Chicken Nesting Boxes Fast Cheap Easy DIY

HOW TO MAKE A CHICKEN NESTING BOX IN LESS THAN ONE HOUR

Lots of us bought chicks this spring. 

You have chicks growing fast and you need chicken nesting boxes, now. 

Cute fluffy little chicks mature to laying hens, depending upon the breed, in four months.

WHERE DO I PUT MY CHICKEN NESTING BOXES?

You need to have chicken nesting boxes in a place your hens feel safe and comfortable laying their eggs, when they start laying, or they will lay them in undesirable places.  Free range hens will lay eggs where you can’t reach them if you don’t have a chicken nesting box for them to use.

Chickens will lay their eggs in a nesting box on the floor of your coop or the ground in your run.

I needed more chicken nesting boxes in a hurry. I put these two buckets together in a flat crate to keep them from rolling or moving with the hen inside. You'll see one hen found this an acceptable location to lay her egg.

I like my chicken nesting boxes up off the ground a foot or two, because it's easier for me to collect the eggs. Yes, it's all about me.

It's better to have the nesting boxes off the ground in very cold weather. Eggs are more likely to freeze on the ground before they are harvested.

Keeping the chicken nesting box up off the ground keeps the box cleaner and easier to keep it clean. These eggs are for our table after all.

This is how to DIY your chicken nesting boxes today.

HOW MANY CHICKEN NESTING BOXES DO I NEED?

I have 1 chicken nesting box for every 2 chickens.  I have four chicken nesting boxes and all eight (8) hens lay their eggs in “THE ONE” favorite nesting box.  I don’t know what the chickens like about that one nesting box.  Is it the color? Is it the location? Is it cleaner? Is it better nesting material inside? The chickens won't tell me.  

If you have six chickens, then two or three chicken nesting boxes is enough if you have the space. 

Let’s make 2 DIY chicken nesting boxes….

Items you will need from the hardware store….

Qty 2 -5 gallon bucket $3.00-$5.00 each
Qty 1 - 1 lid (that fits both 5 gallon buckets $2.00 - $3.00

Qty 1 - Bungee cord with hooks on both ends to tie down the nests

Tools…

1 Project Knife or Box cutter - $3.00 and up….

Cut the bucket lid into two (2) equal (hens don't need perfection) halves.  Be careful and be safe.

Fit the half lid onto the rim of the bucket tightly, do the same with the second bucket and other lid half. This little edge or rim, is to keep the nesting matterial inside the box, and will keep the egg from rolling out when the next hen comes in and shifts things around to her liking.

Put a handful of lawn clippings, hay, or leaves into each bucket.

Congratulations!  You’ve made 2 nesting buckets, under $20.00 that your hens will appreciate and use for years to come.

I like to let my hens out of the coop early in the mornngs. I have a hen or two that prefer to lay their eggs later in the day. I put a nesting box outside on an old broken chair. Here are the hens inspecting the new site for future use. An old unused wheelbarrow would work well like this also.

WHERE WILL YOU PUT YOUR NEW CHICKEN NESTING BUCKETS?

You can put the buckets on the floor of the coop if that is the only space you have.  If you have a shelf or bench, or crate, your DIY chicken nesting boxes would be more attractive to hens, up off the floor by a foot or two.

I added 4 cinder blocks from the hardware store $3.00 + $5.00 each and a solid board on top to make a sturdy shelf up off the floor.  This is more appealing to my hens. 

The chicken nesting buckets up higher is easier for me to pick up the eggs. 

You need to secure the buckets so they don’t wobble away while hens are trying to leave you some nice fresh eggs.

You can cable tie your two buckets together by their handles, bungee them together with rope & bungee cords.  Then, secure your buckets to your shelf or a hook secured to the coop wall or post.

My buckets are secured to a pallet, on top of 4 cinder blocks, with 2 eyelets drilled into the ends of the pallets. The bungee cords hook to the metal eyes and hold the buckets very securely. I unhook the bungee cords and take the chicken nesting boxes or buckets to clean them with a garden hose. When the the buckets are completely dry I put them back onto the shelf, and pull the bungee cord over them all.

This is an inexpensive and effective chicken nesting bucket to use temporarily or for many years. This is an easy project to make, and keep clean.

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR DIY CHICKEN NESTING BUCKETS…

My chickens can be messy little birds especially in the muddy winters.  They don’t wipe their little toes on mats before they go in, buckets to lay their eggs.  Depending on how much your chicken nesting box is being used, you may need to clean one more often than the others.

Here is my hens' favorite nesting bucket. The high traffic area needs cleaning more often than the others.

I can loosen the bungee cord, and take out the bucket with all the eggs inside, up to the house and use the garden hose to clean the bucket. Super simple, easy and only takes 5 minutes or less.

Having chicken nesting boxes that can be easily removed from the coop makes cleaning much easier.  I take all my chicken nesting boxes to the garden or to a composter, and let the used material slide out and into the garden to take advantage of chicken nitrates. 

Using a garden hose I rinse out the dust and dirt still in the chicken nesting boxes, let them dry out completely before remounting them into the coop.  I add a handful of hay or lawn clippings to each bucket and my chicken nesting boxes are ready for more fresh eggs from my beautiful hens. 

Here are Suzie and Green in two nesting boxes. These two hens are best buddies, and always together.

Here, my two bonded hens are together laying their eggs before they head off on their daily adventures.

My hens have a favorite nesting box and I always have more eggs than I can carry in one handful. The favorite nesting box needs cleaning more often than the other nesting boxes. Using buckets as chicken nesting boxes, cleaning is fast and easy.

As always my border collie Daisy dog is with me everywhere I go. Daisy is very good with her chickens because she visits with them often, and the chickens are familiar with my border collie Daisy dog.

Here is my Border Collie Daisy Dog, with me to collect chicken eggs from the nesting boxes in the morning. Good dog Daisy.

DIY Chicken Nesting Boxes - Fast Cheap Easy Video