Buckets as Nest Boxes

[gmendoza]

You could also build a communal nesting box.We have one that is 3 feet long,18" deep and 18" high.See pic below:

Once DW said we had 6 birds in there,jammed to the brim.They were not in even rows,but frontways,backwards,and even sideways!!We can acess it from the outside of the coop.

 

[elmo]

Moveable plastic nestboxes rule! They're easy to clean so you tend to clean them out more frequently, which can help avoid a mite infestation. In the summer when the danger of mite infestations is greatest, once a week I take our nestboxes over to the composter, dump out the bedding, hose them down and let them dry in the sun. Then I put a layer of poultry dust in the bottom of the box and refill with fresh bedding.

When you have a broody, a moveable nestbox is also great. You just move the whole box with the hen and her nest inside to where you want to put her. I did this with my three broodies last spring, even moving them multiple times (sometimes several times a day, to make sure the box wasn't in the sun and getting too hot), and none of my hens so much as twitched a feather.

 

[GarlicEater]

I have a lot of 2X2 redwood, so I have first my ridiculously overbuilt bench, then a 2X2 along the back as a step for the bottoms of the buckets, and then a 2X2 along the front but that fits perfectly in the "groove" around the tops of the buckets. Then pieces out from the piece in back to hold 'em in line. It's actually pretty cool. I have heard here about problems with them sleeping in the nest boxes and pooping in there, I may take a piece of burlap or something and have a sort of overhang along the top, so the nest boxes will seem like nice safe hidey holes for eggs but not good places to hang out and watch the world from.

Thanks for the info all!

 

[gmendoza]

Quote:
Thats a good idea.So you carried them out "pharoh style" eh?I will just jam our last years broodies,and the up-and-commings into their broody houses.Good idea though, but DW is scared of the roo,so she wont enter the coop.We have an external hatch to lift to get eggs from.

 

[ivan3]

We use them. I cut a `window' out in the bottoms of the buckets, ~2"x2", to improve air circulation during the summer; started doing this after observing two panting pullets in same bucket at same time (duct tape the `vents' when the temp. drops) - as a matter of fact, though 5 buckets were available for ten hens, they pretty much insisted on using only one of the 5. Roo likes to hang out in one during the winter.

 

[RiddleMe]

Quote:
You can also go to any local grocery store with a bakery and talk to the manager. They get their icing in 5 gallon buckets and will usually either give the empty buckets away or sell them for a nominal price.

 

[GarlicEater]

That's actually good to know because we can always use more buckets around here.

I worked on my nest boxes today, yep got the drill, extension cord, bit-and-brace (which I actually used to drive the deck screws I use) etc in there and moved the redwood 2X2 that the groove around the buckets rested ON, and moved it out so the buckets would be down flat and that 2X2 right in front, then I put another 2X2 on top of that. Those chickens are getting pretty used to me, since they're seeing a lot of me. I love this coop, being able to go in and out easily and work easily, with lots of room.

 

[minister man]

thanks for this thread,

I have been looking into using plastic buckets for my silkies, and I was thinking that when one set, then I could just carry that bucket out and put an empty bucket in the place of the one I removed. it is nice to hear that others do that which means it is going to work! I had some buckets with no covers, but your pictures show me that the front of the nest can be part of the shelf. That is just way cool! Thanks

 

[AlienChick]

I am saving up all my Tidy Cat large cat litter containers to use as nest boxes.

They are 12" wide x 10" tall x 13" deep.

I'm hoping they will be large enough.

 

[wsdareme]

The Tidy Cat buckets are great because you can leave the "hinge" part of the lid as a lip to keep the bedding in the nest box. Plus, being square, they'll be more stable.

We opted to go with plastic wash tubs from Walmart. They are a cinch to clean -- just dump the shavings and wipe them out.