Show us your nest boxes! Ingenous design post it here!

[Wyandotte103]

My coop

 

[adgcountrygirl]

Good morning! I have a question for those who have the metal file cabinets and are making nests out of them. Wouldn't the metal get hot during the summer months? I live in S. Texas and we are in the 100+ temps. Just curious.

Thanks,

Lisa

Hey Lisa,

I live in North Texas, and last year it was 118 in the shade!!! My coop is an open-air coop and I do NOT use metal for my nest boxes. I am thinking about designing my own boxes, but if I use metal, it will only be for the frame work, not the actual boxes. If you click on my coop link, you will see what I am currently using for boxes. (Large and regular sized covered cat litter boxes with the plastic door taken off... and sometimes the rabbit hutch which they are under and on top of. The rabbit hutch doubles as isolation for injured birds or birds that are to be introduced into the flock after their true quarintine is over. **You'll have to scroll down a little.**

 

[topgunn601]

Free buckets from work boards from a deck we removed 0$

 

[TexasLisa]

Hey Lisa,

I live in North Texas, and last year it was 118 in the shade!!! My coop is an open-air coop and I do NOT use metal for my nest boxes. I am thinking about designing my own boxes, but if I use metal, it will only be for the frame work, not the actual boxes. If you click on my coop link, you will see what I am currently using for boxes. (Large and regular sized covered cat litter boxes with the plastic door taken off... and sometimes the rabbit hutch which they are under and on top of. The rabbit hutch doubles as isolation for injured birds or birds that are to be introduced into the flock after their true quarintine is over. **You'll have to scroll down a little.**

Countrygirl I love your setup! I, too, believe in an open-air coop. Mine is open on two sides all year around. If it gets too windy I can close the west side up. The girls fight to see who gets to sleep by the windows!

Topgunn: Nice looking nests! Don't you just love free material?!!!

Lisa

 

[topgunn601]

Countrygirl I love your setup!  I, too, believe in an open-air coop. Mine is open on two sides all year around.  If it gets too windy I can close the west side up. The girls fight to see who gets to sleep by the windows!

Topgunn:  Nice looking nests!  Don't you just love free material?!!!

Lisa 

Oh how I love the freebies Lisa. We just started with chickens a few months back so far I've built a small tractor for maybe 4 birds comfortably cost a lil handware latches and such and wire. A new brooder for chicks 5' x 2' cost wire and heat lamps. currently working on an 8'x10' coop with a 24'x32' run that will end up costing next to nothing converting an old storage building to the coop an tearing down a privacy fence and reusing that material for the run. I've spent more on chicks and feed than anything so far.

 

[TexasLisa]

Oh how I love the freebies Lisa. We just started with chickens a few months back so far I've built a small tractor for maybe 4 birds comfortably cost a lil handware latches and such and wire. A new brooder for chicks 5' x 2' cost wire and heat lamps. currently working on an 8'x10' coop with a 24'x32' run that will end up costing next to nothing converting an old storage building to the coop an tearing down a privacy fence and reusing that material for the run. I've spent more on chicks and feed than anything so far.

Good Morning Topgunn! I think you have found out that chickens will not make you money if you are doing it for pleasure. I wouldn't give my girls up for anything. They make me laugh every time I step out the door. How many do you have and what are they?

Lisa

 

[topgunn601]

Good Morning Topgunn!  I think you have found out that chickens will not make you money if you are doing it for pleasure.  I wouldn't give my girls up for anything.  They make me laugh every time I step out the door.  How many do you have and what are they?

Lisa

 

Good evening Lisa! At present I have 2 production reds in my tractor hens only one is laying. In the brooder we have 5 bantam chicks that we got from TSC I've posted pics of them on the breeds thread to ask the experts what we have. So far it seems 1 Millie fleur d'uccle 1 old English game 2 golden sebrights and the other is undesided poss RIR bantam. I am going to Louisiana on the 20th of march to pick up what hatches out of 24 heritage RIR's. for my bigger coop and run.

 

[AlienChick]

The folks we bought our farm from left behind a couple of old bookcases.
So that's what I'm using inside the coop for nest boxes.

 

[greatdanegirl]

to frame out the nest box area I used a pallet that I removed all the slats from but the outer and center so that it made a cross (four square openings in it.) I set it upright 1 foot from the back wall and ran the leftover slats (cut down) from the frame to the wall. then I used vanity drawers as nest boxes! the drawer pulls fancy up the area just enough! I will post pictures asap!

 

[TattooedKeeper3]

TexasLisa and adgcountrygirl,
I live in southeast Texas. I just moved 30 miles southwest to Plantersville. It is great to come across others who live in Texas. I am new to the site.
I use my Tidy Cats cat litter buckets to hold feed. I have never thought about using them as a nesting box. Do you think that would be to warm for the new chicks and ducks come August when they will probably lay?

My new coops are I guess considered open air as well. I used some of the trays we had around that are used to hold soda bottles for their nesting boxes. They have never liked being in an actual box like thing. They surprised me in the new coop however.

Here is one of the outside cats, Coon, laying in what was meant to be a nesting box.



And under that shelf as shown here are where they decided to lay. All four hens use the same spot. Bobbie was the one in there when I took this photo.


My coop now that the winter/bad weather tarps were taken off last week. From this view, the left side has the baby chicks and ducklings; the right side is for the Ladies (my 4 adult hens).