Will a covered litter box work for a nest box?

[PunkinPeep]

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Good tip! Maybe i can put something on top of it to weigh it down.

Thanks everyone! Thankfully my girls aren't too big yet. Someday...

 

[RAWR]

mhm

)
hens lay in all kinds of things
ours lay in milk cartons lol

 

[ARose4Heaven]

My new bunch are laying in those plastic stackable bins that you find at any discount store. Just had to use a little wire to fasten them to the wall so hens couldn't dump them. Easy clean.

 

[gritsar]

My girls love their litter box/nestboxes.

 

[Gonzo]

What is that? Looks like a great idea!
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[HEChicken]

So PunkinPeep, does this mean your pullets are starting to lay? How exciting! My first started just after Christmas. I didn't really have a nest box set up and she laid a few in odd places but eventually settled on the dog igloo the chooks like to hang out in. She made herself a little nest out of the pine shavings I had put in there for them and laid there very faithfully about 15 times. The problem for me was that I would have to get down on my knees and practically crawl in there to get the eggs and that was getting old. So last week I set up my covered litterbox, right next to the igloo. I put a flake of hay in there, which fit very snugly, and then put a couple of golf balls in to give her a hint. I could only hope that she wasn't so set on laying in the igloo that she wouldn't consider another option, but for the next week she continued to lay in the igloo

Yesterday I was gone all day so locked up the chooks after dark and then went to check the igloo. No eggs.

After laying for 13 days straight she was entitled to a day off but still, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. On my way past the litterbox, I ducked down to look into it and lo and behold - there was an egg sitting next to the golf balls! I was so excited that she finally decided to give it a try and it was SO much easier to collect that egg than the ones from the back of the igloo. I'm hoping she'll lay in the litterbox again today....

 

[protodon]

I use a bunch of rubbermaid containers with a hole cut into the front. I'm not sure of the size but they are about 4 dollars at walmart and big enough to fit one chinese goose. All my birds use them, well the ducks lay wherever but most of the birds use them. They are light but I have never really had a problem with them tipping over. I fill them with straw but that is it. I did have one incident where one of my roosters got stuck in one with the opening facing the ground and the rooster standing in there. He stood in there overnight into the morning until I thought I heard him and couldn't see him. Then noticed the nestbox had tipped over. And there he was. Not sure what he was doing in there in the first place. Luckily no predator got him since that particular nestbox was not inside the coop.

 

[savingdogs]

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This is what we did too. My husband built a little shelf they sit into to keep them in the coop and straight. Very easy to clean.

 

[PunkinPeep]

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Well, it doesn't look like they're laying quite yet.

The reason i got panicked: a friend and i got our pullets from the same bunch at the same time, almost 20 weeks ago. I wasn't expecting them to lay yet, even though some of them are looking very very mature, but one of my friend's pullets started laying sporadically. And i thought oh no! I don't have any place for them to lay!

But soon....i'm so excited! And now i have a place ready for them in case my husband doesn't get the big permanent job done in time.

Thanks everyone for your replies. If the hubby doesn't get to it soon enough, i may make a row of plastic bins too.

 

[newarkrooster]

instead of putting a layer of sand or something in the bottom I just put a screw with a big washer in the bottom to the floor, works out great for my ducks