T-3 weeks till possible first egg = Build a nesting box!

[Joshua-n-fam]

Hello all, here's another installment to the never-ending chicken coop project. We're 3-4 weeks away from the buff's first egg, and the rest are two weeks behind her, so we figured it was time to get a nesting box installed.

Most of the wood is recycled or pulled from the cull bin at Home Depot. I use really good screws though because I've decided it's never worth cheaping out on screws.

I am not much of a planner, so I just got the wood together in a pile, pulled up the first set of plans I could find on my phone and set to work. Of course that means I made a few mistakes, but over the course of two days (one to build it, the other to install it) this is what I ended up with.

http://imgur.com/a/P6M0E

 

[Joshua-n-fam]

Oh btw, we know we have to waterproof it. I'm hoping to do the roof tomorrow. Luckily it doesn't rain very much around here and when it really does, we cover it with a tarp.

 

[Lchix27]

Looks great! I actually was planning to do something similar on my coop. Just make sure that no water can get in where it meets the coop, sometimes water can seep in through the cracks!

 

[Joshua-n-fam]

Ah, yes! Thank you for reminding me. I'm going to cut a piece of wood to sit in the V channel and I've got silicone sealant to put in there.

 

[ozarkchicks]

is it just one big nesting box or is it divided into two?

 

[Joshua-n-fam]

I'm going to build a divider tomorrow. It's going to be two. I could make it three but it'd be a little cramped and from what I've read two should be fine for six hens to share. The divider is going to be a little difficult to make because of the way i framed the box.

 

[Joshua-n-fam]

I think I'll figure out the cut the same way I did the rafters; take a piece of cardboard and bend it into place and cut the excess, then use that as a template. Hopefully I don't have too many problems squeezing it in there. Another sign of not being much of a planner I'm sure you can tell... =P

 

[Joshua-n-fam]

http://imgur.com/a/d5Pht

So, I put finished the roof of the main coop and the nesting box. I sealed the connection between the coop and the nesting box with a tube of sealant I got at a garage sale for a quarter.



Not our first eggs, these are fakes. I put them in today so the girls can get used to what that area is supposed to be for. Tonight's the first night and they're up in their roosts vs down in there, which is good. I think we're going to be using Timothy grass for the nesting boxes and not pine shavings, but we don't have that yet and I didn't want it to be bare.

As you can see, I made a divider.



Inside view. Think this is enough inside ledge for them? I've read they like to have bit of ledge in the way but I also heard it's just to keep the nesting material from flying out.


I dislike paying for good locks... and when I pay for ok locks I generally hate them. These "screw and a stick" locks I like thought. After trying to figure out how to lock the door on the nesting box I came up with this idea. You can't really see it in the picture because of the sun, but there is an eye screw on the inside twisted so that it pushes flat against the door when its in the down position.



Down position. This probably won't be the permanant lock, but wanted to show it as my fiancee thought it was ingenious and if it helps anyone out then all the better.(Note, there is one on each side)