The height of the nest for laying hens from the floor. Nests for laying hens: how to make them yourself, dimensions, drawings. How to make nests for laying hens with your own hands: simple engineering solutions

Igor Nikolaev

Reading time: 12 minutes

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A hen needs a special place to lay eggs. It should be convenient, comfortable, and spacious enough for the hen to sit comfortably in it.

Nests for chickens can be made from scrap materials, buckets and boxes, but experts suggest following some rules for constructing a place for laying eggs with your own hands. How to make a nest? What do they pay attention to?

Rules for organizing places for masonry

Place places for chickens to lay eggs on the floor or on the walls. For floor nests, choose the far corner of the chicken coop. In the corner they install a structure that resembles a dog house. The floor is covered with sawdust. A bedding of hay is placed in the center of the booth.

The flooring in the chicken coop is covered with sawdust or straw. The litter should not be too soft. In search of a place to lay eggs, laying hens will explore every corner of the house. The most convenient places should be nests. This is where they will do the laying. The productivity of the bird largely depends on the quality of the site.

The hay is spread out in the form of a bowl with a flat bottom so that the eggs always remain in one place, in the center, and do not roll out beyond the “bowl”. The floor must be level. The entrance to the booth is made wide so that the chicken can easily enter it. When organizing places for laying hens, you need to consider some rules:

To prevent rodents from reaching the nests, they are built at a height. They are installed in several rows. They can be built in the form of cells. For large livestock, the structure consists of several floors;
The cell size for laying hens is 25 cm wide, 35 cm deep and high. Chickens are small in size and will fit quite comfortably on an area of just under 1 m2;
Meat-producing specimens are massive and large in size. Cells with an area of 1.2 m2 are adapted for them. Height – 45 cm;
if the cells are made in the form of boxes and are arranged in several rows, then the bottom is made double with a pull-out tray. A tray is necessary for droppings and dirty sawdust. It is cleaned every day. The litter is updated;
the floor is made of fine mesh. Wood shavings are poured onto it. The waste will go into the pallet;
in cold regions, not only the walls of the poultry house are insulated, but also the nests. Polystyrene foam is chosen as thermal insulation, but the chicken should not reach it. The foam is covered with foil. A sheet of moisture-resistant plywood is installed on it;
cells must be cleaned and disinfected. Smoke bombs are often used for disinfection: birds are removed from the chicken coop;
A perch is installed at the entrance to the nest. This is the crossbar. It is necessary so that the chicken can easily reach the laying site. For laying hens of egg breeds, the perch is smaller in diameter than for individuals of the meat breed;
After building the box, you need to check whether nails or screws are protruding from the plywood. If deficiencies are found, they should be eliminated. Otherwise the birds may get hurt;
If you plan to build a laying cell with an egg collector, then the bottom panel is strengthened at an angle;
Additionally, a drain for eggs is installed. It is covered with soft material so that the shell is not damaged when the egg enters the tray. Rubber, felt, linoleum, but its reverse side, are used as such material;
nests must have thresholds so that the eggs do not roll out and break. The optimal sill height is 5 cm;
For a large number of laying hens, one place for laying is not enough. Calculate 1 nest for 5 individuals.

Chickens begin to lay eggs at 4-6 months of age. They are capable of laying 1 egg every day. On average, individuals lay 200-300 eggs per year, depending on the breed. The most productive are leghorns. In laying hens for meat production, puberty is later.

They lay their first clutch at the age of 8 months. They lay eggs every other day or 1 egg every 3 days. During the molting period, egg production in birds decreases. Duration of high productivity is 4 years.

How to build a nest?

Nests for laying hens are made with your own hands. To build cells, it is necessary to prepare moisture-resistant plywood or a wooden board: the material is not treated with varnish or dye. The board is carefully sanded to ensure a smooth surface.

A mesh is used as the bottom deck. The hinged structure includes a take-off bar. A 5 x 2 cm block is chosen for it. First, the project is carried out: a drawing is made with the current dimensions. Sizes are selected depending on the breed of chicken:

the parameters indicated in the drawing are transferred to the material: sheets of plywood or chipboard;
parts are cut out with a jigsaw;
all edges are treated with sandpaper;
small nails are used for fastening so that they do not extend beyond the panels;
the entrance is made wide;
it is covered with a side 5 cm high;
The take-off bar is installed at a distance of 10 cm from the side. It is secured to the wall with 2 bars. The length of the strip is made according to the width of the entrance to the nest;
A drawer is installed under the floor mesh.

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For laying hens with a large weight, it will be difficult to take off, so instead of a take-off bar, a ladder is used. It is made from elongated plywood. The width of the sheet is equal to the width of the cell entrance. Planks are secured to the plywood: these are steps for the bird. She can easily climb up them.
If you plan to arrange a drain for eggs, then the floor is made at an angle of 5 degrees. The tilt is necessary so that the egg rolls towards the far wall. A small space is left between the floor and the wall: 10 cm is enough.
A gutter comes out of it. This is an egg outlet. The inclination of the gutter is 5 degrees. The inside is lined with linoleum, face down. The gutter ends with a tray.
It is necessary to make a small box where the eggs will be collected. All its surfaces must be soft. The gutter can be equipped on the front wall of the cell. In this case, the slope of the floor will go towards the entrance.
Nests, which are separate structures, are used for floor keeping of livestock. If chickens are placed in cages, then the design of cells where they lay eggs will not be suitable. There are no separate places for laying in the cages.
The bird brings the egg to the floor. It immediately rolls into the egg collector. There should be at least 100 cm2 per hen. No more than 3 individuals are placed in a cage with an area of 1 m2.
Feeders and drinkers are taken outside the nest cage. They are installed in front. The mesh on the door is chosen with a large longitudinal mesh so that the birds can freely stretch their heads towards the feeder.
The remaining walls of the cage are made of fine-mesh mesh. Such structures are called family nests.
Wall-mounted structures are not attached directly to the wall. A small gap is left between the cell system and the wall of the chicken coop. This will allow for effective ventilation of both walls and nests. The boxes are hung on brackets that are mounted on the walls or on slats.

When rejuvenating the livestock, the nests are taken out to the farmyard. In the poultry house, the size of the usable area, which is necessary for the young animals, increases. When the females reach the age of puberty, the chicken nests are returned to the poultry house.
They are first updated, cleaned of dirt, disinfected, and the bedding is changed. Future laying hens must master the laying sites in advance.
The easiest way is to make a nest from a plastic vegetable box, but it should not be hanging. The walls of the box are thin and may not support the weight of a laying hen, especially for meat-producing birds. Places for laying boxes are installed in a row horizontally.
A tray for droppings is installed underneath them. The canopy under the boxes is made in the form of a panel, which is placed at an angle. In this case, the bird will not be able to sit on the canopy and lay an egg there.

Before you start building a solid nesting box, you can provide the chickens with minimal comfort using available materials. Wicker baskets, cardboard boxes, plastic and wooden boxes can be used as nesting boxes for laying hens.

Before using such a container in the form of a nest, you need to make sure that it is intact and does not have sharp chips or protruding nails that could accidentally injure the bird or damage the egg.

It is also worth paying attention to the parameters of the future nest. For medium-sized chickens, containers approximately 30cm x 30cm x 30cm are suitable.(width depth height). Such nests are placed in the darkest and quietest corners of the poultry house so that no one can disturb the chickens.

If the homemade nests are not comfortable enough, the birds will not want to nest in them, and the farmer will certainly notice this. It is better to replace temporary structures with more solid ones.

Basic rules for arrangement and use of materials

Before building a nest with your own hands, every farmer should remember several important rules. Firstly, when working with chipboard and other wooden materials In no case should you use nails longer than the thickness of the material used.

In this case, they will easily break through the slab and stick out on the other side, which means they can seriously injure the bird.

Secondly, nests should not be built in damp places. Often, a poor microclimate causes colds, which negatively affect their overall productivity.

Under no circumstances should you place a nest for a laying hen near the entrance to the poultry house. Even if it is well heated, there will be slight air movement. Sitting in a draft can cause the hen to get sick and the eggs to spoil.

Proper placement of birds in the chicken coop is very important.

Well organized chicken room

As for the filler for the nest, then no need to add too much sawdust. During incubation, the hen may accidentally roll out the egg, rendering it unsuitable for incubation. It is equally important to follow hygiene rules when choosing material for.

Ideally, the walls of the nest should be several centimeters higher than the layer of sawdust.

If everything is done correctly, the egg production of chickens will increase significantly., since in more favorable conditions birds are able to lay eggs much better.

In general, organizing the proper maintenance of laying hens is not as simple as it seems.

Optimal location of nests in a chicken coop

How to do it yourself?

Why do many farmers prefer to build bird nests themselves? This makes it possible to create a nest that matches the size of the chicken and the desires of the breeder himself. We will tell you how to build three types of nests in your chicken coop in this article.

So, we will need the following tools and materials:

a sheet of plywood or chipboard with a thickness of at least 1 cm;
four wooden blocks 2.5cm x 2.5cm;
jigsaw and file;
screws and a screwdriver.

To determine the size of the sheet, you need to take into account the dimensions of the future nest. It is believed that nests with dimensions of 25 x 35 x 30-35 cm are suitable for chickens of egg-laying breeds, and for meat and meat-egg breeds - 30 x 40 x 45 cm (width-depth-height).

Experienced poultry farmers claim that for 10 chickens it is enough to have 2-3 nests.

Nest-box

A nest box is the simplest option. You don't need any special skills or materials to make it. This species is quite popular, despite the fact that chickens in it can sometimes damage the eggs.

Three-section nest box

Instructions for making a nest box:

We process the edges of the chipboard sheet with sandpaper or a file.
We cut out 4 identical squares of the size we need (35 x 35 cm) - the walls for the nest.
In one of the squares we mark and cut out a hole for the entrance with a jigsaw. You need to make a threshold at the bottom.
We cut four bars according to the height of the walls.
We connect the cut out squares into a box using self-tapping screws and a screwdriver.
We make sure that there are no chips anywhere and that the ends of nails or screws are not sticking out.
We cut out the floor and ceiling and attach them to the structure.

In the video you can see an excellent example of constructing a simple nest for chickens in the form of a booth or box:

Immediately after completion of construction, you can worry about the filler for the nest. Straw does this role perfectly, but it is better to use oak or pine sawdust.

They have much more mass than straw, so the bird will not be able to throw them out of the nest while laying eggs. It is enough to fill 1/3 of the total volume of the “box” for the chicken to feel great.

Nest with egg collector

This type of nest is considered the most convenient and safe for chickens. It is not much more difficult to assemble, but has a lot of advantages. For example, eggs will be 100% safe, because chickens will not have access to them. And it will be much easier to collect eggs.

It differs from a simple nest-box in that the bottom is made with a slight slope. It is along it that the eggs roll into a special tray.

To produce such a nest, you will need the same materials that were listed in the section above.

Instructions for assembling a nest with an egg collector:

Process materials and prepare tools.
We cut out the side rectangles for the walls measuring 65 x 90 cm.
Cut out the front wall measuring 65 x 40 cm.
We make a hole in the front wall for entry, about 35 cm high.
We connect the side walls to the front using bars.
Cut out rectangles measuring 40 x 90 cm for the floor and ceiling.
We attach the floor and ceiling to the walls using bars.
We cut out a half-slope measuring 40 x 95 cm. It will be located above the main floor at an angle of about 15 degrees.
We fill the floor with a layer of sawdust and lay the slope, securing it with self-tapping screws.
We cut out the back wall measuring 40 x 45 cm. It is somewhat shorter, because we need a hole where the eggs will roll out.
We attach the back wall with self-tapping screws and close the hole with a curtain.
We attach a box for collecting eggs to the nest. To do this, you can use any container of suitable size.

A thin layer of sawdust or straw is used as bedding in such a nest. The eggs should roll easily along the inclined floor without getting stuck anywhere. You need to put something soft in the collection box that will prevent the shell from breaking.

In this video you will find useful information about creating a nest with an egg collector:

Double bottom nest

A nest with a double bottom or a “nest-trap” is another cunning option that prevents pecking and any other contact of chickens with eggs. The bottom of such a nest is double, and the upper tier has a slope and a hole into which the eggs roll, falling into a special collection tray. This is a very convenient socket option.

Using the instructions for building a nest-box, we build a house with slightly larger dimensions - 60 x 35 x 35 cm. We do not attach the front wall yet.
We cut out two halves of the inclined floor with dimensions of 35 x 15 cm. After we secure them, there should be a gap between them, into which the eggs will freely pass.
We attach one half to the back wall at a height of 20 cm and at an angle of 15 degrees.
Where the front wall should be, we attach two partitions.
The lower partition is 10 x 35 cm, to which the second half of the inclined floor is pre-nailed. Between this partition and the bottom there is a gap for the collection tray.
The second partition measures 15 x 35 cm and is attached to the top of the nest, covering the entrance.
Now you need to build a retractable tray for collecting eggs. You can cut it down to size or use any suitable one.

The tray is lined with a thick layer of soft material to prevent the eggs from breaking. We line the bottom of the slope with a thin layer that will not interfere with the movement of the eggs.

This video provides useful information on creating trap nests:

Attachment in poultry house

After manufacturing, homemade nests need to be attached to the walls of the poultry house or to pre-arranged special stands.

When attaching to a wall, a board with dimensions 30x4x2cm is attached to a wooden slab from which the barn wall is made, using screws. It will act as a base on which the nest will rest.

Another similar board is screwed at an angle of 45°. This must be done in such a way that the angle diverges towards the bottom of the structure. In this case, the distance between the ends of the planks should not be less than 40 cm. After about 45 cm, exactly the same structure is made on the wall, with the same angle, but it will converge at the top.

The result should be a convenient compartment where a nest for chickens can easily be inserted. However, do not forget that the socket must be attached with screws to the oblique strip.

Option for attaching the nest to the wall of the chicken coop

The main thing to remember is that nests should never be screwed to the bare wall of the chicken coop. The fact is that the slabs from which it is made are usually quite fragile and after a few months of use they will begin to crumble under the weight of an ordinary chicken.

Some poultry breeders organize special scaffolding in their chicken coop. They are a table support made of boards or bars. For the convenience of the bird, it is placed at a height of 50 cm above the ground.

Installing nests on scaffolds

Equipping the right chicken nest is, of course, a very important point, but it doesn’t end there. The farmer still needs to make the chicken want to lay eggs there. And how to do it? First, let's look at the basics about how chickens choose a brooding site.

Check whether these conditions are met; if so, your chickens will certainly accept new nests and lay eggs in them.

Poultry farmers who have been breeding chickens for a long time know many subtleties not only about how to accustom chickens to the nest, but also generally increase egg production.

Here are some of them:

Proper nest care is a prerequisite for raising healthy livestock.

Here are the main points of this process:

Nests should be kept clean and dry.
Dirt and wet sawdust are removed daily.

Fumigate with special smokers designed for premises with poultry.
Wash floors, walls, supports with a bleach solution (requires subsequent ventilation).
Control room humidity and provide ventilation.

Once every three months you should check the strength of the sockets. In the fall, it is necessary to check the chicken coop at the time of insulation, and replace the insulation that has become unusable. As soon as the first frost arrives, check the room temperature twice a day.

As has been said many times, it is important to organize everything correctly in the chicken coop; this will be the key to the growth of a healthy livestock and will help turn poultry breeding into a business.

If you don't want to waste your time making chicken nests, you can purchase ready-made ones.. Similar products can be found on thematic Internet resources, in specialized workshops, at agricultural markets and in specialized stores.

Manufacturers most often offer this kind of ready-made nests:

The price range of ready-made nests is from 850 rubles for a single open nest and up to 3000 for a double vertical nest. Usually in specialized stores you can also purchase cages, incubators, drinkers and feeders, and even entire chicken coops.

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And finding this place will be very difficult. Unfortunately, we still don’t know how to think like a chicken. And we can’t know for sure whether she laid an egg or not. We will only be surprised that we feed the chicken, but there is no return.

This means that a well-equipped place for laying eggs is a must. Which nest should I make it for?

Types of nests

By and large, all types of nests can be divided into two large types:

homemade,
ready.

Which one to choose?

Ready

If you are not a professional, but an amateur birder, then it is better to refuse to buy a nest. This is a completely unjustified expenditure of funds. The cost of the finished product for one chicken can vary from two hundred to four thousand rubles. And this is not the limit. It all depends on the materials and design.

For example, such a metal nest with a tray for collecting eggs costs 3,600 rubles. It is advertised that the eggs from this nest will always be clean, not pecked, and it is convenient to collect them. It is easy to clean and disinfect as it is made of galvanized sheet.

This is all great, but will your chickens like it? After all, although they are unpretentious, they are “on their own.” They won’t want to rush around in it and that’s it. It is practically impossible to “convince” them.

They say that you can plant decoy eggs. But in such a nest it is also a hassle, since the bottom is sloping. This means that you need to make a loop in the dummy egg and secure it with a string so that it does not roll into the egg collection tray.

However, it is not a fact that the chicken will understand your tricks. And the metal is cold and slippery, which also does not add comfort. And, of course, a very decent price.

Homemade

So is it worth the expense? Moreover, various available materials can be suitable for nests - ready-made boxes, crates. For example, like here.

Cheap and cheerful. But again not the best option. The structures are clearly not reliable or durable.

So, where is the way out? And it is obvious - to do it yourself, using as much as possible the remains of building material accumulated over the years of management. Here you can develop to the fullest, using all your creative abilities. The scope for imagination is unlimited.

Chickens are unpretentious creatures. Therefore, it is not very difficult to arrange a nest for them. The main thing is to take into account such requirements when making and placing the nest.

Ensure that the dimensions of the nest correspond to the size of the hen. It should be spacious, but at the same time cozy.
Place bedding, preferably natural, at the bottom of the nest. This could be hay or sawdust. It is better not to use straw.
Nest boxes should not be mounted on the wall. It smells cold in winter. In addition, such fastening is not durable, and, as a result, durable.
It is better not to place the nests on the floor, but to raise them to knee height or higher. But not too high, poppy can get injured like a chicken.
To get into the house, install ladders.
Do not place nests in direct sunlight. It's better to shade them.
It is advisable, but not necessary, to make the bottom of the nest mesh or drill ventilation holes. Then the litter will remain dry longer.

Keep in mind that three to five hens require at least one nest. Make sure that they do not interfere with each other and do not stand in line.

Nests with egg collecting tray

Such nests have a number of advantages.

Advantages

They allow you to select eggs for breeding work. Since it is easy to determine which chicken the egg came from.
Thanks to this design, you can find out the egg production of each chicken.
The eggs will always be intact. If any chicken has a desire to peck at it or accidentally step on it, then it will not have such a physical opportunity.
Constantly clean eggs. This is especially important when using them in incubation work and long-term storage.

All this speaks in favor of the fact that you can work a little and make such a nest. Of course, if your chickens lay eggs well in a simply knocked together box, then you don’t have to bother with this more complex structure.

Design features

But if those aspects that are listed in the benefits are important to you, then you should consider the following. There are two options for constructing this kind of nests.

A nest with a double bottom. The first is flat with a small funnel and a hole in the center. The second is an inclined one for rolling eggs.
A nest with one sloping bottom, along which the eggs immediately roll into a collection tray.

Nest with a funnel and a hole in the center

Such a nest is shown schematically in the first figure below. The nest is shown in section. In the center of the bottom there is a hole into which the laid egg rolls. It falls onto the sloping bottom of the drawer and is stored in the egg collecting tray.

The second picture shows a complex of nests. Its peculiarity is that the entrance to the nest is equipped with a special valve. It works on the principle that there is an entrance, but no exit. This way you can track which particular hen and how many eggs she laid. This is important, as already mentioned, during incubation work.

From the picture you can easily understand the principle of construction of these houses. The main thing is that the size matches the breed of your chickens. But in any case, they should not be less than the following values:

width -25 cm,
depth - 40 cm,
height - 30 cm.

Section of 12 nests with sloping bottom

The appearance of the nest section with an inclined bottom is shown in the following photo.

How to build it is clear from the assembly diagram, which is located below. It shows a sectional side view and the section's façade. The dimensions used are also indicated.

Table of materials used.

Construction assembly technology.

The dimensions of one nest are 300x300x300 mm.

The inclination of the mesh is 50 mm per 300 mm length. To prevent eggs from accidentally remaining in the tray, the tilt can be increased to 70 millimeters.

A mesh is placed in each nest in accordance with the drawing. On the sides it bends upward by 20 mm. At the point where eggs are collected, the bend is higher and is 70 mm.

The gap from which the eggs roll out is 70 mm. To protect the nest, cardboard is placed under the mesh.

To drive a screw into a plywood sheet or end piece, first drill a hole.

For protection, the entire product can be varnished.

Section of 6 nests with sloping bottom

Of course, the previous option for building nests is not the only one. There are many of them. Here is another one, also made of plywood, but without mesh. The principle of construction is clear from the photographs.

The slots are made so that you can bypass the partitions when installing it. Bottom depth 60 cm.

The path of rolling the egg into the storage compartment. A shock absorber is placed along the fixing bar. Its role is played by a foam tube. It will not allow the egg to break when it hits the fixing bar, that is, it acts as a bumper.

To ensure smooth rolling of the egg and to prevent the chicken from entering the egg collection compartment, a curtain is screwed to the back wall.

In this section, the depth of one nest is 60 cm. Of this, 35 cm is the nest itself, 25 cm is the egg collection compartment.

We considered only two options for building nests with egg-collecting compartments. But you can come up with many more of them. It all depends on your imagination, skills, available materials and finances. An important role in this matter is played by the design of your chicken coop, the number and breed of birds for which the nests are built.

To properly organize the space inside the chicken coop, it is necessary to properly arrange perches and nests. The perch is a crossbar made of a round block or blank on which the chicken sleeps. You can use different types of devices for perches.

Perch options

Depending on the size of the chicken coop and the number of birds make different types of perches:

This could be a crossbar around the perimeter of the room. This option is suitable for a small barn with a small number of chickens. The perch is attached at a certain distance from the wall to allow birds to roost unhindered.
The crossbars can be attached at different levels to accommodate a large number of birds in a small area. The distance between perches is at least 30 cm. In this case, the chickens will not stain each other with droppings.
In a small farm, perches are built on vertical supports, which are pillars about a meter high. The crossbars are attached to them.
Perches can be made in the form of portable structures. This allows you not only to move them around inside the coop, but also to clean them more conveniently indoors.
With a small number of chickens, you can make a box with a handle. It will serve as a perch. And install a mesh in the box to sift the droppings into the container. If necessary, this box is taken out and cleaned.
If the farm is larger, then the perches can be made in the form of a table with crossbars. In this case, bars are vertically attached to the manufactured table, to which crossbars are attached with self-tapping screws. Pallets are placed on the table surface to collect droppings.

How to make a perch

For making a perch you need to know some parameters to place the chickens comfortably:

What should be the length of the crossbar for one bird.
At what height should the perch be placed?
Crossbar size.
When equipping a multi-tiered structure, the distance between levels.

It is better to place the perch near a warm wall, opposite a window, where there are no drafts. Procedure for building perches should be as follows:

At a certain height from the floor, depending on the breed of chickens, a beam with a cross section of 6 by 6 cm is nailed horizontally onto the walls.
The crossbars of the required diameter are trimmed and treated to remove nicks.
Then, using self-tapping screws, they are attached to the beam at the recommended distance.
Having retreated 30 cm from the floor, fill the horizontal strips. There are trays for litter on them.
To make it easier for chickens to climb onto the roost, you can make a ladder. It is better to install it as positionally as possible.

When the horizontal beam is positioned at an angle, a multi-tiered structure is made. In the same way, perches are built in the center or corner of the chicken coop.

The perch for laying hens is placed higher than for other birds, since they must have developed muscles. Climbing to a high perch exposes them to physical activity - this is an effective way to keep them active. Give each hen enough space so they don't push each other out.

Chicken nests

In order for birds to lay eggs in a specific place, it is necessary to make nests. To do this you can use ready-made containers. It is enough to cover them with hay or sawdust and the nest will be ready.

For containers, you can use cardboard boxes, wooden or plastic boxes, and wicker baskets. Before using such a container, you need to check it for integrity. Do not allow nails to stick out or have sharp fragments. They can injure the chicken or damage the egg.

When using ready-made containers, it is necessary to adhere to certain sizes of future nests. For medium sized chicken breeds containers must be 30 cm high and the same width and length. The nests are placed in a dark and quiet corner of the house. This is necessary to keep the chickens calm. Place the nests at a height from the floor to avoid drafts. They make a ladder leading up to them, and in front of the entrance there is a perch on which the chicken can rest and get inside without difficulty.

Making nests for chickens from OSB boards

Make a nest for chickens you can do it yourself. For this you will need:

OSB board (oriented strand board), the thickness of which is 8-10 mm.
Screwdriver.
A jigsaw and a wood saw for it.
Screws.
Wooden blocks with a side of 25 mm.

Work order

First of all, you need to use a jigsaw from an OSB board to cut the sides of the rectangular nests 15 by 40 cm. For each nest you need 4 rectangles. They need to be cut so that the edges do not break. To do this, you need to increase the speed on the tool and move it along the blade more slowly.
Then cut wooden blocks 15 cm long (this is the height of the nest). Having installed them in the corners of the box, screw the cut rectangular plates to them with self-tapping screws.
The bottom is also cut out of OSB into a square with a side of 40 cm. Screw this sheet to the corners of the box.
Having made a nest, you need to fill it with hay, straw or sawdust to 1/3 of the volume. Ready-made nests are mounted on walls or installed on special scaffolds.

Laying hen nest

Nests for chickens do with egg collector- this is a good option for those who do not have time to regularly check the boxes for the contents of eggs. To make such a nest you need a little time and the necessary material. The peculiarity of this design is that the bottom has a slight slope. The eggs roll down it into the tray provided.

The procedure for making a nest for a laying hen

By building nests for chickens correctly, you can significantly increase their egg production. If it is not possible to do this work yourself, then such a design can be ordered from a carpenter, taking into account the dimensions of the chicken coop. To do this, you need to provide the master with a drawing of the nests and indicate the dimensions.

Do you want to make a nest for laying hens with an egg collector with your own hands? On our website you will find detailed step-by-step instructions, a list of tools and much more. By spending a little time assembling such a structure, you will greatly simplify the collection of eggs and control their number. Now you don’t have to constantly monitor the productivity of your laying hens.

Description of the nest

Every farm must have nests for chickens. Without them, the birds will begin to lay eggs where it is convenient for them. This means that you will have to look for them in the grass, the nooks and crannies of the chicken coop, and many other hard-to-reach places. However, if there is a comfortable and soft nest, they will get used to laying eggs in one place. And you won’t need to look for them every time throughout the entire area available for walking.

But in some cases, a chicken nest does not solve all problems. The fact is that they sometimes begin to eat their eggs. Very often you can encounter a situation where many birds are waiting for one hen to lay eggs. After this, they immediately eat all the eggs. By equipping a place for chickens with an egg collector, you can avoid such situations.

The design of such a useful device is a regular box, but with a special inclined bottom. After laying, the egg goes into a special compartment where chickens do not have access.

Accommodation

Correct placement is no less important than proper assembly. After all, if the box is placed in a place that is inconvenient for birds, they may completely ignore it and your efforts will be in vain. The box must be placed in a cozy and shaded place. The best place for this is a corner of the chicken coop, where nothing will disturb the laying hens. If the poultry house has a small area, you can place the boxes one above the other.

Don’t forget about soft bedding, because it is what attracts laying hens when choosing a place. You can lay dry grass, sawdust or other similar materials inside the structure. The litter needs to be changed periodically, because over time it becomes damp and the hens may begin to look for a drier and more comfortable place.

Manufacturing instructions

You can easily design nests for laying hens with your own hands. There is nothing complicated about assembling at home, so you do not need to have any special skills or tools for manufacturing. With a little effort, you can always collect eggs in a place convenient for you.

Materials and tools

You can create nests for chickens from scrap materials, as shown in the video below. To do this you will need several sheets of chipboard or plywood. You can make a structure from a ready-made box if it has the appropriate dimensions. In addition, you need to find a strip of rubber or linoleum, as well as a small container. You can construct it yourself from the same materials as the nest, or use a ready-made solution, for example, a box from the refrigerator.

As you can see, when assembling this structure, no specialized equipment is required, which means it can be easily done independently. To properly make nests for chickens with an egg “trap”, you will also need the following tools:

hammer;
grinder or jigsaw;
nails or screws;
screwdriver.

Step-by-step instruction

The sequence of actions when making a nest for chickens with an egg collector will be as follows:

Make a box from plywood or chipboard without the front and top (the size should allow the chicken to be inside freely);
Attach an inclined plane to the bottom, which will descend to the back wall;
Complete the assembly of the chicken nest by covering it at the top and front, while leaving an entrance for the bird;
Make a cutout at the bottom of the back side. Calculate the dimensions so that the egg can roll through it freely;
Place a container of softening material in the back to prevent damage to the eggs;
You can cover the hole with rubber or linoleum to make them fall as softly as possible;
Don't forget about dry and soft bedding.

Photo gallery

To better understand how to make nests for laying hens, check out the photos of finished structures, and also look at the drawing.

Video “Example of a finished nest with an egg collector”

In this video you can look at the design of a ready-made chicken nest in order to properly build your own product.