New rollout nest design Picture heavy-edited 1/21

@IdyllwildAcres From what I've read, if your chicks haven't started laying yet they should take to the tilted nesting boxes the same as they would any other, as they will never have known about any other kind. The problem with my hens is they have been laying for anywhere from 6 months to two years, so the RA's are a new and strange thing to them.

Thats what I figured, but I wanted to put in some wood eggs to give them the idea and even thought of hot glueing them in place! I am thinking making one that will tilt flat should be as easy as a couple hinges....
Mine can be converted from "roll" to level. No hinges, rather I made it so that the nesting floor could be removed for ease of cleaning. So I tried leveling the floors, put in some straw and a ceramic egg. After a day or three some of them did start laying in it, I have found at least three different color eggs inside :). So after a few days of them using it I cleaned it out, put the bed at an angle ("roll' position) and stuck some hay along the back and sides. and yesterday there were two eggs in the 'trap'! so they are learning to use it, I guess I just have to sneak up on them.

Strangely enough, Muffins was the first to try it out. Usually Braveheart is the first one to try anything new; that's how she got her name. So far I have seen three different color eggs: medium green (Muffins), pink (Braveheart) and a light blue. I'm also seeing a lot of loose feathers, both on ground and on the chickens so many of my birds have started molting.
 
Here is a design I am building. The floor is removable for cleaning and the slope angle can easily be increased if required.



 

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