Nesting boxes for chickens??

Question

i need some ideas to make some nesting boxes with stuff around the house...i dont have alot of wood and i dont have old milk creates but i do have alot of bukets i need some ideas ..my chickens need some where to lay their eggs

Answer 1

there are lots of things you can use around your house

the simplest thing would be a cardboard box  filled with some type of bedding ( straw, softwood chips etc. . )

But that would need to be  changed and replaced every other week (depending on how much dirt)

you could also use a cat or dog crate if you have one like  i said above ^ but obviously you wouldn't have to replace the crate/cage . .  just clean it.

you have buckets . .  very handy a good idea for a nest box using buckets is simply lay them on their side http://www.domesticfowltrust.co.uk/bucke...

like the link shows

and you can do that with any type of bucket

also you can hang them http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2165/1515...  

   like this

I have a few nest boxes like that and my chickens love them particularly the bantams.

But remember what even nest box you use

It will need cleaning regularly with fresh bedding or the hens wont use them and lay outside

also you should put something like 7 dust on the bedding in the nest-box just to prevent lice and mites infesting.

btw hay is a very bad idea for bedding it attracts mites

straw or softwood ships is better.

Answer 2

You dont need a lot of wood to make a nesting box. You can use so many things around the house inluding hte buckets.

My nesting box is made from plywood. All you do is you need to make a square out of the playwood , like a drawer, 4 sides witha bottom. It needs to be at least 16in*16in. and should b at least 16in wide. Now flip it over, so that the bottom of the thing is like the back part of the nesting box. add a nother peice of plywood to the frount of the box t prevent the straw or other bedding from falling out and the eggs from falling ut as well.

http://www.myfavoritesheep.com/IMAGES2/c...

You can use the buckets, I use to use them befor I made a different one. Get the bucket and lay it down. Make sure you take off the handle is it has one. Then place a peice of plywood and nail it in, make sure that the nail wont hurt the hen. And this prevents the box from moving when she gets in.

Or get a little dog or cat carrier and put it in there. Add straw/shavings to tehat and there ya go.

Answer 3

You could lay the buckets on their sides and put a little bit of hay in them for nesting.