Community Nest Boxes - Let me see 'em!

[Snakeoil]

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

Our free range hens always lay in the dog house on the porch. That's about as "community" as it gets around here!

We've got a broody in there now, on her second week sitting on two eggs. The other girls have started laying in a new spot (grouchy broody)..... and they've done a darn good job picking their new spot too... I STILL haven't found their eggs!

 

[will hunt for food]

Quote:
Can you give me the diameter of the holes? Thanks. I have seen round holes before, and that is what I planned on putting in my coop. Great job bringing those boxes back to use!

 

[OrpingtonManor]

I have a community nestbox. I also thought it was called a tunnel nestbox. Mine is about 18" deep x 5' long with no dividers. It services four hens, no problem. The access hole is in the middle. When the girls enter, they can go either left or right. They will snuggle in right next to one another. Occasionally, both ends will be busy, and someone will just plop down in the middle right in front of the door. There is a hinged lid, so I can access it from outside, and it stays nice and dark.

Here is a picture of one of my hens inside it when she was broody.

 

[digitS']

Steffanie, you have the definition that Robert Plamondon uses, only in a smaller size:

"The traditional community nest is a box four feet wide and two feet deep, with a doorway that’s not much more than six inches wide and eight inches tall (and maybe with a flap of cloth or plastic across it). This is good for fifty hens. Another variant is the tunnel nest, which is eight feet long, two feet wide, and has a small entrance at each end. This is good for a hundred hens."

Poultry: Equipment for Alternative Production (24 page pdf)

And, as you say a nest like this "stays nice and dark."

Steve

 

[DarkWolf]

Steve, thanks for the quote and the PDF. Very informative and exactly the kind of knowledge I was looking for.

What are your thoughts on this method of nest boxes though? Good, bad, indifferent?

 

[digitS']

DarkWolf, a nest box that will easily accommodate 2 hens just seems to help and it is the way I've gone.

As far as these other "community" types, the darkness should discourage egg-eating and that can be of critical importance, at times.

I did a little more searching and here is a 3 page pdf from the Ontario government showing plans for a "roll away" community nest.

Steve

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote:
I have one like this that I have also refurbished but mine has 3 rows of 5 and the perches are all connected by a rod so when you lift one they all 3 go up to block the nests. I had no idea they were that old. Mine was being thrown away and I rescued it.

 

[Rosecomb-Ryan]

Well not proof that my chickens like it but my Scovys like it....lol

 

[RHewitt]

Quote:
Can you give me the diameter of the holes? Thanks. I have seen round holes before, and that is what I planned on putting in my coop. Great job bringing those boxes back to use!

The holes are 9 inches in diameter. The actuall size of the nest itself is 12 x 13. They seem work great for standard size hens.