Nest boxes?....Need a little help...

[Haymaker]

Im building a small 36"Wx40"Lx40"H for 2 chicks I bought for my daughters first birthday

....Do I need to build 1 or 2 boxes and, what size is best?


Thanks for the help,
Rick

 

[chickeydee]

What type of chicks ?

 

[chickeydee]

If standard I would do 14x14 and if Bantan I would do 12x12 . and only one if you only have two pullets

 

[Nava]

yea i heard that 1 nest can acomodate 5 chickens so 1 nest is plenty

 

[rosco]

one.
start off using a egg crate or whatever those plastic storage things are called (15"x15"x15"). 12x12x14 is standard for chickens. but i think the depth is a little too much and the front board only needs to be 2-3". best if 14, but 14" is not a minimum. chickens didn't find boxes in the woods when they were wild 2500 years ago.

 

[Haymaker]

Both of the chicks are Barred Rocks....I just wanted to make sure I could get away with only 1 box before I finished the coop.
Thanks for the help,
Rick

 

[teach1rusl]

if they both end up being roosters you won't need ANY nests...lol. On a more optimistic note, one is plenty. I prefer more space in the nest. I think mine are 14 x 16 or so.

 

[gsim]

Quote:
One nest for about every 4 chickens is fine. Since the coop is so small, I would do a bump-out for the nest box. Makes cleaning of both coop and boxes easier. Get more floor space too and that helps in really bad weather. Pay attention to what rain water will do to the access hatch where it attaches to the wall , regarding possible water leakage. Roof overhang might be the way to solve that one. Do not underestimate predators. Have plenty of full-time ventilation at top areas of coop, soffit, cupola, turbine vent, gable vents. Do two windows that can be opened in warmer weather for a nice draft inside coop and closed when cold so no draft at roost height. I did 1 sq ft full-time ventilation for each 4 chooks. I would not do under 1 sq ft for a small coop. Be generous with height too. Chooks like to roost up somewhat but you do not want them too close to roof decking in hot weather due to radiated heat.

 

[possumqueen]

Try a cardboard box first, and see how they like it for size and sharing. If they do, you can make a copy in wood. If they don't, you aren't out any money for something that doesn't work.

Actually, I'm planning on cardboard box nest as a permanent feature of my coop. Box dirty? Replace it. Cheap! And cardboard composts.