Nest for laying hens with their own hands: photos, sizes, tips

The maintenance of chickens is very convenient and profitable, since, without requiring much care, the birds regularly provide the whole family with fresh eggs. In addition, eggs can be sold, while receiving additional income. However, in order for chickens to be healthy and well carried, it is important to take care of their comfort. This will help guide how to make a nest for laying hens with your own hands: photos, sizes and useful tips will cope with the task, even without appropriate experience.

How to equip the nest for chickens: the basic rules

Properly equipped nest will increase the number of eggs brought by the hen. In addition, their quality will be better, and the shell will be reliably protected from damage. It is important to arrange everything so that the chicken rushed in a specially designated place. So, arranging nests for laying hens with your own hands, it is necessary to provide the birds with maximum comfort.

To do this, follow these rules:

• place the nests in the shade as far as possible from the sun’s rays;
• choose a dry and warm place;

Helpful advice! To provide chickens with comfortable conditions, lay hay or sawdust on the floor. Sawdust in this case is preferable, since hay chickens are easily thrown out of the nest. To prevent the eggs from rolling out, the flooring should be a couple of centimeters lower than the side of the nest.

• so that the flooring is ventilated and the nest remains dry, take care of ventilation or mesh the bottom of the nest;
• on the ground or at the entrance to the chicken coop it is always cooler and more humid – there the bird can easily catch a cold and because of this become less active, therefore place the nests higher and away from the entrance;
• do not fasten the nests directly to the wall: in winter it is not comfortable for chickens, moreover, such an arrangement markedly reduces the service life of the whole structure;
• Making your own nest for chickens, make sure that there are no long nails and chips in the construction that can cause injury to the bird;
• the number of nests depends on the number of birds: there should be 1 place for 5 chickens.

You are not ready to delve into the subtleties of how to make a nest for chickens? Buy a ready-made version or build a nest of improvised means. For this purpose, suitable plastic and wooden boxes, old baskets and cardboard boxes. The main thing – to choose a shaded shelter.

If you decide to equip a full-fledged nest yourself, first of all decide on the type of structure.

There are two main types:

1. The design in the form of boxes. The device of such a nest is extremely simple and makes it possible to make a whole range of cells for all birds. In addition, to accustom the chicken to such a nest is not difficult: in order for it to get used to be carried there, it is enough to lock the bird inside for a long time.
2. Nest for chickens with egg digger. This type of nest implies different designs, but the principle is the same for all: the eggs almost immediately fall into a tray specially designed for this purpose and the chicken hardly touches them. This option is especially relevant when a large farm, when the number of chickens is high.

One of the most important factors affecting the comfort of birds is the size of the nest for laying hens. It is important to understand that you can not accustom the chicken to rush in the nest, if it is not comfortable to sit in it.

First of all, the size of the nest for chickens depends on the breed of bird.

The table of correspondence of the breed of birds and the size of the nest for chickens:

Regardless of the breed of birds, the height of the nut should be at least 5 cm. Also, make sure that there is a special shelf for take-off before entering. Place it at least 10 cm from the entrance. The cross section of the shelf should be 5×2 cm.

If possible, the slope of the roof should be 45 ° – this will eliminate the desire of birds to sit on top.

Put nests before running chickens into the house: this will give them the opportunity to get used to new shelters and get comfortable. Therefore, in advance include in the plan of the nest drinking bowls, as well as self-built perches for laying hens: the drawings will help not to forget anything important and to place all the objects in an optimal way.

Helpful advice! The simplest version of the nest for chickens is a “booth” made of a plastic box for vegetables and plywood sheets. However, it is better to equip more complex nests, since this design is too bulky, and most importantly – not very comfortable, in winter and at all – dangerous for the health of birds.

A little effort on your part and the birds will have a real house where they can feel comfortable, which means to please you with activity and a large number of eggs.

To make the design in the form of boxes, you will need the following materials and tools:

• boards, plywood;
• sandpaper;
• fasteners;
• timber;
• screwdriver;
• hammer;
• jigsaw.

Create a comfortable nest is easy. Follow the instructions and everything will turn out even without much experience in the construction of such facilities:

1. If you use boards for construction, carefully treat them with sandpaper.
2. Next, you need to cut the workpiece. It is important to make accurate calculations of the parameters of the parts you need. First of all, count the required number of cells. Then multiply the resulting number by the width of a single cell – it should be at least 25 cm. Using the same formula, the box height is calculated. If there are many birds in your household, make a few floors.
3. Put together the cut parts.
4. To give strength to the structure, fix the timber from the inside of the box to the corners.
5. The entrance can be left open. Or cut round holes corresponding to the number of places for laying hens, and sheathe the box.
6. Make a nut. To do this, take a 10 cm wide strip and fasten it from the bottom along the entire length of the cell-divided construction.
7. Depart 10 cm from the entrance to the nest and secure the take-off platform.
8. If you have a construction in several tiers, make the stairs. Each tier should have one staircase.

Helpful advice! If the structure has a horizontal roof, cover the surface with Insol to prevent its damage from bird droppings.

If during the day you are busy and you can not constantly monitor the chickens, you can make a more complex version of the nest. There are two types of designs that provide for the presence of an egg box.

For the construction of such a nest you will need the following materials and tools:

• thin plywood boards;
• fasteners;
• material suitable for pallet upholstery;
• sandpaper;

• screwdriver;
• hacksaw;
• hammer;
• knife;
• scissors.

The basic rules are simple:

• do not take long nails: sticking from the outside, they can easily injure the birds;
• after building the nest, carefully inspect it for chipping, chipping, make sure that the structure is strong enough to protect birds from injury;
• To ensure the comfort of birds, lay sawdust, straw or hay on the floor. Regularly change the content and clean the litter from the nest;
• In order for the chickens to feel comfortable, the microclimate is of great importance. Place the nests in a dry place, protected from drafts.

Instructions on how to do your own nest for laying hens with egg collectors (photos, sizes and drawings are easy to find on the net):

1. Make a design on the principle of a doghouse. Pay special attention to the bottom: in this version of the nest, it should have a small (about 5 °) inclination to the rear wall of the structure. Between the wall and the bottom, leave a gap the size of the egg.
2. Make a pallet. For upholstery, choose a soft non-slip material: fabric, felt, wrong part of linoleum, rubber. The length of the pallet should be 10 cm greater than the depth of the nest – this is necessary to ensure that eggs are easy to get outside.
3. Attach the bar to protect the eggs from falling.
4. Attach the pallet to the main part of the socket, maintaining a slope of 5 °. As a result, the egg will roll down, fall into the lower tray and be safe there until you pick it up.

Helpful advice! The floor in such a nest should be netted. This solution contributes to the ventilation of the flooring. Wire is a good material for making the floor: weave it, leaving 4×5 mm gaps, and place the litter material on top.

To make a wooden nest with an egg box, you will need the following materials and tools:

• hacksaw;
• nails;
• hammer;
• soft material;
• Chipboard and plywood;
• egg container.

The order of work is as follows:

1. Build a box, fasten the side walls, fix the bottom at an angle of 10 °, make a roof.
2. Cut a hole for the entrance and close the front of the socket.
3. On the back wall below, cut a hole that is slightly larger than a chicken egg.
4. Place a container with soft material under the bottom. Now, when the eggs roll down and fall into the pan, they will be reliably protected from damage.