bee_pipes
03-26-2007, 03:49 AM
We salvaged a nest box from the old chicken house when we rebuilt it. I never tried my hand at building one before. The original box was just nailed to the wall with two boards underneath to act as legs. We replaced the legs and put a roof over it to keep birds from roosting over the nest box and crapping in it. A roost was added in front of the box for hens to get in and out of the box easier. (mozilla/firefox users - right click on image and select view image for a larger picture)
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/sm_nestbox_chicken.jpg
On the right is a hen that just went broody two days ago (3/24). On the left are guinea eggs we have been collecting, hoping to entice another hen to go broody. Two hens prefer to lay on the floor, to the extreme left.
The guineas started laying inside also. I had heard they will find secluded places outdoors, but was pleasantly surprised to find them laying in the chicken house. So we built them a nest box on their side of the house also.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/sm_nestbox_guinea.jpg
The guineas seemed to prefer laying on the floor, so we didn't put legs on this nest box. Originally, we had it facing the wall, 12" out from the wall to give them the "secluded" feel touted by Ferguson in her book "Gardening with Guineas". That didn't seem to be the case - the guineas continued laying with the hens. The box dimensions were 12"x12"x18" high. I don't think the boxes were deep enough, and since the guineas weren't using them, we laid the whole affair on it's back, making the partitioned areas 12" wide by 18" deep, with sides 12" high. We pushed it back against the wall. The original arrangement was most inconvenient - this is much simpler. The guineas are using them now, and the hens have left eggs there also. The whole business was made from scrap lumber lying around the yard.
Since the hen has gone broody, the chickens don't seem to like using the nesting box. She is at one side, rather than center, but there have been more hen eggs being laid in the guinea side of the house. Yesterday we caught a hen laying an egg outside near an old shed. That's behavior we definitely want to discourage before the dogs get a taste of fresh eggs.
Regards,
Pat
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/sm_nestbox_chicken.jpg
On the right is a hen that just went broody two days ago (3/24). On the left are guinea eggs we have been collecting, hoping to entice another hen to go broody. Two hens prefer to lay on the floor, to the extreme left.
The guineas started laying inside also. I had heard they will find secluded places outdoors, but was pleasantly surprised to find them laying in the chicken house. So we built them a nest box on their side of the house also.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/sm_nestbox_guinea.jpg
The guineas seemed to prefer laying on the floor, so we didn't put legs on this nest box. Originally, we had it facing the wall, 12" out from the wall to give them the "secluded" feel touted by Ferguson in her book "Gardening with Guineas". That didn't seem to be the case - the guineas continued laying with the hens. The box dimensions were 12"x12"x18" high. I don't think the boxes were deep enough, and since the guineas weren't using them, we laid the whole affair on it's back, making the partitioned areas 12" wide by 18" deep, with sides 12" high. We pushed it back against the wall. The original arrangement was most inconvenient - this is much simpler. The guineas are using them now, and the hens have left eggs there also. The whole business was made from scrap lumber lying around the yard.
Since the hen has gone broody, the chickens don't seem to like using the nesting box. She is at one side, rather than center, but there have been more hen eggs being laid in the guinea side of the house. Yesterday we caught a hen laying an egg outside near an old shed. That's behavior we definitely want to discourage before the dogs get a taste of fresh eggs.
Regards,
Pat