Best Chicken Nesting Boxes Plans

According to a research that we carried out to determine the best nesting boxes for the chickens, the finds showed that nesting boxes that were built in the form of cubicles suited to fit one chicken rather than building larger communal ones produced better results.

The findings showed that in the communal nesting boxes, the chickens tended to routinely eat the eggs and in some instances lay the eggs on the floor rather than in the allocated space in the communal box.

The larger communal nesting boxes also encouraged the chickens into fouling their nests and kicking the straw onto the floor and as a result most eggs broke when they were being laid.  Those that did not break were also dirty.

The smaller cubical type of nesting boxes produce less damaged and cleaner eggs and retained most of the straw within them.

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The Chicken Nesting Box Dimensions

Our research showed that each nesting box should be built with the following dimensions as approximates;

Width: 12″
Depth: 12″
Height: 9″

The entrance to the nests should be of smaller measurements at:
Width: 9″
Height: 6″

These smaller entrances serve several functions.

1. The smaller entrances helped hold the straw in the nest and keep the eggs safe from damage while being laid or from falling of the nest box.
2. They also gave the nest boxes a dim, cave-like feel. The also chickens seemed to prefer the small, dark and cozy cave-like nest boxes. These boxes are built several feet above floor level, so it is necessary to provided a perch in front of the nest box entrances to create easy access for our chickens.
3.   The shorter nest boxes also prevented behaviors such as   egg eating, scratching straw onto the floor and fouling the nests  and instead  reduced the  dirty, cracked and pecked eggs.

Other Factors Affecting The Design of the Nesting Boxes.

1. You can add a roost bar or step in front of the box to give the hen a place to jump to before entering the nest box. Also a “lip” can be added to the front of the nesting box to keep the bedding material and/or eggs from being pushed out.
2. Have a sloped top since you don’t want your chickens to roost (sleep) on top of their nesting boxes (that would be a big mess). We suggest angling the top of the nest box to dissuade hens from being able to roost on or above the nest boxes.
3. Most people like to raise their nest boxes up off the ground. Just make sure they aren’t too high that the hens have a hard time accessing them and that they are not higher than the roosts or you’ll have hens sleeping inside the nest boxes.

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