Nest box questions

[Anna_MN]

I made nest boxes when we built our coop but I know for a fact they are too big. They are 14in x 16in and 12in high in the back and 6in high in the front. I only have two since I started with four hens. I am getting chicks in February and will need more than 2 nest boxes for 15 hens. What are the dimensions of your nest boxes? How high up do you put yous? Do you stack nest boxes on top of each other?

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Mine are about 14 x 14. They don't stack, but are up about 8 ins. off the floor. I have four and have had up to 20 hens in the coop. They generally use only a couple of boxes at a time. They kind of rotate which two they use. It's not uncommon to find more than one bird in the boxes. I don't think yours are too large. You could build a couple of above them if you don't want to lose floor space.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Why is it that you feel they are too big? I'm still in the process of building a coop and will be building my own nest boxes and am wondering what's wrong with the size?

 

[KDK1]

Mine are 12x12x12 and about 5" off the floor.

 

[Anna_MN]

Why is it that you feel they are too big? I'm still in the process of building a coop and will be building my own nest boxes and am wondering what's wrong with the size?

I feel they are too big because when my hens are in them, there is at least 3 inches if not more of space all around them and the others harass them when theyre in the box.

 

[jeepguy982001]

mine is 12in high 12in deep 25in long with a divider in the middle so basically 12x12x12

 

[ChicksterJo]

I had made mine 12x12x12 but wished I had made it bigger because once one of the bigger pullets tried to go in there, she could barely fit and I think that bothered her. However I got one of those sturdier plastic crates, and it was bigger in length. Filled with pine shavings and lined with an old feed bag, they loved it and would fight over its use lol.

 

[devora]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They don't seem too big. What do you mean by "harass"? Could it be the waiting in line to lay? That is pretty normal. [/FONT]

 

[Dutch552]

Not too big at all. You can always build a door out of OSB or plywood on the front of the next box to reduce the size of the door opening-that will sometimes makes the hen more comfortable at entering to lay.

 

[Anna_MN]

They peck at each other's feathers when they are in the nest box. Doesn't matter if they have already laid or not.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They don't seem too big. What do you mean by "harass"? Could it be the waiting in line to lay? That is pretty normal. [/FONT]