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

[aart]

I've been keeping an eye on whether they have had any issue with getting in and out of them and all has seemed fine to date. I was surprised yesterday to open the egg door and find an Ameraucana and a Buff Orpington crammed into one bucket together.

That's good...mine didn't like them at all, lots of folks use them successfully tho.

 

[gardenwrites88]

I made nesting boxes out of covered plastic cat litter boxes. We had 12 cats and 6 boxes but now down to 6 cats so I took the extra 3 litter boxes for my 12 hens. They love them and the eggs and straw can't roll or spill out. I can wash and disinfect them easily twice a year. They are big and sometimes I'll have two hens in one box and they seem okay with that.

 

[napdognewfie]

I have a silkie setting in one right now. One duck tells her to shove over & goes in with her to lay. Lol

 

[clickdb]

Here's my nest boxes, made out of an old wooden bed frame. I used the drawers as the upper row of boxes, they fit perfectly and are deep enough for straw and not let the eggs roll out. They are plus sized boxes, but I can always add a divider to make them smaller if that's what the chickens want.

I abandoned the kitty litter box idea, now that my pullets are about to start laying, they really don't fit in there and had no interest in trying to go into them.

 

[AlaskaDad]

I dig those! Nice design!

 

[daxigait]

This is my favorite nest box.  It is an antique roll out nest box I got at a farm auction for $20.  It is a community nest.  The hens go in the hole on the end, lay their eggs, then the eggs roll out to the front.  I don't even have to go in the coop to pick them up.  The eggs stay cleaner and I don't have to worry about someone getting the idea they like to eat eggs.  The funny part is that I have several BC marans hens that want to go broody in there.  It's not working too well for them.  Their eggs keep rolling out./img/smilies/gig.gif

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This is one of the nests I built.  I used all scrap lumber, so it didn't really cost me anything.  It is a 10 hole nest, which is way more than they need in the small pen this is in.  I don't think they ever used more than 3 of the nests.  When I get time, perhaps this winter, I'm going to convert it to a roll out nest.

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When I get my new poultry breeder barn done, I plan to use a different kind of nest.  We live on a farm, so we get a few 5 gallon buckets from oil, hydraulic fluid, etc.  I will use the buckets, but I am going to make it so they fit through the wire into the coop, and the back of the bucket will be "valved" so it will work like a roll out nest.  I've got a couple of them made, and they work great.  I still want to "tweak" them a little so they look better.  Now I just need to get the barn built to put them in!

how do you build a roll out? And how with a bucket?

 

[shamrockmommy]

I have two of these 4 season tractors, and here are the next boxes. The first pic is of the nest boxes in closed position. I can lift just the top lid, and it has a hook/eye to hold the lid open while I gather eggs (haven't gotten any eggs yet, but soon!). ON cleaning day, I can drop the nest box base down. It's held up by two hook/eyes in the closed position. Inside the nest boxes I use storage bins that are 14" x 11" and they fit perfectly, so I can dump/clean the next boxes easily.

So far really like the tractor setup. We had our first rainy fall days last week, and i ended up having to put pine shavings in the tractor with the LF. The banties didn't need any additional bedding. It's very hard to clean up out of the grass, so I think I will use leaves or straw next time. I also need to caulk a few areas on the roof to keep water from coming in on the corners. Otherwise, really like it.

Will have to see what winter brings, though!

 

[RonP]

I have two of these 4 season tractors, and here are the next boxes. The first pic is of the nest boxes in closed position. I can lift just the top lid, and it has a hook/eye to hold the lid open while I gather eggs (haven't gotten any eggs yet, but soon!). ON cleaning day, I can drop the nest box base down. It's held up by two hook/eyes in the closed position. Inside the nest boxes I use storage bins that are 14" x 11" and they fit perfectly, so I can dump/clean the next boxes easily.

So far really like the tractor setup. We had our first rainy fall days last week, and i ended up having to put pine shavings in the tractor with the LF. The banties didn't need any additional bedding. It's very hard to clean up out of the grass, so I think I will use leaves or straw next time. I also need to caulk a few areas on the roof to keep water from coming in on the corners. Otherwise, really like it.

Will have to see what winter brings, though!

Very nice setup!

 

[daxigait]

Made mine from a commercial grade fiberglass board for easy cleaning and sanitation.

what did you get that is that big for your poop tray???

 

[daxigait]

I went with the 5 gal bucket idea under my roost table saved a lot of space in my 8x8 coop .they are just zip- striped down so when a hen goes to brood I can move the bucket to the brooding pen.

do they use them well under the roost/poop tray?