Roll away/angled nest boxes?

[tickens33]

Thoughts? Resources? Cautions against? Thank you in advance!

 

[skeeeter]

If that's your thing, I'd say "Go for it."
Personally I go a more natural approach as I enjoy filling up nestboxes with leaves/hay.
When people were keeping hens in cages, the whole wire cage floor was sloped with a turned up "egg trough" at the front to keep eggs from hitting the floor. That made egg collecting fast and efficient as the hens were forced to lay in their sloped floor cages with no nests at all.
It is a good idea to make sure the nest cubicles are the right size for your chickens, that is what my Dad told me.

 

[Ted Brown]

I have had chickens for 5+ years, recently switched to front roll away nests; motivated because I have some egg eaters.

Easy to build but important to get slope angle, height of opening and depth of the compartment correct.

Mine are mounted on a wall under a portion of my drop boards; close to the floor, I am on my knees to collect eggs (deep dry bedding, mostly).



Your best resource is BYC. Search and read then execute, I always DIY to manage expense/flexibility. Ask if you have a specific question, most often you will get great feedback.

 

[lagrange chicks]

My roll away nest box works great, has artificial turf matts that I can take out and wash. Eggs are always clean and easy to collect. I came to appreciate my roll away boxes the last few weeks of taking care of my brothers chickens while they were on vacation, eggs were either muddy, covered in egg from the egg eaters or just a shell there.

 

[Ted Brown]

FWIW

Roll away floor width 24"
Back is 6" higher than the front
Nests 12"x12"x16"+(H)
Roll away opening height 2.5"
Roll away compartment depth 10.5"
Removable 1-piece artificial grass

 

[tickens33]

FWIW

Roll away floor width 24"
Back is 6" higher than the front
Nests 12"x12"x16"+(H)
Roll away opening height 2.5"
Roll away compartment depth 10.5"
Removable 1-piece artificial grass

Thanks a million for these details!!! And thanks to everyone else who weighed in.

Our main reason that we want to build a roll-away nest box is because the property where our chickens live is about 45 minutes away. We already have a couple nearby family members who have volunteered to take a couple of egg collecting days each week. But it would be much more peace of mind to not have the pressure to retrieve eggs absolutely every single day, if the eggs could just collect themselves at the bottom of the box. Also easier for non-farm-savvy family members to retrieve them without too much of a search, or a fight!

 

[Ted Brown]

I rebuilt my nest boxes a couple of weeks back, since then very few eaten and none this week. I am having a few hens laying in corners and under the nests but again, none eaten.

Adding doors and closing them at night has broken the 2-3 broodies of nest sleeping, reduced waste on eggs significantly.

Good luck!