Will a covered litter box work for a nest box?

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I ended up just setting a 2x4 on top of mine. And then i had to get the bedding underneath it leveled out. And then i tested it by pressing down really hard where they would stand and tip it over, and it seems really stable. I don't think anyone has tested it out yet. They just look inside curiously.

 

[fordmommy]

Quote:
I ended up just setting a 2x4 on top of mine. And then i had to get the bedding underneath it leveled out. And then i tested it by pressing down really hard where they would stand and tip it over, and it seems really stable. I don't think anyone has tested it out yet. They just look inside curiously.

So stick them in! That's what I did when they were about to lay. A couple times a day.

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Not sure if you have bantams or LF. I use covered litter boxes for my bantams - they love them, and so do I. i've never had problems with them tipping - make sure you get one that does not have an angled opening for them to step on. Mine had a plastic swinging door, which I removed. Mine set her clutch in the box out in the coop, but I didn't want them hatching out in the coop, so a couple days before hatching, I just picked up the box by the handle, and carried the whole thing, hen & eggs included, out to the shed, where they could be alone. The move didn't bother her at all, and the hatch went just fine. And they are so easy to clean!

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I ended up just setting a 2x4 on top of mine. And then i had to get the bedding underneath it leveled out. And then i tested it by pressing down really hard where they would stand and tip it over, and it seems really stable. I don't think anyone has tested it out yet. They just look inside curiously.

So stick them in! That's what I did when they were about to lay. A couple times a day.

Well, there are 20 of them, so i think that might be quite an undertaking, but i will try

because.....

i found an EGG tonight! Can't wipe the smile off my face!

It wasn't in the nest box, and it was cracked, so i'm not sure where it was laid from.

But i'm ecstatic. My girls will just be 20 weeks on Wednesday. I can't believe it!

So i guess tomorrow, i will have to take up egg box duty before i let them outside to free range. This should be fun.

Oh yes, and Coopa, i have standards, large breeds i think, bo's, br's, and rir's. And i have that kind of cat box with the flippy door, but i took it out of mine too.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I ended up just setting a 2x4 on top of mine. And then i had to get the bedding underneath it leveled out. And then i tested it by pressing down really hard where they would stand and tip it over, and it seems really stable. I don't think anyone has tested it out yet. They just look inside curiously.

So stick them in! That's what I did when they were about to lay. A couple times a day.

O.k. i discovered the culprit, a sweet little rir. She was hanging around the coop all morning. And i did put her in the nest box once, and she stayed for a few minutes but then hopped on out. Later, i found her egg in exactly the same place as i found the first one (not cracked this time). I don't really know how to correct her, and she was gone outside with the others before i discovered the egg. Do i just keep sticking her in the nest box and hope for the best?

 

[fordmommy]

Just keep sticking them in. I have a blue laced wyandotte who's a BIG girl. I got her older. Just finishing her first moult. She started laying on the coop floor for me. I think she thought that she was too big for the nesting boxes. I started sticking her in one of the nesting boxes. Probably 3-4x a day. 2 days in a row she laid on the floor. Third day I put her in and put a cover in front of the nesting box. Just enough that she couldn't get out, but she could see everyone. (She'd sencitive. needs to see others) But she could go round and round in the box and so then she knew she could fit and it was okay. 20 min. later, I had an egg from her. And she has never laid on the floor since.

All my pullets I kept putting in the boxes before they laid. I had 18. Not much difference in 20. Once they see others laying in there, they'll get it.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
Thanks a lot for your advice! I'll keep at it.

 

[PunkinPeep]

o.k. she really doesn't want to use that box.

yesterday, she checked out the box for a few minutes but then ended up laying on the ledge by the roosts anyway. so i thought i would limit her options, and i put a big round piece of wood on the ledge. today she just laid it from the roost, and it cracked on the floor. i put her in the nest box twice during the time that i knew she was getting ready to lay. and since i know when that is now, is it mean to block her in there somehow until she lays her egg? that's my next best idea.

what do you think?

 

[RedfogsFlock]

Well a litter box should work just fine, as long as the cat isn't inside. There is a pic on my BYC page of some nest boxes that my hubby made, without spending a dime! Thanks to fastfood places

as long as they lay in them they will work, lol.

They will nest in just about anything, crates, buckets, boxes, just to name a few.

 

[fordmommy]

I just PMed you. Hope that idea works.