Ideas for Nesting Box Materials

Ideas for Nesting Boxes.

Chickens don’t actually require nesting boxes to lay eggs.  Nesting boxes are a convenience for us humans, so that our days and nights are not spent looking here and there for Gertrude’s latest laid egg. When provided with suitable location billowing with dense matter, you can rest assured your chickens will find it quite suitable. Our goal is to make that where we want it. Don’t be surprised though if you at some point in your chicken stewarding career are sent on a wild chicken-egg hunt. 

Several suggestions for nesting boxes that you might already own include:

• Wood boxes
• Empty five gallon buckets (laying on side) 
• Wooden or plastic laundry baskets
• Shallow metal buckets
• Cat Litter Houses—thoroughly sanitized, of course
• Wood, metal, or plastic milk and/or soda crates
• Large recycled flower pots
• Wash buckets

Feel free to create from scratch your very own box (or for some of us – boxlike) nesting throne. Thankfully, chickens don’t know the difference between fine craftsmanship and junky. A standard one-hole nesting box is approximately 12” x 12” with a solid back, two sides, and a top.  A lip of three to four inches on the front works well to keep the bedding material from spilling out.

If you’re short on creative genes, handyman genes, or time, purchase your nesting boxes. Online searches can direct you to doorstep delivery. Or perhaps check out your local scene. Surely some 4H-ers, artsy neighbors, or other farms may be willing to make or donate to your backyard dream.