This spring I may be building a new coop. And for a while I have been thinking about various ideas to include, many versions I've seen on this forum and wanted future coop builders to also see 
. I got to thinking about the nest boxed. Right now I have a external one that is at ground level. It works ok, but leaks and chickens and ducks often sleep in them(set of three). In my new design, I have the three nest boxes vertical, with one being on the floor level. And because I'll probably never keep all chickens from sleeping in a nest box at one time or another, why not at least make them easier to clean? With my current nest boxes, it is impossible to get them all the way clean without a vacuum. Anyways, I thought it may be a good idea to be able to pull out the nest box platforms. Then you can wash them if needed, or pull them and dump the nesting material in a bucket. Now I'll go though my sketches. A is the general upright shape. B and C are two ways to have the shelves slide out. B is a tung and groove while C's shelf just sits on a couple rails. I think C will probably work better and be easier to make. In picture D is the actuall shelf, and a side view of how one shelf will look. And in picture E, you get a general view of the whole thing. It will be inside the house with the door for easy access. The darkest part of each shelf is permanent and keeps the bedding from falling out of the front.
Thank you for taking the time to look at this and feel free to post any comments or feed back you may have. And does anyone know why three nest boxes are usually side by side?
And the dashed part of pic D is the same as the darkest part of pic E, and it does not come out.
. I got to thinking about the nest boxed. Right now I have a external one that is at ground level. It works ok, but leaks and chickens and ducks often sleep in them(set of three). In my new design, I have the three nest boxes vertical, with one being on the floor level. And because I'll probably never keep all chickens from sleeping in a nest box at one time or another, why not at least make them easier to clean? With my current nest boxes, it is impossible to get them all the way clean without a vacuum. Anyways, I thought it may be a good idea to be able to pull out the nest box platforms. Then you can wash them if needed, or pull them and dump the nesting material in a bucket. Now I'll go though my sketches. A is the general upright shape. B and C are two ways to have the shelves slide out. B is a tung and groove while C's shelf just sits on a couple rails. I think C will probably work better and be easier to make. In picture D is the actuall shelf, and a side view of how one shelf will look. And in picture E, you get a general view of the whole thing. It will be inside the house with the door for easy access. The darkest part of each shelf is permanent and keeps the bedding from falling out of the front. Thank you for taking the time to look at this and feel free to post any comments or feed back you may have. And does anyone know why three nest boxes are usually side by side?
And the dashed part of pic D is the same as the darkest part of pic E, and it does not come out.
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