nest box worry

[raine]

Hi - am about to get three ex-batts in jan but am panicking slghtly! Our hen house and run was bought as a lovely gift BUT it doesn't have perches or a nest box. Now,perches I can deal with but what about a nest box?! I have zero DIY skills so any advice please?

[Suechooks]

If you're having ex-batts they don't know how to perch or use a nest box! For a make shift nest box put a medium cardboard box on its side with some straw in or shavings. They just need to have a dark place to go to lay once they get the message. To teach them to perch I use an old car tyre as it gets them off the groung but without feathers and confidence they won't perch very high antway to begin with. Some of mine still use the tyre at night after almost a year. You'll find eggs all over the place to begin with. Mine just dropped them as they walked along but soon started using the nest box.
Good luck with them. They are dear little things and always very grateful for kindness and attention. In January you'll need to get some straw to keep them warm at night as they are used to heat +++ and will get cold easily.

[raine]

Thank you so much for the advice. I have spent a long time researching but seem to have got a bit confused. Any other bits of wisdom from anyone will be most gratefully received!

[Suechooks]

There's a good section on the Battery hen welfare trust web site on caring for ex-batts. Battery Hen Welfare Trust
Mine are fab layers - still popping them out even in the cold weather and short days. I bought in 3 P.O.L pullets in September thinking the ex-batts would go off lay. Consequently I'm over-run with eggs! I'm hoping to get a few more in the Spring just to give them a life.

[MaureenHall]

At the moment I've got a recycle bin in the coop as a temporary nest box and I'll be putting a couple of cardboard boxes in there as well. The chickens are happy enough to lay eggs as long as they're in a quiet area, though when I got my first ex-batts, they did tend to drop them anywhere in the run till they got used to the idea of a nest box

[Nicos]

I'm using cardboard boxes too.
They were a temporary thing initially, but as they work a treat I'm sticking with them. I leave a wooden egg in each one and that seems to do the trick ( until one went broody)

[vicky]

I used a cardboard box at first too and they were quite happy with that!

[Snadger]

I have four nestboxes in my coop which they don't bother to use! They started laying on a pile of straw in the corner so I just put four bricks on edge around it to keep the straw together and that has sufficed for the last four months!

[kirsty b]

Mine have the wooden fruit boxes that I begged off the fruit'n'veg man down the market. When they get ratty, I chuck em and go ask for a few more.

I have zero woodworking skills too.

[raine]

Thank you all for the advice.One worry ticked off!

[Noodle]

I use a wooden wine box! It's quite thick wood so can be well scrubbed. Was going to put another one ontop to make it daek and cut a circle in the side for access, but as they all seem happy to lay in it I'm not going to bother!
My rescue hens now roost, but didn't to start with. I just let them decide when the time's right. I put a bit of wood on the floor near the pop hole to try and keep the sawdust in and one roosts on that! It's just screwed into the floor!

[raine]

Trouble is, the coop is designed a bit weird- if i put a 12 inch box in that'll solve the nest box worry but because of where the pop hole is i can't fit the perches in! How far from the 'ceiling' do the perches need to be?

[Suechooks]

Trouble is, the coop is designed a bit weird- if i put a 12 inch box in that'll solve the nest box worry but because of where the pop hole is i can't fit the perches in! How far from the 'ceiling' do the perches need to be?

So they don't bang their heads!