Hot weather and egg laying

[baysidechicks]

Hello,
My girls are still several weeks away from laying, but they're in their combined coop/run and I'm building the nest boxes this weekend. I'm in hot hot hot Florida, and they are already pretty hot in there despite it being shaded and a fan going. My neighbor keeps his chickens in a dog kennel with just a tarp for a roof, no roosting poles, and a couple of old dresser drawers for nest boxes, so everything is out and airy. I'm concerned about building standard nest boxes with a sloping roof to avoid roosting above them, as I'm worried they will feel too stifling for the hens to be comfortable laying eggs in them. My coop doesn't have external nest boxes. It is actually totally open to their run, I left the fourth wall off the coop facing the run. Their roost does not extend over the area I've designated for the nest boxes so they won't poop in them. Thoughts?

 

[igorsMistress]

Why not try a couple of simple boxes on the floor? I'm a desert dweller and that's what we ended up doing for the same reason, it's too darn hot! We put a divider between them because my girls are prima donnas but I know folks that don't.

 

[baysidechicks]

thanks! My friend was here today to build them for me, and I decided on sort of a compromise. So there is a steep "roof" over them, but it is leftover tuf panels in solar gray so it's not dark in there and provides a little privacy. The box itself is 29" wide with a removable insert to divide it in half if they decide they don't like a communal box. There are large ventilation holes on the sides. And the whole thing is modular so I can pop it out altogether and just put a couple of boxes down if it becomes clear they don't like it. I'll post pics when it's all done, we're still putting the finishing touches on the coop/run.

 

[igorsMistress]

Sounds great! I look forward to the pics.

 

[baysidechicks]

Here are the nest boxes. The partition in the middle is removable; the roof is removable; the whole unit is also removable. I'll put cardboard up now to block them since the girls are several weeks away from laying, but I'm pretty pleased with how they came out.

 

[igorsMistress]

Those look great!

 

[baysidechicks]

thank you! I think so too. Let's hope the hens think so as well!