Orpington owners- What size is the interior of your nesting boxes?

[HollowOfWisps]

My chickens are currently in a large barn using an old wooden work bench as just one big communal nesting box. My current Orpington also uses the wood bench with the others so I don’t know how she would fit in a standard size nesting box. I am also switching over to pretty much all English Orpingtons. I am moving the chickens here in the next month to a converted 16’x60’ lean-to so I can have actual large pens for brooding, egg laying chickens, cockerel pen etc. . Overall it will be much easier to manage, clean and separate. I am at the point where I’m looking to either build or buy nesting boxes. Everything pre-made the nesting box interiors are the standard 12x12”. Now it would be easier just to spend the extra money to have pre-made nesting boxes for each pen. I’m wondering though if 12x12” is going to be too small for my Orpingtons and if I should just build custom nesting boxes instead. If I did make them I was thinking of making the interiors of each box 14” deep by 16” wide. So my questions is to those with Orpingtons what size nesting boxes do your girls use?

 

[NagemTX]

**Toung in cheek** Big yellow mop bucket size, medium igloo dog house size and 40 gallon trash bag size w/ hay in it. That is where all my Orpingtons like to lay. Never in the place I built them. And they fit in that place with room. It's just the Phoenix hens I have are the leaders of the flock and those are the places they choose. The Orpingtons just follow.

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

My boxes are about 14” tall, deep and wide cubes

 

[Ridgerunner]

So my questions is to those with Orpingtons what size nesting boxes do your girls use?

I have had Orpington and other similar large fowl sized hens though mine were not show quality, which are typically larger than "standard" Orpington. Sounds like yours might be the larger size. I once used a cat litter bucket for a nest, the top measured 7-1/2" x 11-1/2". That was big enough for mine to lay in but it was too small to make a good nest for a broody hen to hatch in. One hatch and I retired that nest.

This is my opinion, but I'd be comfortable with 12" x 12" nests for your birds. There is a reason 12" nests are standard. They work.

When I built my nests I made them 16" cubes. That was not because of anything magical about that size to benefit chickens, it happened to fit my wall framing. Also, if you cut a 4' or 8' length of wood into 16" sections there is no waste. Those nests get used.

I regularly see as many as three of my hens sharing a nest to lay. With my 16" nests they are all on the nest. I've seen some photos posted on here where two or even three are in a smaller nest together. It did not hurt them but one hen was literally laying an egg on top of another. I don't know if you consider that a benefit of larger nests or not.

I think 12" will work for you, 14" x 16" would work. 16" cubes will work.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

My boxes are about 14” tall, deep and wide cubes

I use this as a standard box for all our birds, which have been rock types never had Orpingtons or smaller types although the Lorps may be a tad smaller than a standard rock I see no reason to go 12x12x12, and I believe 14x14x14 is the recommended size for Orps.

 

[Bhubbard]

I did a community box style that’s about 20” tall. Brahmas fit nicely so everything else does too.

 

[SourRoses]

I think that's good thinking ahead.
I haven't asked about nest boxes, but on the English Orpington Breeder FB group we chatted about roosts and everyone was recommending extra wide boards - at least 18 inches. No more than 3ft high.
* We lost one of our young Orps from a broken neck when it chose to roost higher, even though there were low roosts available, but you know how birds always want to be the highest.

Honestly, it depends on the line of English Orpington... XL size is one of the specifically English traits, but not everyone breeds for it. So, some are huge, some only big. Are you getting more?

I would go bigger - 2x2. It will still seem like a sheltered place, and you won't have to worry as your hens grow bigger.
It's not like the wood will cost much more and it may be easier to work with cuts done in feet rather than inches. Every time we build something it's the fasteners that cost the most.
But regardless, I can't even picture an EO squashing into a 12-inch space. At the very least her feathers would get squashed and damaged.
They will inevitably go broody, extra space can help with that.
Don't forget to ventilate the nests really well... all those feathers, and a broody in the summer is a lot.

For others reference... LF Ameraucana hen on the left. EO roo on the right.

 

[Bhubbard]

I think that's good thinking ahead.
I haven't asked about nest boxes, but on the English Orpington Breeder FB group we chatted about roosts and everyone was recommending extra wide boards - at least 18 inches. No more than 3ft high.
* We lost one of our young Orps from a broken neck when it chose to roost higher, even though there were low roosts available, but you know how birds always want to be the highest.

Honestly, it depends on the line of English Orpington... XL size is one of the specifically English traits, but not everyone breeds for it. So, some are huge, some only big. Are you getting more?

I would go bigger - 2x2. It will still seem like a sheltered place, and you won't have to worry as your hens grow bigger.
It's not like the wood will cost much more and it may be easier to work with cuts done in feet rather than inches. Every time we build something it's the fasteners that cost the most.
But regardless, I can't even picture an EO squashing into a 12-inch space. At the very least her feathers would get squashed and damaged.
They will inevitably go broody, extra space can help with that.
Don't forget to ventilate the nests really well... all those feathers, and a broody in the summer is a lot.

For others reference... LF Ameraucana hen on the left. EO roo on the right.


View attachment 3422570

This is awesome. I love big animals of all kinds

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I think that's good thinking ahead.
I haven't asked about nest boxes, but on the English Orpington Breeder FB group we chatted about roosts and everyone was recommending extra wide boards - at least 18 inches. No more than 3ft high.
* We lost one of our young Orps from a broken neck when it chose to roost higher, even though there were low roosts available, but you know how birds always want to be the highest.

Honestly, it depends on the line of English Orpington... XL size is one of the specifically English traits, but not everyone breeds for it. So, some are huge, some only big. Are you getting more?

I would go bigger - 2x2. It will still seem like a sheltered place, and you won't have to worry as your hens grow bigger.
It's not like the wood will cost much more and it may be easier to work with cuts done in feet rather than inches. Every time we build something it's the fasteners that cost the most.
But regardless, I can't even picture an EO squashing into a 12-inch space. At the very least her feathers would get squashed and damaged.
They will inevitably go broody, extra space can help with that.
Don't forget to ventilate the nests really well... all those feathers, and a broody in the summer is a lot.

For others reference... LF Ameraucana hen on the left. EO roo on the right.


View attachment 3422570

I'm glad you brought up ventilation for the nesting boxes because that completely slipped my mind and I did not even have that written down on my nesting box sketch. I will definitely build my own and go larger. I have 27 English Orpington's arriving over the next two months. The breeder said his hens are 7-10lbs and roosters 10-14lbs.

 

[SourRoses]

I have 27 English Orpington's arriving over the next two months.