style coop with a large predator proof run attached.
Have you considered doing a shed conversion instead?
That's the route I took.
It is soooo much easier to manage a flock with a walk-in style coop.
If you need to worm the flock, you do it after dark wearing a head lamp (or better yet, run a circuit to the coop and wire in lights) and just snatch each bird off the roost, give her her dose of de-wormer and put her back.
If you have a bird that needs to tended to, you grab her off the roost at night, take care of what needs to be done and put her back. So much easier than trying to reach into a coop past the other birds and get the one you want.
There is no stooping or bashing your head having to reach in.
Cleaning is much easier when you can walk around inside the coop.
Installing poop boards is much easier and they make keeping the coop clean ever so much easier.
And you can build a maternity ward in a corner of the coop for the hen. She will have access to the flock and they to her and she will be on the ground. I even built an auxiliary run for the ward.

 

[NatJ]

I am planning a Carolina Coops style build and I am stuck on my nesting box design. It does not seem that the Carolina coop nesting boxes design has enough ventilation

If the coop itself has plenty of ventilation, any nest that has a mostly-open front should be fine as well. I wouldn't worry about special ventilation for nestboxes unless you hang curtains in front of them, or make a solid front with just one small entrance door, or something like that.

It might be worth putting the nestboxes on a shady side of the coop, so the sun isn't heating them up directly. Overheating can be an issue even when ventilation is fine, like when you stand in direct sun outdoors: lots of ventilation but still too hot.

 

[ChickyMudder]

Any updates on the nest design?

I had a hen unexpectedly go broody her coop is 3 feet high, external (small) nest box, and a covered run. It was the worst of every situation.
I moved the flock out, opened the doors and covered them with construction cloth to improve ventilation. Added feeder and waterers for her and the future chicks.

She hatched 11 of 11!

Heres what I learned - the hens kicked her off the nest and continued laying. We had chicks hat hing over a 4 day span of time. This made it hard for momma to keep on the nest and teach her chicks to eat. If I did it again Id isolate broody momma sooner.
Id build movable nest boxes that can be raised or lowered. I removed a divider to make room for the chicks and momma wont use the nest again. If I could have moved the nest without disturbing her … that might be easier. The chicks are brooding in the coop because its too high off the ground. I built a covered ramp to help.
I also used a frozen water bottle (to reduce temps inside the coop) and a govee thermometer to tell me if the coop was too hot.
Lessons learned.
Hope it helps