nesting box for turkey

[julieschickens]

i have my BR turkeys in a big pen with roosting poles. i want to make a nest bur was not sure how. should it be on the ground or raised a bit. i had seen someone had cut a 55g plastic barrel and just used it? thanks for and input or suggestions.

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

We build 24" H x 18" W x 24" D plywood boxes with about 6-8" of straw in the bottom. These will work for 4-5 hens. They are placed on the ground. We place them at the front of the pens so we don't have to go in the pen everyday to retrieve the eggs. The top of ours is hinged and we just open it and get the eggs. You can use a garbage can, barrel, or just an lean too. They just need somewhere away from all the birds so they feel safe and dark.

 

[sandspoultry]

We put 18" x 18" square nest boxes in our chicken houses, they sit about 8 inches off the floor. Being in the house it's darker and the eggs are better protected

Steve in NC

 

[MandyH]

I use 55 gal drums. Some are cut in half short ways and filled with hay and then there are a few scattered about the pasture that just have the end cut out and lay on the side with hay in them. The chickens seem to prefer the short barrels and the turkeys like the long barrels. I just screw 2 pieces of 4x4 on the bottom of the long barrels so they can't be rolled around by the sheep!

 

[Picco]

I just use a piece of plywood about 2.5' square and put a pile of straw under it.

 

[farmerlor]

I LOVE that idea of using 55 gal drums for nesting boxes for my turkeys!!! 'Course I'm about a year away from needing nesting boxes but that's definitely what I'm going to do.

 

[MandyH]

Yes they are great and around here they are about 5 bucks apiece!