Cover for nesting boxes???

[rungirl]

One of my EE started laying yesterday so I had to hurry up and put a nest box up. I couldn't find a golf ball last night so I put a hard boiled store bought egg in for today. I hope that's OK. I'll see what happened when I get home tonight. I'm afraid the other hens will crack it. Going to stop by Cracker Barrel this afternoon and see if they sell fake eggs.

 

[Moxiechick]

Chickens like to lay their eggs in a safe spot. The idea behind the fake eggs is that the chicken will think another bird had laid one there, therefore it must be a good spot. It has been pre-approved. Sort of like when you are out of town, and looking for a good restaurant. If you see a lot of cars in the parking lot, you can bet the food must be decent.

 

[OliviaDeHav]

Quote:
OH... so they don't think - this nest is being used and move on - it is a "this is the place" Thanks.... Ceramic?? is that the chosen? I have this really nice faberge egg my ex gave me packed away... would that work

I should post these questions probably in another location since the post has taken a turn to the eggs, but when do you put them in? How do you know when?
Thanks again

 

[sydney13]

i cut out fabric squares and then tacked then onto the box

 

[Ridgerunner]

Exactly. They do like to lay in the same nests. I had a hen lay on the ground next to a plastic egg that got scratched out of the nest. When I put the plastic egg back in the nest and removed the other egg, wshe returned to laying in the nest.

You can use golf balls, ceramic, wooden, or rock eggs. Some people use ping pong balls but I think those would be too light, maybe get scratched out too easily. I used plastic Easter eggs - put sand in them and glued them closed.

I suggest putting them in when the pullets are about 16 weeks old, when you open the nest box.

 

[buckabucka]

My chickens are young and only one is laying. I opened the nest box at 16 weeks and put a fake wooden egg and some golf balls in it. It is a community nest box (quite dark, with a hinged lid), - you can see it on my page. Even though I have seen chickens go in the box on occasion, the one who's laying always lays her egg on the floor in the corner of the coop. I watched the rooster make a little "nest" there and call to her, and so far, she is sticking with that spot.

I hope the rooster doesn't show all the other hens various corners of the room! He's looked in the nest box, but never gone it there. I'm hoping the hens will figure it out on their own.

Robin

 

[kichohana]

My nest boxes (2 for 4 chickens) are not covered for "privacy". They are 12x12x12 and have a nice 5" lip on the front to keep the nesting material in. I did paint the inside of the nextboxes a dark blue color. I also put in some "fake eggs" - blown out real eggs. The first egg my girls laid was right in the box, right next to the blown out egg. When the next chicken started laying, she followed suit. Shortly after, I figured they got the hint, and removed the "fake eggs". When my last chicken got around to laying, she laid her first egg in the coop, but not in the box. Her second egg was in the sand-filled run - no privacy there at all! I put the fake eggs right back in those nest boxes and the girls have put their eggs right in there with them. I don't think having a covering/privacy curtain would make a difference. I would hate for it to get all poopy and have to clean it - although it does look cute!

 

[OliviaDeHav]

Quote:
Thanks very much for the assistance

Seems like you can use quite a variety of things - the easter eggs with sand is a GREAT idea!
I am thinking my nesting boxes are not big enough though - I went by those coops you can buy online and they have the premade everything and some things i read prior to joining up here and they said six inches wide is enough per bird! So we made ours 9 1/2! That probably won't be big enough for our girls when they get bigger! i have 5 birds and 6 nesting areas. Should we remove some of the dividers and make 5 nesting areas? We do plan on having more birds at some point next year - how many boxes per bird? They don't all lay at once i am assuming.

Quote:
they do look cute don't they! but i would be concerned with poo also... I wonder if that is an issue with nesting boxes IN the wall like mine with no top... How many nesting boxes per bird do you have? i am thinking we need to redo ours to make them larger

SYDNEY - VERY CUTE!!!! Do they get poo on it??

Quote:
community? I will go check out your page and see.... As i stated above - I'm thinking mine might be too small for my bigger birds... Maybe the 9 1/2 inches might work for Bantams - smaller chickens.... It is all a learning process - never too old to learn

 

[Jx2inNC]

Here are our nesting boxes.
I had meant to nail some wood onto the backside to keep it closed in and darker (not as breezy for the winter) but our chickens have been laying constantly with it open and airy like it is. They will walk in head first and I can stand outside the pen and talk to them while they "squabble out an egg".

I suppose it just depends what they are fine with.
We've had one banty lay an egg in the shavings and dirt (in a confined little area) but other than that I didn't even have to put a golf ball or anything to show them where to go.
Because of this, I'm not really in a rush to close the back side up, to be honest...

 

[OliviaDeHav]

Quote:
What is the width? maybe it is the angle, but some look more narrow than others... How many chickens do you have? I am wondering how many boxes per chickens I need. I love the double decker! If it works - why bother fixing it with a back

So I guess darkness does not seem to be an issue with some chickens... Yours certainly sound laid back

Are all of them smaller chickens? I just noticed you wrote banty.....
PS... love your avatar kitty!