Nest Boxes for my coop....

[CrestedTern]

Hey All!

I'm working on plans for my chicken coop and I'm hoping that my hens will start laying soon (they are about 5 and a half months now) so I'm thinking I want to put in some nest boxes....

My question is... how big do the boxes need to be??? These are standard sized chickens. I'm not too concerned about the number of boxes since it will be fairly easy to add more if need be and I have read in other places that the chickens will be more than willing to all lay in a few boxes. For reference, I've got 2 roosters and 11 hens that will be in the coop and was planning on putting in 5 nest boxes (eventually thinking of increasing flock size to around 2 dozen birds).

Thank you for your help!!

Lauren

 

[sunflowerenvy]

nest boxes size are 12x12 inch my are 14x14 inch
1 nest box to about 4 birds so u are saying 24 birds=6 nest boxes and you put pine shaving or hay in the boxes

 

[CrestedTern]

OK, thank you very much!! I guess I'll up my plan to the 6 nest boxes then!! That'll fit nicely along one wall of the coop.... How high should they be off the floor?? I was planning on about 2 feet? High enough for chickens to go under them but low enough that they can just jump up in....

 

[sunflowerenvy]

Quote:
i have about 2ft off the ground becaused i can put a bin under neath it to storage my shaving in and i have my water under there so they cannot sit on top of it.
you can see what i did on byc page before add the bin

 

[CrestedTern]

OK, I'll check that out.....

 

[Sissy]

I use sq. kitty Litter pails put a hole in the back
of them,
and with a 1 or 2 nails on the wall 2 ft. off the floor
I can easyly clean them, hook them off and on.
I also have smaller plastic pails.I have used.

 

[wsdareme]

Quote:
I use those empty kitty litter pails for a lot of things, but I never thought to use them as nest boxes!

 

[CrestedTern]

ooh, that's a good idea.... I don't use kitty litter but I'm sure I can find something similar....

What are peoples thoughts on having the bottom of the nest box wire.... Then it would be covered with shavings/hay or something but I was thinking it would be easier to clean that way....

 

[Sissy]

Well Its not to bad to just dump the
wood shaving. after its use. and you dont have to do that unless you
see it really nasty. I also put a handfull of stall dry into the nest keeps it dry and non smelly.
I also toss a few handfulls on to the floor .mixed with the wood shavings.
and end up only really cleaning my coops 2x a year. in fact I started
yesterday on the first coop for the cold months to come I have 5 more to go

I just slide a trash can along the wall
and unhook and dump.the dirty nest.

 

[ZombieChickens]

Easiest nesting boxes ever: Cat litter buckets. Cut off the flip-top lid, it leaves half of the lid still on. I cut a slit into the back of them and hammered nails into the coop, slide the nails into the slit, so they are stable, but easy to remove for cleaning!