| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Chicken Nest BoxesDry, Quiet, Comfortable - somewhere to lay their eggs for youA Nest Box for your Hens is a fairly essential part of your Chicken Coop, the thing to remember is that it's not necessary to have a Mansion Suite, just somewhere cosy, more private and relatively quiet The reason that I haven't really specified anything before is that chickens appear to be similar to Cats ! Mind you, I'm speaking in terms of having two chicken sheds, a pen of about 50 feet square and occasionally letting them out in the garden. The basic 'favourite' type of box is the one on the side of the shed in picture top right. This has two holes from the main shed in it, lots of wood shavings, bits of paper etc. in it. You can see two chickens in it (second picture down - one is a 'just out' battery hen by the way). There is a possibility they haven't laid in there because it's like their old battery cage home - just a theory. However, this can just as easily work for your hens and they'll stick to it. By the way - make sure the lid is either locked or so heavy that a fox can't get in. It's the only part which is more or less open to the outside world. The third picture down shows the inside of the shed. As you see, 'frugal' is an over statement! My hens, for about the last six months, have laid in about 4 places; 1. Inside the shed in their nest boxes (as above 2. In the yellow plastic bucket underneath 3. The plastic trays on the left 4. The other shed - on the floor (although there's a nest box in there) The main thing about the nest boxes is that they are reasonably warm, definately dry and the hen has some feeling of privacy. If the weather is nice, they'll lay in bushes, behind stinging nettles - ouch - in the coal shed, almost anywhere. The best one for me so far has been behind the sofa! So I seriously don't think you need worry too much about nest boxes.
Chickens are, if you like, captured wild creatures. Their natural habitat is in woodland and trees. Maybe brash, but build them a shed and put a cardboard box inside, you'll get eggs!
|
NEW All out Wildlife
___________________ Where Chickens are supposed to lay!!
Where they do!
____________________ | |||||||||
Chicken Keeping
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Down the Lane Web Site contains Cookies Read our Privacy & Cookie Policy here About this Site | Leave Feedback |
Newsletter | Facebook Group | Twitter | Site Map Copyright © Richard Cannon 2001 - 2024             Down the Lane is now based in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire, UK
|