Will this work as nest boxes?

[Nicole01]

Hubby made this cabinet in workshop class about 30 years ago or so. It's made of solid oak and it looks like it's still new. The middle is 20 inches wide and about 35 inches tall. Not sure how tall the bottom is. There is a top shelf, but I have chicken stuff up there.

My plan is to nail a piece of particle board to the back and put a divider in the middle. I'm going to leave the bottom part alone and keep the one side door on. Is 10 inches too narrow for the nest box or will the nest box be too tall? Or will we need to make the standard 12x12 nest box out of wood? We do have the materials to make nest boxes, but since we had this laying around I thought it might work.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

The bottom part will for sure work...they like to be private...I would add like a front piece on the top and I think they would lay eggs there also.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Very clean coop

Do you plan on covering the drywall ? Mine ate drywall and we had to replace it with board. They may start chipping away at it.

 

[farmgirlforever18]

Quote:
yes i agree they need a lilttle more privacy

 

[aggie9296]

Considering my chickens have laid eggs on the floor of the coop, in the run, on the ground, in a doghouse, in a hanging planter, and under a collapsible rain barrel leaning up against the fence, yours will likely use an old cabinet. Why waste good wood!

I would put a bottom lip on the middle section to keep shavings and eggs from getting kicked out.

 

[Nicole01]

Great, thanks! We will put another door on the top. It shouldn't be too difficult.

We are taking the drywall out and putting insulation in and covering that up with the particle board hopefully before winter. We are not quite finished with the coop. We need to put roosts in as well. I do go out in the coop several times a day to clean the poo.LOL I take a chair and sit in the coop with my girls. I love spending time with them. Our coop is a room built right in our garage.

A lip would also work. I have one along the doorway leading into the garage to keep the pine chips in.

 

[Mtn Margie]

I think that I would leave the 20 inches as one big nest and then you can divide the 35 inch distance into another nest box when it becomes necessary. Chicken math sneaks up on a person before you know it! If you put hay in there, they will share a bigger space and in the event you ever get a broody, you can have space for water and feed in the nesting area.
You will need to put a small board on the front of the nesting boxes to keep the nesting material and eggs from being kicked out.

 

[peterlund]

I have 8 nesting boxes in my big coop... only two are ever used... and most days there are 2 birds in the special box at the same time (sometimes a duck and a chicken together... go figure) so my opinion is your coop accommodations are just fine... they will lay where they feel it is best.