Nest box size

[WNCcluck]

Our nesting boxes are 14" x 14" x 15" (35.5 cm x 35.5 cm x 38 cm) simply because our birds are a little larger and seemed to like a little extra room. Some days they take turns laying in one box; some days there are eggs in each box. We have eight girls and four nesting boxes. So far, everything's working famously.

 

[confederatemule]

Hokum coco, in an earlier post you added I saw a rooster, with hens, in the nest box area, I think. I have one very similar. Is there a breed name for the rooster?


Also, you said; "It is hard for us old timers to drop the clumsy English system and go modern." Well, I am "old school", but, I find any system, other than U.S. English, very clumsy. Actually I find it worse than clumsy. I hope no one is offended, I just thought I'd add my opinion.


Mule

 

[Kmac1]

I am building my chicken house now. It is 14x7 with the front 8 ft sloping down to 7ft. My plans are to build the nest boxes like your photo is showing, except I will have 4 nest and all the frame made of wood. And they will be 12x12x12. Thx

 

[FumbleFingers]

Glad I looked into this before building don't want dirty eggs.

http://thechickencenter.com/chicken-nesting-box-dimensions/

Smaller size not to let them stand up makes sense.

 

[aart]

Glad I looked into this before building don't want dirty eggs.

http://thechickencenter.com/chicken-nesting-box-dimensions/

Smaller size not to let them stand up makes sense.

Not letting them stand up makes sense why....to keep eggs clean??

 

[FumbleFingers]

Well I only have chicks totally new to this - but what I've read was

"Never build a chicken nesting box that allows the laying hens to stand in it.
I’ve made this mistake before and won’t ever make it again. This will encourage the laying hens to use the nesting box to roost and will result in chicken manure all over your fresh eggs! "
So this guy admits he's made a mistake, kudos to him for being a better man. We all make mistakes, I've read so many good things but you have to place a little weight on the content.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Well my nest box (a dog house) definitely allows the chickens to stand up (it's about 14 w x 24 d x 16 tall) and I even put in small windows so it's not completely dark inside. They lay just fine in it and leave when they're done. If there's any poop it's usually from them tracking it in from outside, especially since it's been rainy lately. They do scratch at the bedding but I figure that's what birds in a nest would do... a wood lip at the entrance and another one made from a folded feed bag on the bottom (I folded it in a Z shape so the excess forms a flap which sticks up if the birds try to push bedding out) keeps the bedding contained.

Not saying it's a perfect set up but just goes to show that results will vary.

 

[aart]

Well I only have chicks totally new to this - but what I've read was

"Never build a chicken nesting box that allows the laying hens to stand in it.
I’ve made this mistake before and won’t ever make it again. This will encourage the laying hens to use the nesting box to roost and will result in chicken manure all over your fresh eggs! "
So this guy admits he's made a mistake, kudos to him for being a better man. We all make mistakes, I've read so many good things but you have to place a little weight on the content.

Yeah, well, that's just not true.
There are several reasons why a bird will roost(sleep) and thus poop in a nest,
but that's not one of them.

Did you know that a chicken will darn near stand straight up when the egg actually emerges from the vent?
Thus a taller nest may be more comfortable for the bird.
Most birds don't stand while sleeping.

The most common reasons a bird will roost in nest:
-nest is lower than nest, most like to roost as high as possible.
-there is not enough roost length for all the birds living in coop, about a foot of roost length per bird is a decent rule of thumb-tho other considerations may apply.
-lower ranking birds may not be able to defend their place on a roost so will 'hide' from the conflict in a nest at night.

 

[Poppy Putentake]

I have 3 nest boxes for 5 hens. With either 1 golf ball and one fake egg, or 2 golf balls, in each nest, they were mostly all using the same box (except for one contrary hen who liked a different one).

This wasn't a problem, but I wanted to see what would happen if I tried something, so I took out the golf balls and put just one fake egg in each of the two less "popular" nests and nothing in the nest they had been using the most.

Now they are laying only in the 2 nests with the fake eggs, not at all in the one they used to prefer. So, it seems they like to lay in a nest that already has an egg.

Now I'm going to try to see whether they prefer wooden eggs, or golf balls. Will report the results here.

BTW, I like the wooden eggs I got from here: https://www.meyerhatchery.com/productinfo.a5w?prodID=WECR I got their "brown" ones, which were actually a slightly greenish taupe with dark speckles. The good thing about them is that they look very different in color from the (various shades of brown) eggs my hens lay, so there is no mixing them up with the real thing.

(Note: I have no relationship with Meyer Hatchery except as a customer.)

Friendly greetings to all,

Poppy

 

[aart]

I have 3 nest boxes for 5 hens. With either 1 golf ball and one fake egg, or 2 golf balls, in each nest, they were mostly all using the same box (except for one contrary hen who liked a different one).

This wasn't a problem, but I wanted to see what would happen if I tried something, so I took out the golf balls and put just one fake egg in each of the two less "popular" nests and nothing in the nest they had been using the most.

Now they are laying only in the 2 nests with the fake eggs, not at all in the one they used to prefer. So, it seems they like to lay in a nest that already has an egg.

Now I'm going to try to see whether they prefer wooden eggs, or golf balls. Will report the results here.

BTW, I like the wooden eggs I got from here: https://www.meyerhatchery.com/productinfo.a5w?prodID=WECR I got their "brown" ones, which were actually a slightly greenish taupe with dark speckles. The good thing about them is that they look very different in color from the (various shades of brown) eggs my hens lay, so there is no mixing them up with the real thing.

(Note: I have no relationship with Meyer Hatchery except as a customer.)

Friendly greetings to all,

Poppy

Haha! I've played with this, musical fakies...it's interesting.
They definitely go for a baited nest over an empty one.....most the time.
And prefer an egg shape over a sphere of the golf ball.....most the time.
But sometimes the 'location' instinct overrides everything else,
mine like the end nests in a bank of 4,
or follow the choice of whoever laid first that day.
I have one girl who has always laid in the same nest no matter the other scenarios.