The Front Porch Swing

[Searsmom]

Yep, I don't like to fiddle so much that I'd rather let the hens do it.

I'm always afraid I'll get the humidity wrong or one degree off or forget to turn them or...or....

I'd rather just sit on them.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep, I don't like to fiddle so much that I'd rather let the hens do it.

I'm always afraid I'll get the humidity wrong or one degree off or forget to turn them or...or....

I'd rather just sit on them.

That's one reason I've never incubated...it's a life I'm dealing with. Nothing to take lightly and I like those with more experience to do the work on them. Killing embryos for fun is just not my idea of a good time.

 

[perchie.girl]

One of my BCM pullets... they are roughly 23 weeks old


Youngest daughter wearing my mom's bf's hunting hat!


The youngest 2 throwing scratch to the chickens!

Youngest daughter! I think she is having fun!


Hubby working on new nest boxes for our new coop...... Do you think those holes are big enough?


This is the front of the cabinet.... The top cubbies will be split in half to make 4 nest boxes. He bought me 2 of the cabinets... One for nestboxes and one for storage! He's awesome! Oh, and he keeps up with his tools too! It is driving him crazy that he doesn't have a workshop here yet and all his tools are still in the building at my grandmother's where we lived before!

Cutest kiddos. LOL

If you have the space mount that cabinet on its side and you will only have to make four holes. Two or three hens will comfortably nest in a wide nest box..... Then set the nest box on its side with something to keep it about a foot and a half off the floor.

My personal plans for nesting will be for tunnel nests.... A tunnel nest is a bout the size of a kids toybox.... hinged lid on top and a single hole in front. The beauty of tunnel nests is they are dark in there which discourages egg eating and Like I said enough room in side for more than two hens. Tunnel nests the size I describe are good for about thirty chickens.

deb

 

[lindz8504]

Bee... On my new nest boxes... The top 2 are right at 4' off the floor and the bottom 2 are right at 3' off the floor.... Do you think that is too high? If so, I will need to re-think before I have hubby cut the holes out. If I have to I can drop it down and use the top of one shelf and the bottom of the other, but that will mean having to brace, and separate both the cubby holes. These were shelves that were used in a school, with the cubby's to hang the kid's coat and book bags. My plan was to use the top cubby as the nest boxes, and leave the bottom cubby as storage, but I can rearrange that if needed..... What do you think? Is 4' off the ground too high for the nests?

 

[lindz8504]

Cutest kiddos. LOL

If you have the space mount that cabinet on its side and you will only have to make four holes. Two or three hens will comfortably nest in a wide nest box..... Then set the nest box on its side with something to keep it about a foot and a half off the floor.

My personal plans for nesting will be for tunnel nests.... A tunnel nest is a bout the size of a kids toybox.... hinged lid on top and a single hole in front. The beauty of tunnel nests is they are dark in there which discourages egg eating and Like I said enough room in side for more than two hens. Tunnel nests the size I describe are good for about thirty chickens.

deb

Thank you!

We have 2 of these cabinets, and our plan was to use them as the "wall" between the chicken area and the feed room in the coop, and put a "screen door" in between them. The backs of the cabinets will be facing the chicken area, so that I can still use the shelves and cabinet on top for storage. The building is roughly 7x16, and the chicken area is going to be 7x12 roughly. I am just leaving enough room on the feed room side, to store (2) 30gal metal trash cans, and room to open the cabinets and nest boxes, so I don't necessarily have to go in the chicken side to get the eggs.

I may think about it though! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Beekissed]

Bee... On my new nest boxes... The top 2 are right at 4' off the floor and the bottom 2 are right at 3' off the floor.... Do you think that is too high? If so, I will need to re-think before I have hubby cut the holes out. If I have to I can drop it down and use the top of one shelf and the bottom of the other, but that will mean having to brace, and separate both the cubby holes. These were shelves that were used in a school, with the cubby's to hang the kid's coat and book bags. My plan was to use the top cubby as the nest boxes, and leave the bottom cubby as storage, but I can rearrange that if needed..... What do you think? Is 4' off the ground too high for the nests?

Just a tad and I'd use put the storage space higher for ease of use and the nests lower for bird preference. I love it that you are repurposing cabinets!

It's my favorite thing to see folks do that in their coops and barns. It's adds whimsy and also recycles something useful. Birds like nests low and roosts high...it's more natural for them. Not to say they won't establish a nest on the very top of a stack of hay~had those~but that's merely for safety from the dogs and for privacy purposes. Usually a chicken will build her nest on the ground or close to it.

When I revamp my coop I'm going to set my nests a little lower and also offer nesting a tad lower than that so that I can get both kinds of birds, those who don't mind where they lay an egg and those who want a low and more natural nest.

 

[lindz8504]

Just a tad and I'd use put the storage space higher for ease of use and the nests lower for bird preference. I love it that you are repurposing cabinets!

It's my favorite thing to see folks do that in their coops and barns. It's adds whimsy and also recycles something useful. Birds like nests low and roosts high...it's more natural for them. Not to say they won't establish a nest on the very top of a stack of hay~had those~but that's merely for safety from the dogs and for privacy purposes. Usually a chicken will build her nest on the ground or close to it.

When I revamp my coop I'm going to set my nests a little lower and also offer nesting a tad lower than that so that I can get both kinds of birds, those who don't mind where they lay an egg and those who want a low and more natural nest.

I may need to do some adjusting...

 

[perchie.girl]

MY tunnel nest idea....

it will have to be built from scratch.... But its to allow me to collect eggs without opening the coop door. I use a walker to get about... So the eggs will be accessible from the same aisle that I feed and water from.



Drawn by hand in Pseudo Perspective.... Dont have a clock board. but the idea is to have a tunnel nest that happens to be a roll out nest as well. Then There will be a kitchen cabinet style drawer with "egg catchng material" to let the eggs slowly move down to the front of the nest. The deal is I have to build a prototype to make sure It will actually work. The box is three to four feet long and about one and half feet deep.

Because of the heat here I am even considering routing the water pipes underneath to cool the eggs If I am not able to collect one day.

deb

 

[lindz8504]

MY tunnel nest idea....

it will have to be built from scratch.... But its to allow me to collect eggs without opening the coop door. I use a walker to get about... So the eggs will be accessible from the same aisle that I feed and water from.



Drawn by hand in Pseudo Perspective.... Dont have a clock board. but the idea is to have a tunnel nest that happens to be a roll out nest as well. Then There will be a kitchen cabinet style drawer with "egg catchng material" to let the eggs slowly move down to the front of the nest. The deal is I have to build a prototype to make sure It will actually work. The box is three to four feet long and about one and half feet deep.

Because of the heat here I am even considering routing the water pipes underneath to cool the eggs If I am not able to collect one day.

deb

You are amazing!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Yep, I don't like to fiddle so much that I'd rather let the hens do it.

I'm always afraid I'll get the humidity wrong or one degree off or forget to turn them or...or....

I'd rather just sit on them.

If you decide to go this route, could you please have someone post a photo?

I may need to do some adjusting...

Could you make the middle space the nesting area? Do you have a door to fit that side that is that big? You could add a shelf across the middle and have four nests. Remember to put bedding guards in those so that when you open the door to retrieve the eggs, all the bedding doesn't fall out the back. Give them two landing pads, the bottom one nice and wide so they have room to jump up to the top one if they so desire. Then when they're done, they don't have to jump down a long way to the floor.