My hens liked their little doghouse for a nest box, but I think it was a bit too big, eggs were getting broken and dirty. I think some of the hens tried to "dustbath" in it and sometimes the subordinate roo would jump in there to hide from the dominant one and that sure didn't help matters.
Anyways this is what I built for them the other day from junk I had around the yard:
35gal plastic drum, has had the top removed and has been used on it's side for an outdoor brooder/shelter in the past. It is a bit oval already from being on it's side all year so it will lay down pretty flat without rolling. I got it free from my father in law a little over a year ago.
wire shelf from a freezer - got them free somewhere, I forget where, but I knew they'd be useful someday.
plastic "grass" welcome mat that had kindof worn down, was no longer in use just laying around on the back porch
2x4 pieces and screws left over from other projects
rubber mat piece leftover from other projects
total cost: $0
Propped the front of the barrel up with some 2x4, also put blocks on the ends to keep it from rolling. This gives it the slant so that the eggs roll to the back.
Put a piece of 2x4 inside the barrel to hold the wire shelf steady. The shelf conveniently fit in the barrel leaving a good space underneath it to collect the eggs. I put a small nail in the 2x4 to stick up through the wires to hold the freezer shelf in position so that there is a gap in the back for the eggs to fall down. Underneath it I put the rubber mat piece so they don't crack when they fall down. The rubber mat is a strip about 6" wide and about as long as the barrel plus it curves up the "bottom" (now back) of the barrel making a little "runway" so when the eggs drop down it encourages them to roll towards the front of the nest out of the way for the next egg to come in. Then I zip tied the old welcome mat on top of the wire to give some padding. I got the idea for the mat from another BYC'er's roll-out nest pictures on here.
Just lift the grate off of the nail to collect the eggs underneath!
First 2 days there was a cracked egg - which prompted me to make a little more angle in the rubber mat to pitch the eggs a bit more forward. No cracked eggs after that.
Anyways this is what I built for them the other day from junk I had around the yard:
35gal plastic drum, has had the top removed and has been used on it's side for an outdoor brooder/shelter in the past. It is a bit oval already from being on it's side all year so it will lay down pretty flat without rolling. I got it free from my father in law a little over a year ago.
wire shelf from a freezer - got them free somewhere, I forget where, but I knew they'd be useful someday.
plastic "grass" welcome mat that had kindof worn down, was no longer in use just laying around on the back porch
2x4 pieces and screws left over from other projects
rubber mat piece leftover from other projects
total cost: $0
Propped the front of the barrel up with some 2x4, also put blocks on the ends to keep it from rolling. This gives it the slant so that the eggs roll to the back.
Put a piece of 2x4 inside the barrel to hold the wire shelf steady. The shelf conveniently fit in the barrel leaving a good space underneath it to collect the eggs. I put a small nail in the 2x4 to stick up through the wires to hold the freezer shelf in position so that there is a gap in the back for the eggs to fall down. Underneath it I put the rubber mat piece so they don't crack when they fall down. The rubber mat is a strip about 6" wide and about as long as the barrel plus it curves up the "bottom" (now back) of the barrel making a little "runway" so when the eggs drop down it encourages them to roll towards the front of the nest out of the way for the next egg to come in. Then I zip tied the old welcome mat on top of the wire to give some padding. I got the idea for the mat from another BYC'er's roll-out nest pictures on here.
Just lift the grate off of the nail to collect the eggs underneath!
First 2 days there was a cracked egg - which prompted me to make a little more angle in the rubber mat to pitch the eggs a bit more forward. No cracked eggs after that.
