NEST BOXES: Do hens like them BIG or cozy?

[gritsar]

Quote:
Put something egg-like in the nestboxes; golfballs work great and are easy to clean. If a hen with an itty bitty little brain sees "eggs" in a nest, something tells her that's the perfect place to lay an egg.

 

[gryeyes]

Interestingly enough, the first egg in the nest box, this morning, (after my newest residents started laying again) WAS in the nest box with the golf ball I'd placed there. Guess I'll move that golf ball to the OTHER nest box and see if it will produce the same miracle.

 

[FireTigeris]

plastic covered cat boxes work great... really easy to clean, covered, protected- you can screw the top to the back of the coop and lock and unlock the bottom to clean.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My nest boxes are 16" x 16" and I don't have any problems with them laying elsewhere. I did keep the entrance smaller to make them a little darker and cozier. The chicken's instinct tells it to look for a place that is safe to sit for 21 days to hatch the eggs. That doesn't mean they won't lay on the floor in the middle of nothing.

 

[fordmommy]

This is what I use. I got them at Lowe's. I have 4, side by side, covered by 2 old fiberglass lunch trays, th ecatch the poop. They are stackable though. And come in different sizes. I got this size because I have 12lb chickens.

 

[silkydragon]

Quote:
Put something egg-like in the nestboxes; golfballs work great and are easy to clean. If a hen with an itty bitty little brain sees "eggs" in a nest, something tells her that's the perfect place to lay an egg.

lol i put the easter eggs that you put like candy in and hide in the nestboxes went out and all 6 were in the middle of the floor but the hens did lay in the nest i put them in just wanted to say i wasnt tricking them with pink yellow and green eggs

 

[joebryant]

I have bbs Orpingtons (a large breed), and the ideal size for them is 16 widex16 deepx16 high, but my nests are only 14wx16dx16h, and they are working very well. Also, they are lined with foam rubber under indoor/outdoor carpeting that slants towards the back where I gather eggs.

 

[Nyrial]

I find the majority of my eggs in the 12X15 boxes. Occasionally I'll find one in the 12X12s.

Then the occasional slacker needs a lot of room and lays them in the middle of the run or coop.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Mine won't lay IN the nest box - they lay NEXT to it! DH ordered three nest boxes from MyPetChicken. I put two of them on the nesting counter and the girls studiously avoided them and laid in the area next to the boxes. The only thing I can think of is that my big girls - Light Brahma and Buff Orpington - decided the boxes were too small? But my EE is small and she doesn't lay in the box either. So I finally just left one in the middle of the counter and they lay in the area to either side.

And, of course, everyone wants to be in the same place...

I've left one golf ball even though they've all been laying for awhile - they like to roll it beneath them while they're on the nest

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Put something egg-like in the nestboxes; golfballs work great and are easy to clean. If a hen with an itty bitty little brain sees "eggs" in a nest, something tells her that's the perfect place to lay an egg.

lol i put the easter eggs that you put like candy in and hide in the nestboxes went out and all 6 were in the middle of the floor but the hens did lay in the nest i put them in just wanted to say i wasnt tricking them with pink yellow and green eggs

The plastic easter eggs are too lightweight unless you fill them with some sand or such and glue the egg together. Just for the fun of it, I can add golfballs to the nest while a hen is sitting and the greedy little bird will roll them all under her.