Wood vs. plastic for nest boxes?

[jodiebay]

I use cardboard boxes and replace as needed. Designed the coop for an area that would fit the boxes I could easily get from work. 7 years now without any big problems. Once had a hen that would lay on the poop board instead so put a box there too. Was very popular for awhile...but my girls are finicky! They all like one box until they don’t and suddenly all like a different one.

 

[achiekitty]

I use an old milk crate with the front half cut off for my chickens to step in. It proved very useful when I had to get my broody hen out of the box. I just carry the crate and set it on the ground so she can step out on her own. (We don’t have a rooster so she wasn’t sitting on fertile eggs.)

It’s also very easy to clean and dry.

I learned this from Justin Rhodes, the bird man/chicken ninja.

 

[jlwquilter]

I use 2 5 gallon plastic icing buckets with the lid cut just under half and 2 squarish tidy cat litter buckets also with the lids cut just under half. All are on the same level next to each other. Each nest box gets a turn at being the favorite. But usually there’s at least one egg in 3 of the boxes. Mine are placed under the roost bars with a poop board on top to give a flat easy to clean surface. The boxes are wedged in to keep them stable but easy enough to pull one out if it needs cleaning.

I do get broken eggs too often due to my leghorns having calcium issues. The plastic is easy to rinse out and let dry. I do like the idea of also using a feed bag liner so I don’t have to remove the box. I’m going to try that and see how it works. I have lots of feed bags on hand.

 

[McFlosski007]

I have a plastic shed & plastic nesting boxes,haven’t had a mite infestation so far.Thats the reason I chose plastic this time round.The boxes are from the Algot series in Ikea.Its handy for a deep clean,just take it all out and spray it down with the hose & mop out the shed.Much prefer this to my old wooden edition.

 

[breege]

Please note the boards across have the lip of the dish pan resting on them. That is to prevent accidental tipping. A nice thing is I can pull the dish pan out even with a grumpy broody hen in it.

View attachment 1989973

Just basic plastic dish pans in there.

https://www.target.com/p/dishpan-12qt-room-essentials-8482/-/A-14758429?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Kitchen+Shopping_Local&adgroup=SC_Kitchen&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=t&location=1014573&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0-jW07vb5gIVUb7ACh2YmQeEEAQYAiABEgJz3vD_BwE

We did the same as you: plastic dollar store dish pans inside a wooden box. We painted the interior of the coop to make it easier to clean out. What I've found is that as the weather gets colder, the hens "insulate" the nest box by scratching the wood shaving fill to fill the crevasses between the dishpan & the wooden box. Clean it all out & they work like crazy to fill it in again

 

[FortCluck]

I have a plastic nesting box from tractor supply, a wood nesting box and a plastic crate.

The chickens prefer the crate and the tractor supply nesting box over the wood.

 

[Manhen]

Who knew hens could be so fussy!

Somehow....I did....

 

[Bob 1313]

Good morning from Bedfordshire, UK.

I would love to hear your opinions on nest boxes please! Currently we have two pairs of traditional wooden nest boxes which have been in the chicken shed for most of my life. They are lovely and the chickens like them well enough but they are starting to disintegrate and I am wondering what to replace them with. Do many of you use plastic boxes?

Since our chicken coop is an old shed, most of it is wood. This last summer I had a constant, very tough battle with mites and I think that replacing wood for plastic where possible would help me, plus would be more hygienic for cleaning. However there is something so nice about the traditional wood boxes (they also look nice but that's a minor consideration). I did consider getting some more wood ones and then maybe using some sort of plastic tray/liner as a compromise.

What do you like best?

Personally I'm trying to avoid plastic wherever I can. It just is not good for our Planet's future.
We try to stay "organic" with our birds/eggs, adding a petroleum product into their environment makes no sense.

 

[Manhen]

It seems the coop litter is too often preferable. I am going to surrender to one hen that insists on brooding in a corner on the floor. I will build her an upside down box with a lip for her own spot. Maybe she will give me some chicks. Mutts it would be, but chicks all the same.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Little bit late to this thread, but I use plastic dish pans for my nest boxes and it has been working out great for me.

Here is a picture of three plastic dish bins sitting on a wooden rail system inside the coop. I added anti-tip bars underneath the bins so the hens won't tip over the bin when coming in/going out.

View attachment 1993766
There are many advantages to this system, but first and foremost is the ease of cleaning any bin if required. These bins are not attached to the rail system, so if you need to clean a bin, you simply pull it off. If you need to replace a bin, you just drop another one on the rail. If you have a broody hen and you need to isolate her and the eggs, you can simply pick her up with the bin and eggs all together and move them together.

Here is a picture of how I harvest my eggs from the outside of the coop.

View attachment 1993770
I have a simple hinged drop down access panel that I lower and reach in for the eggs. Again, there are advantages to this system in that I can remove/replace any bin or bins from either the outside or the inside of the coop.

Here in the US, we can get these plastic dish bins at our local Dollar Store for only $1.00. I use these handy bins for lots of projects around the house because they last forever, but cheap if for some reason you have to replace them. Someone said their plastic bins crack in the cold weather, but my plastic dish pan nest box bins have not cracked at all this winter with temps down to -22F (-30C).

At any rate, these plastic dish bins have worked just great for me and I would highly recommend them to anyone considering their options.

Ok...now I know those bins...I didn’t know they were for dishes!! I use them for ducklings, etc..