We have been busy hatching chicks this spring. We have about 40 chicks so far. If we guess that half of them will be Roos, we will be left with 20 more chickens than last year. That means that we might need a new chicken coop… and we will need to go nest box shopping!
The New COOP
We are hoping to get a new coop built this summer. However, it will depend on how handy our Woofers are, and how much time Melissa and Trevor get off work.
I am probably not going to be much help as I am waiting for a date for a complete shoulder replacement. I fractured my left shoulder last summer, and it has not healed properly.
We are planning on an 8 x 20 foot, lean too coop, fully insulated.
Our plans for the new coop include a small, heated and insulated brooding area. We are tired of having the chicks in the basement of the house.
In addition to the brooding area, there will be two separate chicken areas, each with their own covered run. I will keep you updated as the plans progress.
Getting ready means shopping.
If you know me, you know I love to shop on Amazon.ca. I already went nest box shopping for the new coop. There were lots of different styles to choose from and a huge price range.
Nest box styles
Wood
The Least expensive style of nest box is wooden. It was listed today at $45 for 3 nest boxes. However, they wood is not as easy to clean as metal or plastic.
Wooden nest boxes can easily be made by anyone with basic DIY skills, but can not be easily sanitized.
Metal
Metal Nest boxes have long been the standard for high production chicken coops. They are easy to clean, but can be expensive. Here are a couple of examples.
These are both very nice nest boxes, and they can be purchased in different configurations if you need a large number of nests. However, the price was a bit high for my budget. The 3 nest example was $188 and the 4 was $238. I would need at least two of them for our planned coop.
The plastic option
This is the one I chose:
The roll away design helps to keep the eggs clean, and protects them from any egg eating chickens. Plastic is easy to clean, and they are simple to install. For 5 nest boxes, this is very reasonably priced – $159 CA when I ordered it.
There are also less expensive plastic options, without the roll away feature. We have a couple of chickens who peck the eggs, so roll away is important for us.
In our current coop, we have some similar to these, as well as some plastic ones without the roll away feature. Click Here to see our original coop
What type of nest box did you choose when you went nest box shopping, and why? Tell us in the comments.
