How To Create Chicken House Nest Bins - A Few Helpful Tips
As more and more people are getting curious about building chicken coops and keeping
one or two backyard chickens, more progressive towns are amending their laws to allow back yard chickens. Normally they limit the number to 5 and no roosters can be included. This is a brilliant provision because roosters are loud and are not needed for a few backyard egg laying hens. As part of your coop you'll need nesting boxes. Hens like dark and comfortable places for laying their eggs and it is a particularly simple matter to build your own with materials you probably already have on lying around.
An orange crate, or something similar will work superbly; any substantial box or container about one foot square will be perfect. Remove the front panel of the crate or container and replace it with a board approximately 3 or 4 high. This may give the hen's easy access to the nesting box. Secure the boxes on a wall of the coop about 2 feet off the floor and line it with straw, paper or wood chips. The lining should be absorbent and non-damaging.
Ideally, when you build a chicken coop, you must provide yourself with a shallow access door in the wall immediately above the nesting box area to make egg collection simple. To prevent predators also using this same method of access makes sure you also use very secure catches to keep it closed.
Your nesting boxes should be positioned lower than the perches when you build the chicken coop, since chickens will always roost in the highest points of their coop.
As with every aspect of keeping chickens, cleanliness is crucial to keep them healthy. When you build a chicken coop make regular cleaning easy and frequently replace the lining of the nesting box with fresh clean material.
Chickens will usually lay their eggs wherever they feel enclosed and warm. Hence position the nesting boxes soundly in a dark corner away from any drafts. A well thought out chicken coop will defend your hens from the elements as well as predators and snug nesting boxes will guarantee plenty of fresh eggs daily!