Smaller Nest Boxes for Bantams?

[MarinMama]

So i did a forum search and also a google search but the information is all over the place.

Most people recommend a 12 x 12 x 12 nesting box for standard chickens. If you have bigger chickens I read 16 x 16 x 12 is good.

I also read that it is better not too have nesting boxes too large because chickens like them dark, cozy and if they are smaller it does not allow too much room so they break/eat eggs.

If the bantams I am getting are smaller (2 lbs and less) what size nesting boxes should I have. I read on BYC that someone recommended 9 x 9 for bantams but then others said that was too small..

I found these cheap, plastic wash basins for $1 that I thought might work. The interior dimensions are 9.5W x 12L x 6D. I figured we could put like 2-3 inches of hay/chips in the basin put them in a nesting box area that is built in with dividers, etc. i just thought the plastic basins would make it easier to clean, toss out the hay/chips a couple times of year.

Do you think these are big enough?

The chickens we have are all bantam and about 1/3 the size of their standard counterparts:

silkies (hen supposed to be about 24 oz)
easter eggers (hen about 26 oz)
bugg orpington (heaviest hens at about 36 oz)

thanks in advance for any help.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Your tubs will work fine- and so do the 12 inch boxes (for bantams) from my experience. I have used both with bantams.

 

[MarinMama]

Quote:
thanks for responding...i guess we'll go ahead and use these...they were only $1 each and i want a low-maintenance coop.

ps. how many, what types of bantams do you have?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I have a tiny bantam all the way up to a jersey giant, and made my nest boxes to accommodate what I thought each chicken would like. The entire thing is 4 foot wide, so there's 12, 18 and 24 inch boxes to choose from:

Today I watched by big brahma come out of the 12x12 on the top row after laying an egg, she almost got stuck coming out. My banty still prefers to lay elsewhere:

And the favorite spot to lay in is:

Moral of the story: Use what you've got. Your hens will not always play along.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
thanks for responding...i guess we'll go ahead and use these...they were only $1 each and i want a low-maintenance coop.

ps. how many, what types of bantams do you have?

Right now I have silkies who aren't laying in terms of bantams.

In the past I had d'Uccles, cochins, and frizzle cochins. Also bantam EEs. I can't think of any others right now....

I have 30 chickens now...had up to 103 at once in the past.

(too many)

 

[MarinMama]

@superchemicalgirl you are totally right...lets just hope they lay in their nest boxes. we do not have a big property so there aren't many other places they can lay.

@ChickensAreSweet i wish we could have 30 chickens...they are so much fun. it is going to be hard to part with the ones i have especially since the easter eggers are turning out so gorgeous

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Quote:
Don't worry, they WILL use the nesting boxes. All of mine get used but the favorites are the bigger boxes, whether it's because they're on the bottom or because they're somehow preferred to the other boxes, I'll never know. Good luck, and use golf balls or wooden eggs in there to "help" them out.