What do you put in your nesting boxes? Pictures please

I made some nesting boxes from two old wooden boxes that I had, one a very old blanket box and the other a cedar garden box. I put hay in them and they are working just fine. Do you put in diatomaceous earth and peat under your bedding, use shavings or straw or ? My chickens now use the nesting boxes, all except one and I cannot figure out why not that one. They do not scratch the hay up or move it around at all and I thought they would . I am interested to see your nesting boxes please. Thank ewe.

Can't stand to see an unanswered post.

What do I put in my nesting boxes? Chickens!

Sorry, couldn't resist. I prefer straw and a good thick deep layer as well. My nesting boxes are quite deep.

thanks for responding. It seems on this forum, after one person takes the initiative to respond, others follow. I am amazed at the numbers who view the post and say nothing, even to a simple question like this.

what do commercial egg boxes have in them? Does anyone use shavings?

Most commercial eggs come from chickens who stand day in day out in a small wire cage. When they take the notion to lay an egg they lay it on the wire floor where it rolls onto a conveyer belt and into the egg cleaning room. They are cleaned, graded, sorted, candled, boxed, shipped and sold.

I use shavings. My chickens like to dig around and make the space just right before laying. And, even though there are 5 nest boxes (24 hens, not many laying yet), all of them have used the southernmost one. Stranger still, the chanteclers prefer to dig a nest in the corner of the floor over using the nest boxes. They used the boxes at first, then after a few months moved to the floor. I have noticed the resident rooster in each pen likes to go into the nest (box or floor - wherever their hens lay) and act like a hen, cooing and sitting with his tail up. Is he coaxing them to get doing their job? One has even shared the nest with a hen while she was trying to lay her egg. Is this normal? Back to shavings, I find them easy to clean out. I keep a mat on the bottom and just have to lift it out with the soiled shavings and then put clean shavings in.

I use shavings too.

I have used shavings too, but find the girls kick them out too easily. They straw sticks in there better.

Hi FE,

So when my EO's first started laying I had straw in my nest boxes. Well...all they did was scratch ALL of the straw out and then lay their eggs. Some would land on the wooden bottom and crack, others would be dirty because my smaller hens would hang out in the boxes all day and night despite numerous efforts to boot them out. Here is what I did. I screwed an extra piece of trim along the bottom lip to make the lip much higher..5 inches high now; I put a piece of that rubber matting (those ones that look like giant puzzle pieces) on the bottom for easy cleaning (I just pull them out and take to the hydrant to spray off); I filled the boxes with shavings instead of straw (nice DEEP layer); and finally I put a piece of velcro up along the top of the boxes and made curtains with velcro sewn to them to attach them. I can take them down to wash them any time. I now notice that even with almost a dozen hens laying now the shavings stay in the box; no eggs are ever broken; very rarely do I find a chicken in the box unless to lay; and as for cleaning, if I do find a bit of poop laying on the shavings I simply pluck that little pile out and viola! They stay relatively clean and very dry

I use rice hulls.

I use hay. The rest of the coop gets shavings and the Chickens love to dust themselves in it. With the hay, I find they make a nice little hole for their eggs.

I've only ever used the roll-away nesting boxes at my mom's, but the old coop here still has straw in the nest boxes from whenever there were layers in it last. No shavings.

Shavings. But htey got scratched out. Lined boxes with indoor/outdoor carpet, shavings over top. This cut down on cracked eggs.

I like the idea of those foamy puzzle piece things...will have to see what the dollar store has that might work like that.

Where do you get rice hulls farmchic?
Maybe shavings are cleaner than straw? How about hay?

As it happens I too am like Sue LOL first thing that came to mind on what do you put in your nesting box was ............a chicken.

But I use straw if that helps , a friend of mine uses wood shavings. Totally up to what works. I find that sometimes they leave the straw alone and other times they kick it out. I would like them to leave it alone as when they kick it out is when I get chickens eatting eggs.

As to why people read any post and not comment well I have to say is just can't take it to heart. I almost did not respond as well Sue said just what I was going to then thought what the heck here goes.
You will find that lots of people just come to read and do not want to post and to me that is just fine, but it is nice when people do want to take the plunge and jump on in, way more fun.

Have to tell you I lovee having chickens as every day is an Easter egg hunt LOL

The Fat Ewe wrote:Maybe shavings are cleaner than straw? How about hay?

It is the poop and foot tracking that causes the dirty eggs, not dirt in the shavings or straw. Any dry, absorbant, cheap, safe, clean, non-toxic material makes good bedding. Use your imagination. Straw, hay, dry grass, shavings, wood chips, rice hulls, coffee hulls, wood pellets, shredded paper. Fortunately you are only limited by your imagination and it is not rocket science, it's chickens!

I use cedar shavings in the nest boxes. They are supposed to repel/ kill creepy crawlies. The coop smells nice without too much cedar "aroma"

I love the smell off cedar. I have some dog beds with some inside.

I use a mix of pine and cedar shavings and they seem to love it, smells good and great if you are worried about bugs

I use pine shavings - easy to add a little or a lot. Some chickens do scratch it all out which is frustrating but my current gang are very obliging and rarely scratch out shaving, poop in the boxes or lay elsewhere. I'd like to think I taught them how to behave but honestly they came that way!

I use shavings and straw also
Some of the pullets kick it out but the older layers just make it cozy and lay

Hey Heda
How are the Chanties Laying for you have they Settled?