Worried that our nest boxes aren't big enough...

[cindyanne1]

Hello everyone!

My husband is continuing his work on the coop and last night he said, "They probably won't like these nests because they aren't big enough."

???

They look fine to me. And he put a lot of work into them. I hope they're not too small, but let me know what you think.

Three of the boxes are 14" X 14" and 14" deep sloping down to 7" tall at the back.

Two boxes are 14" X 12" wide and 14" deep with that slope.

We will have standard sized breeds, mostly on the large side (Rocks, Australorps, etc.) and will have some smaller (Phoenix, Leghorn).

He's worried about the slope of the roof. Although the opening to the boxes is 14" tall, it slopes sharply down to 7" and he's worried they won't want to go in.

Here are some pictures: The hinged part of the roof is not on yet.

The outside. There are five nests total.

Outside close up.

Close up picture of the inside from a chicken's POV, lol.


So what do you think? Should he make any adjustments or are they fine as they are?

 

[Boondachs]

I'm no nesting box expert (i just play one one TV), but they look fine to me, nice job on the construction.
Also, is that the Lowes paneling? I b elieve I have the same, it looks finished yet says it needs to be painted??? I havent painted mine yet and not sure what to do with it.

 

[CoopCrazy]

They look great .,.. Chickens like a tight, dark, safe place to lay .. I actually think I should've went smaller on mine... Mine are roughly 12x12 but i still some poo in there ..

 

[Lollipop]

I believe you`ll find them just right. Hens like to be cozy in their nest.........Pop

 

[Bailey1234]

I think that is the exact size of a milk crate, and I've seen four hens in one of those at a time. That empty space looks bigger than the boxes in my banty coop...If you don't block that off they'll use it.
Tell the husband nice job!

 

[CoopCrazy]

You will want to put a piece of wood on the front (chickens pov ) to keep your eggs from rolling out.. other than that very nice

 

[Anny]

You'll be amazed by how many chicken will squeeze into one little nesting box at a time. Even when other boxes are open for them to use.

 

[CityChook]

They look just fine to me too - your coop looks great.

 

[ray2310]

Your like me when I was building mine, wondering if the nesting boxes were too big, too small, high enough, low enough, was the roost good? Now that it is complete and the chicken are in I really think they don't care and would have been fine with mostly anything.

One thing you will find by looking at pictures on this site is that there is a disparity in how people have their coops constructed and set up. and everyone seams to have happy chickens.

 

[Rock Wyandotte]

Tell the hubby not to worry. Nice job. My big Barred Rocks are in nest boxes that size and love them. Like an earlier post said, they like to be cozy and feel protected inside. You might just want a two or three inch lip on the front of them.