I'm having trouble deciding nest box design and placement. I want to use crates for nostalgia reasons. They are each 14"x 16"x 12".
I have 5 pullets who are all 18 weeks old. Three are australorps and two are brown leghorns. So, I think I need two nest boxes and that the crates can go any direction (on their sides, or ends, or backs) as far as dimensions go.
The darkest corner and by far the corner most convenient for gathering the eggs is complicated by having the roost and poop board butting into it - but with a twelve inch gap between the frame and legs of the poop board and the wire wall diving the coop side from the storage side of the shed.
I want raised nests so I don't have to bend down to collect the eggs and so they can have a floor space.
I prefer to put the crates right side up so I don't have to build a frame to hold the bedding in. And so I don't have to take slats off to gather the eggs without going into the chicken side.
I have room - if the hens will go over the poop board to get to the nests. They spend a lot of time on the poop board, if that makes a difference.
Do you think they will?
The picture is not the end result - instead, both crates would be open side up, end to end with their bottoms about even with the cross bar you can see on the wall behind them. Their tops would be about even with the bottom of the frame around the poop board. They would rest of a piece of plywood supported by legs and maybe the wall framing.
I have 5 pullets who are all 18 weeks old. Three are australorps and two are brown leghorns. So, I think I need two nest boxes and that the crates can go any direction (on their sides, or ends, or backs) as far as dimensions go.
The darkest corner and by far the corner most convenient for gathering the eggs is complicated by having the roost and poop board butting into it - but with a twelve inch gap between the frame and legs of the poop board and the wire wall diving the coop side from the storage side of the shed.
I want raised nests so I don't have to bend down to collect the eggs and so they can have a floor space.
I prefer to put the crates right side up so I don't have to build a frame to hold the bedding in. And so I don't have to take slats off to gather the eggs without going into the chicken side.
I have room - if the hens will go over the poop board to get to the nests. They spend a lot of time on the poop board, if that makes a difference.
Do you think they will?
The picture is not the end result - instead, both crates would be open side up, end to end with their bottoms about even with the cross bar you can see on the wall behind them. Their tops would be about even with the bottom of the frame around the poop board. They would rest of a piece of plywood supported by legs and maybe the wall framing.