Opinion on nesting boxes

[threescompany]

. You may be right Papas Chickens! I think it may be too small for standard chickens, although I am intrigued by it!

 

[mamadawn]

We turned an old dresser into our nesting boxes, so far we have 1 layer and she will not lay in the boxes. Honestly I haven't even seen any of my chickens checking out the boxes. I have fake eggs in there as I have read that suggested. If my kids weren't the ones responsible for doing chicken chores I would be fine with wherever they laid their eggs in the coop but I am afraid my kids won't be observant and they will end up stepping on them. Anyway I was wondering if you guys could look at my setup and see if I should change it to be more inviting, I have some ideas but maybe I just need to give my girl some more time to figure it out. Here's a pic. Your re-purposed dresser is wonderful! I like your idea of putting the 2nd and 4th drawers back in. I have the same type of dish pan- my girls love it. Think about turning your dish pan sideways to wedge it in a bit, and bracing it in with a 2x2 piece of wood across the back- this will keep it solid when your hen try's to climb in or perch on the side, the way you have it in the picture if your hen steps on the side she could flip the tub. The tub moving around upon entry would be unsettling to most hens And: It looks like your using wood chips- My girls like straw better- it's about $5.99 a bale at the feed store. Good luck I have thought about taking the dividers back out and just putting the 2nd and 4th drawers back in, either putting the dish pans inside the drawers or just putting the wood chips into the drawers themselves. And maybe adding some fabric to the top to give the girls more privacy. If you can see to the left of the dresser there is kind of a dark space in the corner and that is where my BA likes to lay her egg so I am wondering if she needs some more privacy. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Teila]

Question, has anyone used this type of nesting box?

Is that metal?

Just thinking, if my gals nested in that in our Australian summer, we would not only have eggs but cooked chicken also!

 

[aart]

Quote:
http://www.fallharvestproducts.com/item112.htm
Thanks!! Funny there's is no price listed.....I'd rather build stuff anyway.

 

[Renee572]

Thanks mamadawn, I plan on working on my nest boxes today for sure and will take your suggestions. I am assuming what you said did happen, I know the girls had been checking out the next boxes because at first I found a few feathers in them but one flipped and wood chips everywhere so I can only assume it freaked the girls out and they are no longer interested in going anywhere near the boxes. Hopefully after I fix them it will be different enough that they will be curious again. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[Wol1]

Fronts of my nest boxes are covered with plywood with a hole for entry.....makes it a little darker, holds in the bedding and looks cool IMO.
A perch in front of nests can surely help, a necessity if they're off the floor very far.
I used golf balls in nest when I got my adult flock, tho the rooster actually got into a double nest to show them where to lay.
My new layers wouldn't use the nest until I took the golf balls out.

This is a solid model of my main coop nests with back access(dividers aren't shown).
Dimensions for each division is 14" wide, 16" tall and 14" deep, hole is 10" diameter centered 7" from top.



This is the nest I just cobbled together yesterday for my junior coop...have 2 just starting to lay.
I was using a 5 gallon bucket here but felt it was just a little small for comfortable maneuvering.
Dimensions are 14" wide, 16" tall and 16" deep, hole is 10" diameter centered 7" from top.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE BOXES! Mine all crowd into the corner box because it's darkest. I could cover several of them and leave some open. Won't my husband be thrilled when I hand him this project

 

[Wol1]

My girls love dried grass clippings. We don't use lawn chemicals, so we mow when it will be dry for a couple days, then rake it up. But we have a barn to store it in. They like to pick up little pieces to tuck in here and there to "build" the nest for their "babies". They even throw grass on their backs?????

 

[threescompany]

Is that metal?

Just thinking, if my gals nested in that in our Australian summer, we would not only have eggs but cooked chicken also!

It is plastic but still may be hot.

 

[threescompany]

It can be found at different farm suppliers, with one site listing it for 9.95. I think Eggcartons.com has them.

 

[Renee572]

Alright it's done, took me an hour but it's done and I'm proud. And now I'm just sitting outside waiting for my girls to try the boxes out.

before

during

after

I don't have straw yet so just used wood chips. I put the dish pans in the bottom drawer and they are in there snug, the top drawer I just filled with wood chips to see if they prefer it without the dishpans. I squeezed one of the dish pans on the side where my BA has laid a couple eggs to see if she'll lay in the pan. And finally I added some pretty curtains and golf balls. Nothing fancy but hopefully it'll get my girls to lay in the boxes.

I've got a few looking at it with interest...