Re-Thinking My Nest Boxes

[frustratedearthmother]

Great idea!

 

[BarredBuff]

My DH made my nestboxes out of an old bookcase. It was a small bookcase, two shelves. He put dividers on each shelf with plywood. This created a set of 4 nest boxes. He then added a lip on the fronts of the boxes.

These nests are thus enclosed on all sides but the fronts. Hens have happily laid lots of eggs and also hatched and raised chicks in them. I like them. And it was a frugal use of an old bookcase.

I'm getting ready to get rid of my old bookshelf! That would be perfect!

 

[Beekissed]

My DH made my nestboxes out of an old bookcase. It was a small bookcase, two shelves. He put dividers on each shelf with plywood. This created a set of 4 nest boxes. He then added a lip on the fronts of the boxes.

These nests are thus enclosed on all sides but the fronts. Hens have happily laid lots of eggs and also hatched and raised chicks in them. I like them. And it was a frugal use of an old bookcase.

I've seen folks do this before and they were darling! AND, I love repurposing an old item like that for something new and different. It adds interest to a homestead if there are little touches here and there of whimsy.

 

[CrealCritter]

Here's mine. It's perfect as far as I'm concerned.View attachment 7547

I like these if they had a removable floor and faced the outside with doors they would be the cats meow.

Mine are 11" wide and like 14" deep built into the rafters and accessable from the outside. They worked great for my first flock of RIR but my buff orpengtons rarely use them. My BO's lay on the floor in all 4 corners. They are sneaky about it too... They cover the eggs with sawdust, I have on the floor to try and hide their eggs. So my nest boxes are just a waste of space now that I switched to buff orpengtons.

Maybe my 11x14 boxes are to small for BO's? Or maybe my girls are just lazy and don't want to fly up into the rafters to lay their eggs? IDK... But the remain unused

Here's what mine look like.
Built into the rafters on the lower side.

Different angle you can see all six boxes. As you can see RIR liked them all 6 boxes are full of RIR hens.

Three doors accessable from the outside. My wife really loved outside the coop egg collecting, it was easy for her.

 

[Beekissed]

BOs are fatty girls, so flying up to lay eggs is just hard on them...then there is the dismount. And they do love a roomy nest to lay in...fat bottomed girls, you know.

How in the world do you keep them from roosting in those high up nests, CC? Usually when the nest boxes are as high as the roosts, they will choose the boxes.

 

[Chic Rustler]

i mount my boxes 18 inches off the ground.

 

[CrealCritter]

BOs are fatty girls, so flying up to lay eggs is just hard on them...then there is the dismount. And they do love a roomy nest to lay in...fat bottomed girls, you know.

How in the world do you keep them from roosting in those high up nests, CC? Usually when the nest boxes are as high as the roosts, they will choose the boxes.

Beginners luck I guess... My RIR took to the nest boxes for egg laying and I never seen them roosting in them, they would always roost on the 1x4 infront of the nest boxes.

Your right BO's are a bigger chicken than RIR's and seem to be less active than RIR's. Those are probably two good reasons why my nest boxes are not being used anymore.

 

[sumi]

I'm going to have to start thinking about nest boxes soon… I love the bookcase idea! I'll keep my eyes open for one that I can upcycle like that. Otherwise I'll see what I stumble across…

 

[Beekissed]

I'm going to have to start thinking about nest boxes soon… I love the bookcase idea! I'll keep my eyes open for one that I can upcycle like that. Otherwise I'll see what I stumble across…

You know what would be really neat? If a person could incorporate the dresser idea wherein they cut holes in the back of the dresser for the hen's entrances, but place the dresser into the wall of the coop in such a manner than one needs only pull out a drawer to gather eggs from the outside of the coop.

 

[Mini Horses]

You know what would be really neat? If a person could incorporate the dresser idea wherein they cut holes in the back of the dresser for the hen's entrances, but place the dresser into the wall of the coop in such a manner than one needs only pull out a drawer to gather eggs from the outside of the coop.

Would be a nice repurpose. But for most the drawers are not tall enough....then, there's all the "stuff" to get in the slider area to plug it up.


I love the idea tho