Feb 22 2009
Chicken Nesting Boxes Made Simple
Anyone who follows this Self Sufficient site knows that we like to keep things as simple as possible.
If we can do something cheaply or for free then that is what we will do. A big part of a Self Sufficient Life is getting the best quality food at the cheapest prices. This is where keeping Chickens is so invaluable. Chicken nesting boxes or Chicken Laying boxes can be a simple affair if we wish.
Hopefully you have read How To Build Chicken Houses For Free and are now on your way to the freshest Eggs imaginable. Here is a handy quick tip for a Chicken Nesting Box. As usual, many sites will over complicate building a Chicken Nesting Box and get hung up on exact dimensions etc etc. Not here!
Some things simply don’t need to be complicated.
How To Make A Chicken Nesting Box
Chickens are not fussy Birds. Give them shelter, food and water and they will reward you with super tasty eggs. It’s as simple as that.
They like an area where they can lay their eggs in what, for them, would be a nice little nest if they were to get broody and sit on the eggs.
- It needs to be big enough for the Chicken
- It needs some bedding
- It should be below where they perch or they will use it to sleep in
- It should have a way of droppings not landing in it
They don’t ask for much.
Chicken Nesting Boxes Made Easy
Forget about having to build some complicated box. Here is a Chicken Nest Box we can all make.
- Buy a cheap round plastic bowl
- Cut out the front of part of it so the Chicken can walk in to it
- Put some bedding in it
- Secure a shelf above the box
- Wait for Eggs
That was what I did.
The plastic bowls can be found very cheaply in discount shops. They are great because they can easily be cleaned and a round shape suits the Chicken perfectly. It is easy to cut a little area out of it for the Chicken to get access to the bowl.
Chicken Nesting Boxes Are Simple
I put ours on the floor and placed a shelf above them with a few logs and some bedding. The Chickens happily sleep on the shelf and within a few days they get the hang of laying in the bowls. These Chicken laying boxes work fantastically well.
If you want to build a Chicken Nesting Box very cheaply then this is the perfect answer. It will probably cost about what it would to buy half a dozen free range eggs that have been hanging around in a supermarket for a week or two!
If you want to browse lots of information related to Chicken Nesting Boxes then visit Chicken Nest Boxes for lots of information. Read about Chicken Nesting Boxes and more. Hen laying boxes can be made very cheaply if we wish.
For a more self sufficient future
If you find our site helpful why not make your Amazon purchases through our US link
Stay up to date with all the latest news subscribe to our RSS feed!
Related posts:
Hi Mr and Mrs Dirty Boots,
An interesting post and I lke the idea of the p[lastic bowl converted to make a nesting box. I recently read that you can use the old plastic milk crates and I had one lying around on the farm so gave it ago and have had some eggs in it.
Kind regards
Sara from farmingfriends
Hey there – we think its easy to get too worried about having the ‘right’ equipment but it makes much more sense to use what you have and what’s readily (and cheaply) available.
Hens don’t know if you spent a fortune on things from shops or made it in 10 minutes!
Unusable 5 gallon buckets, bail removed, on their side, chocked with rocks, dirt or sticks, small amount of bedding and away you go, no need to buy anything, works for hens under 7 pound mature weight. We also use recycled very large pots for nests, and drawers or bins from dead refrigerators for water tubs. We don’t cut them down the hens have no trouble climbing in. If chickens are inside or under a roof cardboard boxes work just fine and you can compost them when they inevitably fall apart.
If the buckets have been used for paint it is best to clean thoroughly because the chickens will peck at flakes.
This is a great post and a great blog in general. I’d like to build one myself. I’m just curious, how big of a space do the chickens need to roam around?
Thanks
Green Business Guy’s last blog post..tańsze domeny w az.pl
Henrietta, great tips. Why pay for stuff when you can come up with free ideas. Sounds like you have lots of great frugal tips.
Green business Guy, it is entirely up to you. Any amount of outdoor space is great. It really doesn’t need to be a big area, they will happily peck away at whatever ground they have.
Obviously though, the bigger the better, but if you only have limited space I wouldn’t let that stop you. Chicken nesting boxes don’t take up any room either.
[...] learnt how to build a Chicken House for free and have our almost free Chicken nesting boxes for the lovely Eggs but there is a VERY important thing to bear in mind when raising [...]
[...] have given tips on Chicken nesting boxes, building Chicken Coops and much more. What I am amazed at is some of the things people want you to [...]
How to do paper nested boxes ?
nested boxes’s last blog post..Round Paper Nested Hat Boxes
Great articles & Nice a site….
Just found your site – wow! What I’ve been missing!
We just built a hen house, and will get the chickens next week. My question is, how cold is too cold to let them out? Can they stand it for long in that dark little shed? What temps can the “ladies” tolerate?
Hi Bronze Witch,
I don’t know exact figures but bear in mind that they are birds and can handle the cold. We are in Spain but have always opened the door every day, even when it is snowing. If you let them outside they will decide for themselves when to go back in to the house.
They are fine in the chicken house whatever the weather. Just try to make sure it is not too draughty when the weather is bad. Apart from that they are very tough birds and handle the cold very well. They can warm up the coop from their body heat and will huddle together if they feel cold.
Hope this helps.
Very creative of you. I guess ingenuity is the mother of invention. This idea just proves you don’t have to be fancy to be effective.
Your Chicken coop looks really great it must have taken a while to build, i had some chicken plans of my own and they came out pretty good too.