Eight pullets, ten eggs ???

[aart]

Nice Job!
I don't think you need to add perches with the way you put fronts on them.
How did you attach those to the crates?

Confining birds to coop and run can help you count your eggs more effectively,
it will also train the new layers to use the nests.
Maybe get rid of the dog house, put it out of reach until they use the changed nests(which might take a few days as they don't like change)

 

[svh]

Nice Job!
I don't think you need to add perches with the way you put fronts on them.
How did you attach those to the crates?

Confining birds to coop and run can help you count your eggs more effectively,
it will also train the new layers to use the nests.
Maybe get rid of the dog house, put it out of reach until they use the changed nests(which might take a few days as they don't like change)

Well, (scratches head) ….. First of all, I screwed the milk crates together in the configuration shown with 1/2" screws, then I inserted (screwed) a 1/2" plywood floor into each one, overhanging the opening of the crate by 6".

The front / side retaining assembly was carefully measured, and pre assembled, using 1 1/4" trim screws, and screwed directly to the 6" plywood overhang of the nest floor.

Clear as mud ???

I'll get a few pics, and post em up later today.

My friends tell me I am a master "scabulator", and an expert at makin "chicken salad out of chicken sh1t" !!!
I have plenty of that now !!!

As to confining the chicks, I do keep them in the coop/run until around noon, but at this point the run is way too small, only about 50 square feet, and I feel horrible leaving them in there any longer than that. I will take your advice though, and leave them "cooped up" for a few days, sans doghouse. We have a winter storm comin today, and would be a perfect opportunity to put them under lockdown for a few days.!

Everyone seems to be using the nest boxes / doghouse, even returning from foraging to drop their eggs, and yes, I agree, I need to loose the doghouse ! Maybe replace it with something smaller, as the coop (60 square feet) is crowded enough, even without it.

I'm confident the dogs will let me know if anybody starts laying outside the coop / run, as they keep a pretty close eye (nose) on those eggs !

 

[aart]

Clear as mud ???

As glass....... actually that's about what I thought you did.

My friends tell me I am a master "scabulator"

They call me MacGyver....I call it 'hack and slash'.
Very handy skills for a chickeneer!