Some nest box questions

[xapikleia]

-How big do my nest boxes need to be?

-Do they need to be a considerable distance from the ground?

-Can they be open in the front and the back?

 

[waynesgarden]

Mine are 11 1/4 x 12" and are just big enough for my medium Chantecler hens. If you have a bigger breed, I'd suggest a bit larger nest.

They do not have to be high off the floor. I like mine to be high enough the birds can walk under them since my coop is on the small side. They are 16 to 18" above the floor. If they are off the floor, try to provide a perch just in of the nests for the girls to stand on while waiting their turn in the nest.

Birds seem to like nests that are shaded and somewhat private. I have a "curtain" cut from an old pillow case that covers part of the front opening and shades them from the morning sun.

They can be open on two sides. I built mine so I can open a small access door fromn outside the run to collect eggs.

Wayne

 

[gkeesling]

they can be open on both ends, but put something like a 2" piece of board at the bottom of the open end(s) so that the hen won't kick out all of the laying material you have in the nest.

 

[hinky toes]

My nest boxes are about 16" x 16" x 16" and enclosed on three sides. The gals like a little privacy, so having a more open box might force them to lay somewhere other than the desired location.

 

[cmom]

From McMurray Hatchery
By nature, hens like dark out of the way places for laying eggs. The nest you provide can encourage them to lay where you can get at the eggs for collection. Nest boxes for heavy breeds should be about 14" wide by 14" high by 12" deep. Allow one nest for every 4 to 5 hens. Nests should be 18 to 20 inches off he ground.

My nest boxes, on the top boxes the top opens and the lower boxes have a door for out side access. There are pictures on my BYC Page.

 

[cmom]

Oops a duplicate

 

[Schroeder]

I'm thinking about putting burlap "drapes" over the nest box entrances to darken the boxes. Will the chickens destroy them? Will they get soiled so quickly as to make this impractical? Any other ideas for darkening the boxes and making them more "discreet"?

 

[waynesgarden]

My "privacy curtain" is a flannel pillow case that gets dusty but the birds don't seem to peck at it. In the spring, I'm going to make it removable so I can shake the dust off easier.

Wayne

 

[ssteiner]

I built a rabbit hutch style coop and attached a nesting box to the back of it after using a jigsaw to cut a whole. I attached the nesting box using shelving brackets which I mounted into studs inside the coop. I designed the lid of the box so that it can be lifted and eggs retrieved. It's only about 6" off the coop floor, but the girls seem to like it a lot. It's about 13" by 13" by 13".

-Scott

 

[Sissy]

I use the old yellow empty
cat litter pails with the handle as nest boxes,
hook
them on the coop wall, only about 4inches of the floor have bantys,
easy to un hook and cleanout and it has a
a small 2' ridge in front so the eggs dont roll out.

From Orange Ca.
now from the great
Beautiful smokie mountains..