white food grade 5 gallon buckets for nesting boxes?

[DoubleMM]

Used them for years... Got them from a Deli (pickle buckets) for $1 each. Hens like them, can,t roost on them too slick, easy to clean. If a hens goes broody and I want her to set, I can move her and the eggs right in the bucket.

 

[funny farmer]

Personally I would not spend the extra money on food rated buckets (they generally cost about $1 or $2 more new) as generally the only difference is that the pigment used on the 'non-food' buckets isn't FDA certified for food contact. And the FDA is worried about the pigment leaching out of the bucket in storage... But the chance of anything actually leaching in this application that is very short term is slim to none, unlike say storing food in the sealed bucket for a year or two on the shelf...

Fortunately I don't have to pay for them. I get them for free from a friend who owns a restaurant.

 

[Leilaht]

Definitely. That is what we use. I just put them on the floor. They stay dry in there when it rains and warmer in the winter. We're working on a better roof, but until then the buckets are dry. There is a place in Fowlerville MI that sells lids with perches molded on them for 5 gallon buckets. http://fowlstuff.com/Stuff.html

 

[funny farmer]

That's why I decided to go with the buckets. I have an open concept coop and I'm hoping it will be dryer for them. We hope to put a new roof on it this fall and enclose 2 more sides, but even then, I think it will keep them dryer and warmer.

 

[PrincessLea2]

In our last coop, we had regular boxes.
New house... New flock...
We just installed four 5 gallon buckets for our hens. But, I can't wrap my head around how keep the nesting material in place? It seems like it will slide all over? We have a board in front, so it doesn't fall out. Do y'all do anything special to make the stuff not slide all over though? Or is it not really an issue?

 

[jlwquilter]

I’m having sliding issues INSIDE the bucket when the hen tries to get comfy to lay. But I may have found that the problem was not enough nesting material. I put a lot more nesting material in this morning so will see how that goes.

 

[aart]

I’m having sliding issues INSIDE the bucket when the hen tries to get comfy to lay. But I may have found that the problem was not enough nesting material. I put a lot more nesting material in this morning so will see how that goes.

Yep, that's one of the problems with using 5 gal buckets...adding more bedding might help with footing, but will reduce the height, which is another issue.