Nest box design/plans

[texasgal]

I want to build 4 nest boxes. Two sets of two boxes .. one on top of the other .. with a slanted "roof" ...

Any pics, plans, ideas would be great!

Show me your nest boxes!

~dw

 

[sgtmom52]

These are the new boxes in my new coop ~ they down have sloped tops, but I did put vinyl flooring on top for easy cleaning. They are made out of scrap plywood and painted with "oops" paint I found at the hardware store to seal the wood.

My chickens do not roost on them. I have 6 hens (for now) in this coop and they usually all use the lower left box! This coop is split into 2 sides that are mirrors of each other. The 4 hens on the other side use both bottom boxes. I rarely find an egg in one of the upper boxes.

These are the ones in my first coop ~ DH went overboard with the amount of boxes for 9 hens! They usually only use the ones in the 4 corners not the inside ones. I may take them down and redo them this summer.

 

[elmo]

I am a huge proponent of plastic nestboxes for Texas and other mite prone places, because there are no crevices in plastic for mites to hide. Plastic boxes are easy to clean, so you tend to clean them more frequently which can also help avoid a serious mite infestation in the bedding itself. I use plastic lidded storage boxes and a covered plastic kitty litter box. In the summer, I dump them out weekly, hose them down, and let them dry in the sun. Then I dust the bottom of each box with some poultry dust and add fresh bedding. Easy. No muss, no mites. Portable nestboxes also make managing a broody hen very simple. You just move the box with the hen and her nest inside to a more convenient location for brooding and hatch.

I wonder what people do when they get a mite infestation in those stationary, wooden nestboxes?

 

[OkChickens]

I'm getting ready to build some nest boxes 8 ft long double stacked so 14 nest boxes for about 50 hens. They are really easy to build!

-Nate

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I have different sized chickens, from banty, to white leghorn to jersey giants and brahmas. So I made different nest box sizes:

Hope this gives you some ideas.

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

Our first nest boxed were just made from scrap lumber, and are here: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/02/07/new-chicken-nesting-box/

We now have a larger coop, more birds, and more nest boxes; but these worked great to start.

 

[texasgal]

Thanks, ya'll! This really helps! ~dw

 

[yelim]

Milk crates with one side cut out.

 

[Yoke]

Here is one on a kennel conversion coop.