Need recommendations on adding next boxes!

[mlahodik]

Hi everyone, my first group of girls will be approaching 18-20 weeks and I need to decide what to buy for nest boxes. We don't have much time these days and I have a group of 14 hens (I'm hoping).
Anyway, to purchase pre-made nest boxes to add to my home made coop. I'm looking for 3 nest boxes.
Do you have any ones that you can recommend I can purchase online?
This will be my first time ever getting eggs, so eggcited.
I welcome any tips on how to keep them clean, train them to use them, set up etc.
They free range during the day in a grassy area of my yard and they have a coop that is 21x8 wide. We will be making a larger one in the near future that will be around 25x30.
Thank you in advance!

 

[Freie Family Farm]

Just a 12"x12" box will do. You can use milk crates or buy wooden ones both online or at Tractor Supply. My husband and I are just installing dividers that are spaced 12" apart. Then just add soft material and the chickens usually do the rest. We have ceramic eggs to help them figure out where to lay but they usually ignore them and lay their egg in the spot next to the ceramic egg lol good luck!

 

[drinkoj]

Tidy Cat litter nesting boxes. Cheap, clean, and efficient if you're in a bind for time and cash. I'd build up the front lip some, so that the straw/shavings will stay in, because the girls are going to kick the nesting materials out.

 

[TOPChickens14]

I use plywood that I cut 7' by 12 " and then added walls every 12" and another piece of plywood on the top. They love these.

 

[Alaskan]

Thank you

 

[Alaskan]

Thank you

Ok... good grief... That was supposed to be a text message that I was sending to me kid...

No idea how it ended up here...

Anyway. The great thing about nest boxes is that they really can be almost anything.. I have used cardboard boxes (nice since you can toss once they are dirty), aplatic tote screwed to the wall, a wooden crate, a small bookshelf.... you get the idea.

I do like the boxes to be double wide... since my girls always have a favorite box then try to all sit at once...

 

[CluckerFamily]

I use 5 gallon pails that I stuck into the three steps of a step ladder for my nesting boxes.

 

[Sueby]

I needed one for my littles coops in case anyone starts laying before they are integrated into the big coop. I wanted it removable & to hang on the wall as the integration coop is small, so I bought this from Amazon:

Little Giant Single Plastic Nesting Box Chicken Nest Box with Perch (Item No. 163620)

 

[Pet Educate]

Would just like to second the point on the nest box being sufficiently large enough, 12x12 being the minimum.
It's also advised to have 1 nest box for every 3 hens, so you may want to consider 5 nest boxes over 3.
All the best.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Would just like to second the point on the nest box being sufficiently large enough, 12x12 being the minimum.
It's also advised to have 1 nest box for every 3 hens, so you may want to consider 5 nest boxes over 3.
All the best.

That is helpful.
It also depends on the type of chickens you have, if you have chickens that lay every day this is a great number to keep in mind.
I have 16 easter eggers and they don't lay every day so I am able to get away with only 3 nesting boxes and they still only use 2 of them. I don't know why maybe they like to keep me wondering why.