How to Make Chicken Nesting Boxes? DIY Tips and Ideas

Do you want to make chicken nesting boxes at home? If yes, keep reading. Here you will find DIY tips and ideas for making your own chicken nesting boxes.

These nesting boxes will make your hens happy, and they will lay their eggs comfortably.

Many chicken owners don’t make nesting boxes for their chickens inside their chicken coops. Chickens lay eggs in buckets, tubs, and bushes because there are no nesting space.

In this guide, you will learn how to make the best chicken nesting boxes at home using products from your backyard.

Let’s make a chicken nest box using metal and plastic at home.

What Are Chicken Nesting Boxes?

Chicken nesting boxes are box-shaped enclosed areas made inside a chicken coop to allow hens to lay their eggs comfortably. These boxes are also known as chicken nesting coops.

This is the best place for hens to lay their eggs because they like to lay eggs in an enclosed, dark, cozy place, where they feel safe.

A chicken nesting box also makes it easy to collect the eggs without breaking them.

You can make a chicken nesting box at home with some basic tools. I can assure you that after reading this complete guide, you will be able to build a beautiful, cozy nesting coop for your chickens.

Benefits of Using Chicken Nesting Boxes

Many chickens lay eggs on the floor because their coops are uncomfortable. They are searching for a place outside the chicken house where they can safely lay their eggs.

Chicken nesting boxes make them feel safe when they are laying eggs. This is a difficult period for hens, so they need a quiet and dark place, which is fulfilled by these chicken nesting coops.

Moreover, chicken nesting boxes prevent eggs from breaking because no roosters or chickens stand or jump inside the nesting box.

It may take some time to train your chickens to use a chicken nesting box for the first time. When they feel safe, they will start laying their eggs inside nesting pens.

It is not necessary to have any technical knowledge to make a nesting box. You can easily make one with plastic, wood, and metal equipment.

How Big Should Chicken Nesting Boxes Be?

It’s not always easy to say, how big to build a chicken nesting box. It differs from breed to breed because of their size.

If you want to avoid flocks crowding, make one chicken box for every 3-5 hens. Chickens believe that something used by someone else is inherently better, and will try to lay in the same box as everyone else.

A standard nesting coop for conventional chickens such as Sussex, Leghorns, Plymouth Rocks, and hybrid layers like Amberlink needs to be in dimension 12×12 sq. in. This will fit the average chicken very well.

Larger birds like Jersey Giants will need 12 inches deep, 14 inches wide and 12 inches tall.

How to Encourage Chickens to Lay Eggs in Nesting Boxes?

Even so, after providing a proper nesting area inside the coop, most of the hens still choose to lay their eggs outside. One of my hen laid her all eggs in an old steel bucket.

Some chickens are very protective of their eggs, so they hide them in bushes and corners of houses. Chickens are creatures of habit and can be very stubborn about this behavior.

There are a few ways to make chickens lay their eggs in their nesting boxes, so you can get the most fresh, and clean eggs.

The questions and points below are important to understand the proper use of chicken boxes.

1. Provide Adequate Nesting Boxes

It is ideal to provide one chicken nesting coop or box for every three to five chickens. So, build according to the number of your flocks so that it will not cause any issue.

Nesting boxes make chickens use them for sleeping and defecating, but less likely to lay eggs in them.

Still, you should add a few nesting boxes because when the hens start to lay, they will need a secure place to do so.

2. Make the Chicken Nesting Boxes Comfortable

Ensure that the chicken nesting boxes are located in a dark and quiet corner of the chicken coop. It may also have curtains added to make it darker.

Chickens have the instinct to lay their eggs in a safe place. The boxes should be at least a few inches high off the floor.

You should always provide bedding inside the nesting coops. This will provide a comfortable environment for egg-laying and prevent breakage of the eggs.

Hay bales, straw, pine shavings, cedar shavings, grass clippings, and nesting pads are the best bedding for nesting coops.

3. Collect Eggs Regularly to Get More Eggs

It is important to regularly collect eggs, as an already filled egg nesting box is not very accessible to a chicken looking for a nesting site.

A chicken will usually add a few more eggs to a box even if there is just one or two in it, but most chickens like an empty nesting box as long as it is clean and comfortable.

If you collect the eggs daily, the chickens may try to fill these empty places with additional eggs. Remember to only leave one egg inside the nesting box, which will help you locate your laying hen to lay inside the correct box.

4. Train The Hens With a Ceramic or Wood “Nest Egg”?

Last update on 2023-09-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

You can buy fake ceramic eggs at food or supply stores or use a golf ball. When the hens are ready to lay eggs, placing the fake egg in a nest will give them a hint that the boxes are also “the place” to lay their eggs.

5. Make the “Wrong” Places Difficult for Your Chickens to Lay Eggs

If a chicken has chosen the wrong nesting point to lay her eggs, try to block it or make it uncomfortable to her.

You can cover that place with a piece of wood, or another object so that it’s impossible for her to reach the wrong nesting point.

Rocks or plastic bottles may be enough to convince them to return to the chicken nest you provided.

6. Keep Your Chickens Confined Until Mid-Morning

Most chickens lay eggs early in the day. By keeping them in the cage or portable coops until it does most of the laying.

You maximize the chances that they will lay eggs in the nesting boxes instead of finding a cozy spot in the yard outside the chicken coop.

7. Make Clean, Soft, and Comfortable Chicken Nesting Boxes

When shavings or other bedding are used up in nesting boxes, chickens don’t use them. Make sure that you have plenty of shavings or straw in the proper place to make soft nest boxes, and change them regularly.

This will encourage the chickens to lay in the nest boxes instead of somewhere else. Grass clippings, straw, pine shavings and cedar shavings are some of the best bedding for a chicken box.

8. Take the Chicken in the Act and Move It

If you notice that your chicken is laying an egg in the wrong nest, you can gently but insistently take hold of it and move it to an empty nest.

Eventually, she will get tired of being bothered and go to an available nest when the spirit tells her it’s time for bed.

 9. Remove the Chickens at Night

Chickens that have the habit of sleeping in their nesting boxes often refuse to lay eggs there. It may be because they have an innate sense of hygiene.

When you notice that your chickens are starting to sleep in the nesting boxes instead of on the floor, you should immediately start putting them on perches.

10. Clean the Nesting Boxes Regularly

Cleaning of nesting boxes in chicken coops is most important. It is not a hard work. You just have to use some wood cleaner after removing the bedding.

Dirty nesting coops cause in eggs with debris. Clean boxes are also better for chickens.

They are less likely to get sick because they don’t have as many pests, like bacteria and parasites, like other chickens do.

How to Make Chicken Nesting Boxes From Wood, Metal, and Plastic?

In chicken nesting boxes online sale, you will see different types of nests:

1. Metal Chicken Nesting Boxes
2. Plastic Chicken Nesting Boxes
3. Wooden Chicken Nesting Boxes
4. Galvanized Steel Chicken Nesting Boxes

It’s good that you can usually make your own wooden nest boxes from scrap material, and it costs little or no money.

It is also simple enough to make a nest. If a person knows how to use a saw and a drill, they can make a nesting box. I found that wooden boxes are hard to keep clean.

Porous wood gives small pests like bacteria and parasites many nooks and crannies to live in. They contain many insects, including broken eggs and damp residue.

We recommend it uses wooden chicken nesting boxes with paint to seal the pores and make them easier to clean. There are preferred metal or plastic boxes because they can scrub in their original cleanliness.

What Are the Chicken Nesting Box Dimensions and Sizes?

The right size for a chicken nesting box is about 12“x12” x14”. If you keep bigger chickens, like Jersey Giants, you could go up with that number, just as chicken boxes might be smaller. You want them to feel like it involves them in space without having to squeeze.

What Must Be the Height of Chicken Nesting Coops From the Floor?

Floor-mounted enclosures are clean. There is a suitable height from 4-6 inches off the ground. This facilitates egg collection.

How to Put Bedding for a Chicken Nesting Box?

Clean bedding is the key to cleaning the nesting boxes. The box should be deep enough to protect the eggs from being pushed around by other chickens and break if they do.

Bedding also helps to prevent egg breaking. If chickens accidentally break an egg, the instinct is to eat the egg to “hide the evidence” from potential predators.

The problem is that once chickens taste how delicious their eggs are; they drop and break eggs on purpose.

Chicken Nesting Boxes Plan as Numbers of Chickens

There is needed about one nesting box per five chickens. Less than that, it may get some territorial issues.

The chickens will use the boxes for rest and sleep if you keep more than that. If this takes place, the boxes will quickly become dirty, as the chicken will poop where they sleep.

Discourage Roosting

A right nesting box discourages perching both inside and out. The problem with many home nest boxes is that they have a flat top/roof.

For chickens, this requires a very sloping area. After a few nights, the top of the nesting boxes will disgust, so to discourage upper roosting.

The roof of the box should slope down or be made of a slippery material like plastic. The internal perch is another problem where chickens sleep inside nesting boxes.

To avoid this, do not offer too many nesting boxes inside the chicken coop.

Top 5 Best Chicken Nesting Boxes Online

Below, we have provided some examples of best chicken nesting boxes available in the online sale –

1. PENTAGADES Laying Chicken Nesting Boxes 3 Hole with Swing Perch Up to 12 Hen Wall Mount

Last update on 2023-09-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This is one of the popular and best ready-to-use chicken nesting box available. The nesting box has 3 entrance holes, and it is suitable for 10-12 hens.

It is best for all types of chicken breeds. You can easily clean this chicken coop and installation is easy.

The design also contains few swing perches, so your chickens love to roost on them.

2. RentACoop Roll-Out Nesting Box with Curtains

Last update on 2023-09-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This is another best nesting box for hens by a popular brand, RentACoop. It has a sloped roof that prevents unnecessary roosting.

Your hens will love the dark inside and feel secure, comfortable for laying eggs. The removable nesting part is easy to clean.

The nesting box floor is made of plastic polyethylene that does not allow bacteria to grow. For best use, place the nesting box 2-3 inch height from the surface.

3. Brower 406B 6-Hole Poultry Nest

Last update on 2023-09-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This is another best chicken nesting box by Brower. It is a metal made nesting box plan with holes.

It came in 3 types, 4 holes for 20 chickens, 6 holes for 30 chickens, and 10 holes for 50 to 60 chickens.

The bottom part of the nesting box is removable, which is for easy cleaning and litter removal.

Anyone can easily assemble this vintage design within 30-45 minutes. Rounded ventilation holes are also present for easy airflow.

These wonderful chicken nesting boxes contain an egg drop system for easy eggs collection.

4. Rural365 Single Chicken Nesting Box 4-Pack, Plastic – Curtained Nest Box Chicken Laying Boxes Hens Chicken Coop Box

Last update on 2023-09-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This Rural365 chicken nesting box is made of durable plastics material’s high-density polythene that does not rust.

The sloped roof prevents roosting. This mount easily, quickly and securely on the wall.

This pet nest box will be a welcome addition to your window, garden, porch, or yard, setting up easy and quick. The nest box has a specific sparrow entry hole that prevents other predators from entering the nest.

Installation is as easy as placing a photo frame. Make sure the nesting box installs well before starting the breeding season.

Do not be discouraged if the hens do not nest immediately. Every so often it takes time for birds to discover the nest. It should give attention to open the side door and clean each station. Remove or omit perches in the nest box.

It makes this nesting box of wood. A traditional and versatile nesting box that can be placed in any garden, at the window, porch, or backyard is so easy to install.

You can use the rear slot to hang it on a suitable device or use a deck screw for extra support.

Benefits of Plastics chicken nesting boxes

They are easy to install, straightforward to clean, and can be entirely cleaned because they are made of washable plastic.

Plastic also prevents parasites from borrowing on the material. It has a sloping roof to prevent perching at the top, and the front of the box turns toward the entrance to encourage internal rest.

5. Harris Farms 2 Hole Nesting Box for Chickens

Last update on 2023-09-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This is another chicken nesting box by Harris Farm. It is a sturdy nest box contain 2 holes.

It is made up of galvanized steel, so don’t worry about rust. All the inner walls contain small holes for proper ventilation.

On both the sides of the nesting coop you will see 2 more holes for mounting.

How to Make Chicken Nesting Boxes at Home Using Scrap Material Like – Plastic, Wood, and Metal?

Do you like to know some outstanding ideas to make chicken nesting boxes at home? Homemade chicken nesting boxes are stronger.

You can easily make chicken nesting boxes for your hens by using recycled and scrap materials.

If someone would rather not spend hard-earned money, just try some simple DIY project in your weekend. You can find these items in your backyard as well.

Homemade Chicken Nesting Boxes DIY

Where do the chickens lay their eggs? If left on their own, they will find a place on their own, but you probably dislike it. Searching for hidden eggs in inaccessible, dark nooks and crannies can be frustrating.

This can build your own even if you are not a professional carpenter, recycled materials or leftovers from other projects.

This specific DIY nesting box tutorial does enough for five chickens, but it may vary depending on the size of the chicken coop. Make adjustments as needed!

Materials Required in Making Nesting Boxes

Five 2×4 wood (quantity varies; you will need at least five), Empty kitty buckets (one per chicken), Materials for a steep roof, Screws, Insulation, Washers, Screwdriver, Drill, Saw, Level measuring tape, Power tools, Highlighter.

TOOLS: It requires essential carpentry tools.

Steps to Make the Chicken Nesting Boxes DIY

1. Collect the Materials

Here is a detailed assessment of all materials needed to align with the list above. For the nest boxes themselves, we use cat buckets.

This is the perfect size and shape. These are free and suitable for reusing things instead of discarding it. We clean them thoroughly and let it air dry as long as possible.

You will need some full-length 2×4 feet of wood. A reasonable estimate is to measure the width of all the nests together and buy five 2×4s of that length.

It may also require adding a steep roof to the top of the boxes. A roof serves two functions, which are a good advantage, but not completely necessary.

It can extend the ceiling over the front of the nest boxes like a visor, converting it to a little darker inside. That causes the chickens happy.

There can fix for the curtain at the entrance to keep the inside darker where the chicken feels secure to lay the Eggs.

The other good thing about a sloping roof is that it prevents birds from sitting on top of the boxes. Keeping them off the top is more necessary than frequent cleaning.

Another option is to cover and insulate the space between nest boxes and the floor. If you do that, it will need additional and sturdy material for it and insulation.

Tip: Insulate below the nesting boxes for additional heat if you live in colder regions.

We also added the side panel for an excellent finish and helped keep dirt out. We make the roof, bottom cover, and side panel of the remaining composite material from the house itself, but you can use whatever material you have on hand or can purchase.

Plywood, wood planks, lauan flooring, shed oriented board, metal roofing, or even kitchen worktop materials will work.

Just keep in mind that if it used some heavy, there would need to reinforce it with some extra 2 × 4 brackets. If, you will also want to make sure the walls and floors are sturdy enough to support what it requires. Use that.

We use screws for mounting. You can use nails if that is what you have, but the screws are faster, easier, and safer. Moreover, using screws, it is easier to disassemble the frame later if it needs modification.

There will need some washers too, just a few per nest, to prevent the back of the box from breaking. We use a type called “washers” that are large in diameter with a small hole( suitable to sit the head of the screw only) in the center.

Then gather the tools. There will need a drill, a screwdriver, a saw, a level, a tape measure, a ruler, and a marker. We use cordless power tools, but you can use whatever is most comfortable for you.

Now all materials are accumulated. There is time to build the DIY nesting boxes.

Get a look at where you want the nesting boxes to be fixed before it starts. Before beginning the actual construction process, we find it helpful to gain a visual perception of the space in which nest boxes will exist.

Measurement is essential, but it also helps to keep nest box components up and take a look. It understands, keeping in mind that this is not brain surgery. If the result is not perfect, the chickens will probably not care.

We build ours with one end in the corner against a sidewall, and the other end opens into the open space. This is probably the setting that works best in most homes, but you can quickly adapt these instructions to suit your needs.

2. Prepare the Boxes

 First, prepare the boxes. You already displayed them. You can now cut the folding lid part, so it will have the smaller part. It will make a short wall for the chickens to nest in behind.

3. Cut the Wood 2×4 Feet Sizes

 Then, cut two pieces of 2 × 4 the length of the total boxes you intend to use. Mark off, apply a square if one. Now use one of the cut 2×4s and set the other aside for later.

3. Attach 2 × 4 to The Wall

Screw one of the 2×4s into the wall along the bottom edge where the nest boxes sit. This will keep supporting it. Make sure it is at the level.

4. Add Boxes

The boxes go in next. It is easy to install the boxes and build the surrounding supports. Real carpenters do it the different way around, but these methods also work.

Drill a hole at the bottom position of each box at the middle center. Keep the back of the nest box on top of the 2×4 that fixes.

Tight, screw it at the position on the wall with applying the washer. Thus, repeat with another nesting box next to it until they are all in place.

 5. Create the Front Bracket

Then build the brackets along with the front. Calculate the distance between the floor and the bottom and cut a 2 × 4 to that length.

Attach it to the end of another long 2 × 4, one that it can cut and set aside before. Screw the small piece to the sidewall and secure it is 2 × 4; measure another 2 × 4 at a minimum as high as the top of the nests.

There is a need not be precise because there will require cutting the top later. Attach it vertically to the front corner at the other end of the nest boxes.

Add a center beam in front of the nesting boxes. Your project should work as an active nesting area now!

6. Brace Floor

If you plan to cover the space between nest boxes and the floor. Place a strap on the floor to prevent it from bending in the middle.

Choose a 2 × 4 leftover or any board about 14 inches long. If you have a complicated or imperfect knot, this is an excellent use for it.

7. Build the Wall and Roof of the Sidewall

While you put the roof on the boxes, there is required to build the appliance to hold it. If you have not done before, then, better to draw an angled line marking on the back wall where the top of the roof is going to the upper front edge of the nest boxes.

The further steps can be tricky, and there is a need to measure and cut the angles accurately. Measure a 45-degree bend from the edge lip of the nest boxes to the wall.

You can do this by using carpentry tools, a plastic protractor or just a level and straightedge. Mark it with a level line on the wall, the dimension of the nesting boxes.

Cut a small piece of 2 × 4 or cardboard and screw it into the sidewall at the corner end. You can tilt the edges, but you do not have to do if it does not feel so hard.

Measure twice, cut once. Getting the right angle is complicated; Get it as flush to the wall as possible. Now, for the other side, cut one side of a 2 × 4 at a 45-degree angle. Leave the other end long enough to go beyond the 2 × 4 vertical at the front corner.

Attach it to the wall. Trim the side end to fit flush with the vertical, and remove the vertical end as well. There will be a key to holding the ceiling at the open end without bending.

Put a small floor stand at the open end for additional support and hold the sidewall if you are using one. Cut the flat material to size and snap it to the end.

Keep the chickens out from behind the boxes by blocking it with a sidewall. Measure the roof area by adding at least four inches of the overhang and cutting out the flat material.

Measure the top. This will be a basic rectangle mounted on top. Attach to angled keys.

8. Bottom Cover

Take the measurement, cut, and attach the bottom cover. Add shavings, hay, and thus boxes are ready.

There may add fake eggs because it finds that chickens prefer to stay where another bird has already lain. Fake eggs also tell the chicken that this is a safe place to nest.

Congratulations! You built the best chicken nesting box quickly and cheaply, using recycled materials, and your chickens will enjoy the fruits of your work for many years. With any luck, they will thank you for the daily gifts of fresh and delicious eggs.