Lets talk nest boxes!

[MissMonty]

We have added a lot of chicks....like a lot. We have a huge coop (big outbuilding we turned into a coop) and we are dividing out to multiple coops but for the main egg laying flock we should end up around 20-30 hens we will end up keeping that will be in the main coop.

I've only have 5 adult hens currently and only 2 lay regularly and we only had 2 nest boxes but its been working. Since we have so many that'll be laying by summer I want to make sure we get our nest box situation handled as I don't think only having two is going to go very well.

I'm debating buying a premade metal one and I also have a bookshelf I am wanting to upcycle into a nest box tower but I am just trying to figure out how many I actually need.

Anyone with a big flock want to post photos of their nest boxes and tell how many they have versus how many hens?

 

[3KillerBs]

I'll be interested in this too.

I have learned that I really like the drop-down door vs. the lift-up roof but I don't know how practical long-rows of such boxes get with more hens.

 

[MissMonty]

I'll be interested in this too.

I have learned that I really like the drop-down door vs. the lift-up roof but I don't know how practical long-rows of such boxes get with more hens.

Mine would all currently be internal boxes as I'm not sure I'm handy enough to make exterior ones in an existing building

 

[aart]

I'm debating buying a premade metal one and I also have a bookshelf I am wanting to upcycle into a nest box tower but I am just trying to figure out how many I actually need.

For 30 layers I'd go with 7-10 nests.
Make sure they are lower than roosts.
Good size for nests, IMO, is 14 x 14 x 16.
Guessing your shelf is not that deep?
If nests are off the ground, it's good to have a perch about 8" out in front of nests.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I built this 6 bay nest box set up for 24 hens. If using dish pans (which I love) be sure to have an anti-tip board in front of them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll include a couple of links that show what some people have done for nests. You might even find a bookcase or two in here somewhere. Your limit is your imagination.

Nest boxes

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41108/show-us-your-nest-boxes-ingenous-design-post-it-here/220

Nest Boxes

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/4...-your-creative-nesting-boxes/80#post_12395882

How many do you need? A general rule of thumb is one nest for every four to five hens. We can make it complicated but that is about as simple as it gets. So for 30 hens maybe 7 to 8 nests.

What sized nests? One rule of thumb is a minimum 12" x 12" x 12". Some of that depends on how they will be used. I've had hens lay in a 7-1/2" x 11-1/2" cat litter bucker set at a 45 degree angle and no top. It worked fine for laying but proved too small when a broody hen hatched chicks in it. When I was a kid on a farm one of my chores was to gather the eggs. I found hens laying in some pretty tight spots, much smaller than that 12" x 12" minimum. But you need guidelines and that 12" cube will certainly work for all hens. But if your bookcase isn't 12" deep, remember that for laying that cat litter bucket worked.

The bigger the nest the more hens it can handle. I made my nests 16" x 16" x 16", partly because my stud spacing was 16" and that made it convenient for framing but also because if you cut a 4' or 8' piece of wood into 16" lengths you come out even, no leftovers. It is pretty common for me to see three hens in one nest laying at the same time when all other nests are empty. In my nests they have room for that, that's part of why the bigger they are the more hens they can handle. I let my hens hatch with the flock. Many broody hens will let other hens lay in their nest but occasionally you get a broody that won't. I had a hen that never went broody but she would not share a nest either and took three hours to lay her egg.

With seven or eight nests you'll find most of your eggs in a few of the nests, some nests won't regularly be used. But I'd prefer to have a couple of empty ones than not have enough.

With that many hens you need a walk-in coop. My personal preference is to walk in to collect egg instead of using those external nests. If you didn't have a walk-in coop you would have no options, you'd have to have an outside access nest. I've found snakes, dead hens, and even a possum once when I walked in that I'd probably have missed if I used external nests. In all this there is a lot of personal preference.