Chicken Nesting Boxes. Designs And Uses

When deciding on Hen laying boxes there are a few things we need to keep in mind. Chief amongst these is where it will be sited.

Hens have a habit of perching on anything within their Coop, and as such we need to decide exactly where the Hen laying Box will be sited. Our own Hens laying boxes are situated under a solid shelf that the Chickens all use to perch on. This means none of their droppings can fall in to the laying boxes. This is an important consideration as it will simply get the eggs dirty if we leave the laying boxes open to the Hens baing able to perch above them.

Siting The Poultry Nesting Boxes

Where you site the Hen laying boxes is really dependent on the design of the Chickens nesting boxes. If you have an open laying nest or box for the Hens then ensure that there is nowhere for them to perch above the box. It simply saves time in cleaning out the box and also keeps the eggs much cleaner.

Always keep the Hens perches well away from the nesting boxes. Even if you have a covered laying boxes for Hens you still want to keep the perches well away from the area. Why? The same reasons apply. If the Hens can perch on or above the laying box then it will get messy very quickly and you will have the extra work of cleaning the Chicken nests much more often.

Poultry nesting boxes can be very simple but you still want to minimise how dirty they get. This is just making good use of your time, nothing more. I would always advise that for open Hen laying boxes that a solid shelf is placed above them. This will keep them much freer of contamination and much easier to clean. If you buy or make a covered poultry nest box then ensure it has a very steeply sloped roof. This will discourage the Hens from perching on it and will keep it much cleaner.

Chicken Laying Boxes. Designs

There are numerous designs of laying boxes for Poultry and Hens and the choice is down to your budget, your choice of whether it will be a DIY Chicken nesting box and where you site the laying box.

Lets take a look at a few.












Here we can see a homemade Chicken laying box that is really very roomy. Note the very steeply sloped roof which will discourage the Hens from roosting on top and making a mess. Personally I find the design slightly over elaborate in that I don't believe they need to be given quite as much room to lay. How big should a Chickens nesting box be? There is no exact answer, but there certainly doesn't need to be as much head room as there is in this image. It is just down to personal choice though. If you are going to build a laying box for Hens then you can make it whatever size you wish. This laying box for Hens is large enough to accomodate a broody Hen easily and there is more than enough room for the Hen to sit on her eggs in a lot of comfort.

Here we have something a little different. A very simple, yet actually very nice looking laying box for Hens. It has a simple handle which means it can easily be moved. It would be ideal to situate under a shelf, you can then use the handle to pull it out and take the eggs.

A nice simple design that would be ideal for a Hens laying box. It may not be so good as a Chickens nesting box but in reality they are not fussy birds at all.

When choosing the correct laying box it is important to look at different designs and see which will choose the purpose the best.

You may never wish to have an actual nesting box, it may just be a laying box you are interested in. In which case the image above would be ideal.

Here we have something completely different. The Eglu laying box. Very space age indeed. There are slatted bars to allow the Chickens droppings to fall through and a small Hen laying area for the eggs. A very high tech design but would do an excellent job as a quality laying box for your Hens.

As you can see from just these few examples there are any number of different laying boxes for Hens to choose from. From high quality high-tech to simple small laying boxes.

It all needs to be considered, especially where the laying box will be sited. If you are going to purchase a nesting box then ensure it really is good for the long term, you do not want to have to buy another one any time soon.

Poultry nesting boxes come in all manner of shapes and sizes, just make sure you pick the right one for your birds and the coop in which they will be staying.