Chicken coop nesting boxes are a vital element inside any chicken coop. They can be as elaborate or as simple as you want them to be. But why are they so important?
A chicken’s natural instinct is to lay its eggs somewhere safe and dark, away from prying eyes. If they are not provided with this they will wander off and find somewhere by themselves. If your hens have free range of your garden, this is not a good idea.
It will make collecting the eggs every morning unbelievably difficult. There is also the distinct possibility that there will be some eggs that you will never find. Your hens and eggs will also be exposed to predators. If you happen to find any eggs, will you really know how long they have been there?
Providing nesting boxes in your chicken coop gives your hens somewhere safe to lay their eggs. It also lets you know exactly where the eggs have been laid. This will make collecting them a quick and easy job.
Basics
Chickens overall have very simple requirements. All they need is somewhere safe, secluded and cozy where they can lay their eggs in relative comfort. A nesting box needs to meet some essential, but simple elements:
- Nesting boxes need to be raised off the ground.
- They need to be big enough for one chicken to comfortably stand up and turn around in.
- The boxes need to be dry.
- They need to be warm.
- Nesting boxes need filling with soft nesting material, such as pine wood shavings and straw.
- A nesting box needs to give a hen the feeling of privacy.
- A step, or “roost bar,” needs to be added in front of the nesting box. This gives the hen a landing to jump to before going into the box.
- A low “lip” should be attached to the front of the nesting box. The hen will have something to step over to get into the nesting box. It will also provide a little bit of security and prevent the eggs or bedding material being kicked or pushed out of the box.
- The roof of the nesting box needs to be sloped. This prevents other chickens roosting on top of it otherwise it will rapidly become dirty with droppings.
Once your chickens are convinced that the nesting boxes you have provided for them are a haven of solitude, safety and serenity where they can lay their eggs in peace, they will happily return to them on a daily basis.
How Many Nesting Boxes?
You need to ensure that you have one nesting box for every three laying hens. However, this is only a guideline and is flexible so it be altered according to your flocks nesting habits. Hens will choose a favorite nesting box, but more often than not, it will also be the favorite nesting box of a number of other hens in the coop as well. Squabbles may undoubtedly occur over who gets it.
To avoid all any competition, it is better to have more nesting boxes than not enough. Each should be similar in size, structure, privacy, coziness and all have the same nesting material in them.
How Big Should Nesting Boxes Be?
Each nesting box needs to be large enough for one hen to fit in comfortably. Size wise they need to be at least 12 inches square. If you keep one of the larger breeds, such as Australorps or Rhode Island Reds, you should make them a little bit bigger, around 14 inches square.
As long as a single chicken can stand up without banging its head on the top of it and can turn round in it without any difficulty, the chickens will use it. Make sure that the nesting boxes are only big enough for a single hen and not big enough for a two, or fights may break out which can lead to injured hens and broken eggs.
What Should Nesting Boxes Be Made Of?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question, anything can be utilized as a nesting box for a chicken. Nesting boxes can be purchased ready-made in a variety of styles and materials. Metal and plastic are easy to scrub and keep clean whereas wood can be harder to keep clean and will absorb all kinds of bacteria and moisture from wet droppings.
Materials
Using everyday items for your nesting boxes can keep costs down and will give your coop character which will make it unique. Nesting boxes do not have to be square. But, there is plenty of room for one chicken to stand up and turn around in. It should also be small enough for it to feel safe and secure. Any objects such as buckets, pet carriers, baskets, wooden crates, plastic storage tubs, laundry baskets, etc. can all be used as a nesting box.
Requirements
Anything that you do use must be thoroughly washed and clean before use. You can be as creative as you want, the possibilities are endless. However, regardless of what your nesting boxes are made of, or what they look like, every nesting box should meet four fundamental requirements, which are:
- It must be sturdy and big enough for one chicken to comfortably stand, turn round and lay its eggs.
- It must be easy to clean.
- The material it is made from should be non-porous.
- It must not pose a danger or threat to your chickens.
If you do not want to buy, or cannot afford to buy ready-made nesting boxes, you can make your own. They are easy to make if you are good at DIY projects. You should build your nesting boxes from 1” x 2” lumber and half inch thick plywood. Come up with a plan and design within your ability and follow it.
Make your nesting box as sturdy as you can by applying a bit of wood glue into the seams before fastening it with screws or nails.
Other considerations
A necessity with nesting boxes is to ensure that chickens can not roost on the top. You want to discourage your chickens from this habit.. Chickens produce the majority of their droppings at night. If they roost on the roof of the nesting box, it will be totally covered in droppings after only a couple of nights.
To discourage this unsanitary practice, the nesting box should have a sloping roof, the steeper the incline the better, or be made of something slippery, such as plastic.
Selecting Nesting Material
Nesting boxes must be kept really clean and dry and should be spot cleaned regularly. Wet and dirty nesting material must removed and replaced with fresh, clean and dry bedding. Wet bedding becomes moldy and may cause your chickens to become ill.
Chickens will not use a nesting box that is dirty and disease-ridden. A more thorough cleaning of the nesting boxes should be done every week, at most.
Twice per year, in April and September, the entire coop should be given a thorough cleaning. Scrub and disinfect the nesting boxes. This can be done to plastic and metal nesting boxes more often, since they are easier to dry than wood.
There are many different bedding materials that you can use to line the inside of your nesting boxes with. The bottom of the nesting box must be lined with something soft for your hens to be comfortable and to stop the eggs from breaking on the hard floor.
Benefits of bedding
Bedding can also help discourage hens from eating their own eggs or the eggs of other chickens. Hens have an innate behavior when any eggs that are laid outside get broken. They get rid of them so they won’t attract predators. However, once they learn this behavior, it is difficult to eliminate it and the chickens may deliberately break eggs so they can eat them.
Should any eggs get broken inside the nesting box, be it deliberately or accidentally, the bedding inside the nesting box will soak it up before the chickens can eat it.
The most popular and economical bedding to use is pinewood shavings, sawdust and straw. Shredded paper makes a terrible mess and tends to stick to newly laid eggs, making it less than ideal for nesting boxes.
You can purchase plastic nesting pads that can be cut to fit your nesting boxes. They have slotted bases that will allow droppings to fall through. This will not only reduce the growth of bacteria, but also means that the chicken doesn’t have to sit in wet bedding. They also allow air to circulate freely through the box. Astroturf squares are also a viable option. It can be cut to size and easily cleaned.
Where To Put The nesting Boxes
Nesting boxes should always be placed inside the chicken coop and never outside in the run. Put them in the quietest part of the coop to provide privacy and reduce chance of being disturbed by other chickens.
Ideally, nesting boxes should be secured or mounted onto the wall of the coop. Raise them off the floor at least one foot, and no more than three feet. This makes it easy for the hens to reach them and collecting eggs easier.
Ideally, they should not be mounted on the same wall as the roosting perches or placed higher than the roosts. This is because chickens, like other birds, will instinctively seek out the highest places possible to perch. If the nesting boxes are higher than the perch, they will instinctively choose to roost in them.
Feeders and waterers should not be in close proximity to nesting boxes. Bedding and droppings will undoubtedly find their way out of the box and into them which will contaminate the food and water.
Additional Extras
Some chickens, especially young ones, will need to be shown that the nesting box is the place where you want them to lay their eggs. Fake, or training eggs, which are made of ceramic or plastic, can really help. These training eggs will encourage the young pullets into using the proper nesting box for her eggs.
Chickens will also favor places to lay their eggs where other chickens have already laid theirs. The addition of training eggs to the nesting box will make a young hen think that another hen has already been there to lay her eggs. She will favor that box over an empty one.
However, training eggs may cause hens to become broody. Any hen that sits on them will feel compelled to keep the egg warm. If she go broody, a chicken can stop laying altogether.
Curtains
Curtains may seem frivolous and unnecessary to a nesting box, but they have proven to be beneficial for the chicken’s health and well being. Hens like to lay their eggs where it is dark, quiet and secluded. The addition of curtains will definitely give added appeal.
Adding curtains will also stop hens from seeing inside other nesting box and going in to eat the eggs. Once a chicken gets the taste for eating raw eggs it is difficult to stop her. She may eat the eggs of other chickens if they get them.
Having curtains up at the front of nesting boxes will obscure the chickens view and make the eggs more difficult for them to find. The addition of fake eggs may also deter them from this habit. They will not be able to break a fake egg. It will confuse the hen if every other egg it pecks does not break, and may deter her from this behavior.
Curtains will also help conserve the hen’s body heat in winter. When the hen leaves the nest the retained body heat will prevent the eggs from freezing too quickly. You can add whatever additions you want to your nesting boxes as long as whatever you use does not harm or frighten your flock in any way.
Summary
Nesting boxes are an integral part of any chicken coop, they will reduce the stress levels inside it. Hens will become agitated, distressed and irritated if they cannot find somewhere to lay their eggs. This in turn, will cause tension and anxiety throughout the entire flock.
Hens will stop laying eggs completely if tension and anxiety in the coop reaches extreme levels. Healthy eggs are only laid by happy hens, which is what they are biologically designed to do. By providing your chickens with ample safe places to lay their eggs, you give them a stress-free environment in which to live.
