Living in Meridian ID. Now building a coop and run for my daughter's flock of 8 chickens... they somehow survived last year's mild winter (no temps >20*) in a flim flam Cardboard and Plywood Coop... they do have a nice run at least and room to free range... they only lost one chicken to a hawk before they figured out they needed a net to cover the run and free range area... till I can build them a proper coop and run.
Meanwhile I just completed a DIY rollout egg hatch. I just looked at some various Pinterest plans and YouTube videos and came up with my own design... The dimensions are roughly 40 inches long, 20 inches high, 24 inches wide. There are three nest boxes all about 13 inches wide, 13 inches deep, and 14 inches high. I covered the roll out pan with wire mesh and cheap thin, green carpet. I also used a bit of green carpet as an egg bumper at the bottom back of the roll out pan. I made the egg box very accessible as I do not like taking eggs from the top of the nest box, but still have a fold down door to aid clean up of any "mistakes". The angle of incline is about 14 degrees which seemed to work fine on test eggs and I used some black felt (visible in the last photo) to camouflage the eggs once they have left the laying area to keep lazy chickens from picking at them. I spray painted the front red (...are chickens REALLY attracted to red? ...consumers want to know...) and also installed a pull up nesting roost bar in case any of them get in the habit of roosting inside the box instead of on their roost bars... will it work...? I'll let you know... The box will be mounted INSIDE an insulated small 5X8 ft shed out of the elements and attached to the main coop. (...which will eventually hold their watering system and feed box as well.)... Cost was about $100 (plywood and lumber are very expensive these days...) for hinges, and knobs, etc. I got my supplies at a big box Hardware Store and found that Lowes had much better lumber and treated us Veterans better... your milage may vary depending on your location however.
Meanwhile I just completed a DIY rollout egg hatch. I just looked at some various Pinterest plans and YouTube videos and came up with my own design... The dimensions are roughly 40 inches long, 20 inches high, 24 inches wide. There are three nest boxes all about 13 inches wide, 13 inches deep, and 14 inches high. I covered the roll out pan with wire mesh and cheap thin, green carpet. I also used a bit of green carpet as an egg bumper at the bottom back of the roll out pan. I made the egg box very accessible as I do not like taking eggs from the top of the nest box, but still have a fold down door to aid clean up of any "mistakes". The angle of incline is about 14 degrees which seemed to work fine on test eggs and I used some black felt (visible in the last photo) to camouflage the eggs once they have left the laying area to keep lazy chickens from picking at them. I spray painted the front red (...are chickens REALLY attracted to red? ...consumers want to know...) and also installed a pull up nesting roost bar in case any of them get in the habit of roosting inside the box instead of on their roost bars... will it work...? I'll let you know... The box will be mounted INSIDE an insulated small 5X8 ft shed out of the elements and attached to the main coop. (...which will eventually hold their watering system and feed box as well.)... Cost was about $100 (plywood and lumber are very expensive these days...) for hinges, and knobs, etc. I got my supplies at a big box Hardware Store and found that Lowes had much better lumber and treated us Veterans better... your milage may vary depending on your location however.
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