what do you all use as nest boxes for your chickens

HI Time for a new topic. What is most commonly used for nest boxes? I do not want to buy any what can I use from home that works? I put the bottom half of a small dog crate in with my hens and they lay on the floor.
Thanks Geri

Good topic. I have silkies who are right now just laying their eggs on the floor. I'd like some ideas on what to use for a nest box and how to encourage them to use it.

I wonder if a covered cat litter box, you know the ones that are like little caves or whatever, would work. Or would the eggs be difficult to get at.

I use many things.
We built roll away nests out of wood, found they were too big and too many pile into them. Now we just bed them heavy with straw and use them as regular nests.
We purchased metal roll away nests, small boxes that only one hen at a time goes into, they are wire bottomed but the chickens didnt like that, must have been pretty hard on their feet and bottoms, so I have lined them with old carpet and they don't mind them now.
The all time favorite nest boxes my birds prefer, bantams all the way up to turkeys/ducks. Are the large plastic mineral tubs the cattle mineral comes in. Some we cut a hole in, turned upside down and filled with straw, their own little oasis. Most are just set up right so you can collect right out of the top, generally 3-4 hens at a time sit in there and lay their eggs, it is deeply bedded so no broken eggs, dump it out weekly and add new straw and all fresh and no dirty eggs.

I bought a bunch of platic totes for about $5 each. I cut a hole on one end and put them on the ground for the girls. I ended up taking off the lids and flipping them upside down, that way no one tips them.

So with the mineral tubs and totes you turn them over and they are just like a cover with no bottom?

The mineral tubs yes have no bottom, in the summer in the outdoor duck pens I do have some covers that I set them on to keep the nesting material deeper, but right now I just keep them up right with the open top, birds seem to like that better.
With the totes you could put the lid on the tops and flip over, make a sealed unit on the floor. Or you could attach it higher up your walls as well I guess if you didnt want to stoop to collect eggs.

I like to use the stackable things. I really like them. You can use them like in the pictures or stack them normally. I like them.


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Those are cool, where do you get them?

Those ones are in Aus, but I found some here at Walmart and Canadian Tire. I don't think they carry them all the time, so I keep my eyes open for them.

[quote="coopslave"]I like to use the stackable things. I really like them. You can use them like in the pictures or stack them normally. I like them.


I have small ones of those I use for the silkies. Only one, never thought of stacking them. I don't think my orpingtons will fit. I have not seen larger ones. Good idea though. MAybe I should still the top on the dog crate and leave the door off. Thank you
Geri

Never even thought of those storage bins! Good idea!

I have a couple of strawberry crates. Just the right size for two floor nests.

To encourage them to use a box, has anyone ever tried the old fake egg trick? Does it work? I had a couple of fake eggs in my boxes when I was a teen, but I never knew if they made any difference. Those birds might have used the boxes anyway.

I have used old dresser drawers mounted to the wall and stacked nice and roomy and dark. But , if a big bird continues to stand on the edge they do break apart.

Old cat litter boxes with the lids, old pet carriers, seem like if I forget to put something away the next day there is an egg in it.

But, for visual appeal on my end I love the nest boxes that Shelby builds.

Those large black tree pots work, cut half of the bottom out, and screw the big open end to the wall, they work great and the chickens love them. I have used the small ones for silkies and serama's, they are dark inside, and very easy to clean.

Great nest box ideas! I love those stackable bins. I will have to find some like that.

I like the look of my wooden ones too, but my girls seem to prefer the open top bin-shoppin bin I screwed to the wall above. I find most of their eggs in there. I also want to try making a 5 gallon pail into a nest box, but haven’t gotten around to doing it yet.

Fowler wrote:To encourage them to use a box, has anyone ever tried the old fake egg trick? Does it work? I had a couple of fake eggs in my boxes when I was a teen, but I never knew if they made any difference. Those birds might have used the boxes anyway.

Yes, I believe it works. I placed golf balls in my nest boxes in the fall and have only found two eggs where they shouldn't be and that was right when my pullets first started laying. I also think it helps teach them NOT to peck eggs and develop that nasty hard to break habit.

Flicker Chick wrote:

Fowler wrote:To encourage them to use a box, has anyone ever tried the old fake egg trick? Does it work? I had a couple of fake eggs in my boxes when I was a teen, but I never knew if they made any difference. Those birds might have used the boxes anyway.

Yes, I believe it works. I placed golf balls in my nest boxes in the fall and have only found two eggs where they shouldn't be and that was right when my pullets first started laying. I also think it helps teach them NOT to peck eggs and develop that nasty hard to break habit.

Hmmm, golf balls. So that's why they go "Puuuuutttttt, putt putt putt".

I think it is such a shame that chickens do not build a nest like wild birds. If they did I think they would use them more. I have my coop seperated into sections. One side uses the nesting boxes and the other side well sometimes I will find eggs in the boxes and other times well they are on the floor. I made the one sides nesting boxes with left over wood, kids helped .......now to train the hens
I tried using crates once ...............did not work to many holes I think it scared them, they were the plastic crates from Wal mare.

We used golf balls in each nest to encourage them to lay in the nest boxes but found that we kept finding cracked eggs from the hens shuffling the eggs around and the heavy golf ball smacking into them. I removed the golf balls once they figured out that the nests were for laying but with new pullets starting to lay I have since found ping pong balls work great! They are light weight so no damage to eggs, durable and they're cheap I put them in my duck nests but I keep finding them moved every morning and the bright colour showed through the hay letting me know where those sneaky ducks had hidden their eggs from me

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Nice nests with the 5 gallon pails. Gives new meaning to 'Bucket 'o Chicken'.

My nest boxes are similar to your top one Higgin, except I have a short piece of plywood across the front of the box which helps hold the straw in instead of the plastic crate. I used leftover material from building small shelters.

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Fowler wrote:

Hmmm, golf balls. So that's why they go "Puuuuutttttt, putt putt putt".

Bwahahahahaha! needed a good chuckle to end off today! Thanks!