Raised nesting boxes and plank?

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

So i am repurposing some dog nesting boxes that were on our property when we moved in 2 years ago. So they are much bigger then they need to be but the were clean and in great shape sonit seemed silly not to use them. Stacked them in the coop and it just took up so much floor space that i knew i have to raise them.

So during my 18mo girls nap today, the 5 year old and i built a bench with some scrap wood i had assembled for the project.

Now they are raised high enough that the chickens can stil use the floor space under them. I have an appx. 8x12 coop for 10 pullets but i hated the idea of cramping them.

Any ideas about how big or wide the “ladder” needs to be for them to get up and down?

I used a rather thin scrap of plywood that is kind of planked as you can see in the picture. Any ideas?

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

So i am repurposing some dog nesting boxes that were on our property when we moved in 2 years ago. So they are much bigger then they need to be but the were clean and in great shape sonit seemed silly not to use them. Stacked them in the coop and it just took up so much floor space that i knew i have to raise them.

So during my 18mo girls nap today, the 5 year old and i built a bench with some scrap wood i had assembled for the project.

Now they are raised high enough that the chickens can stil use the floor space under them. I have an appx. 8x12 coop for 10 pullets but i hated the idea of cramping them.

Any ideas about how big or wide the “ladder” needs to be for them to get up and down?

I used a rather thin scrap of plywood that is kind of planked as you can see in the picture. Any ideas?

And i forgot to mention since the boxes are so big should i try to put a divider in them or will they likely share?

 

[50-45-1]

I think they dont need a ladder.
You might just set a portion of cement block or a rock under the entrance if your birds are not able to leap up.
My nesting boxes are about that heitht and they have no problems.
You might concider puting a slant board on top so they dont roost and poop in the top.
Also i hope your roosts are higher or they will choose to roost on the edge of the boxes, poop in them and make your eggs messy
Nice job so far!

 

[Dmontgomery]

Take that thin piece of wood out completely. It doesn’t look thick enough to carry them and OSB can get splinters in their feet pretty easy when it starts peeling. The table looks low enough that they can probably hop up there without help anyway. You could make a little perch and attach it to the table legs about half way up to make it easier though.
You could divide the one on the left but they will happily share it even if you don’t. You might see 3 of them in the bigger one all at the same time! The one on the right looks like the opening is smaller so I wouldn’t divide it.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

I think they dont need a ladder.
You might just set a portion of cement block or a rock under the entrance if your birds are not able to leap up.
My nesting boxes are about that heitht and they have no problems.
You might concider puting a slant board on top so they dont roost and poop in the top.
Also i hope your roosts are higher or they will choose to roost on the edge of the boxes, poop in them and make your eggs messy
Nice job so far!

Roost is much higher. The boxes have been in there stacked for awhile and they roosted on it once or twice but choose the roost nightly.

 

[aart]

Take that thin piece of wood out completely. It doesn’t look thick enough to carry them and OSB can get splinters in their feet pretty easy when it starts peeling. The table looks low enough that they can probably hop up there without help anyway. You could make a little perch and attach it to the table legs about half way up to make it easier though.
You could divide the one on the left but they will happily share it even if you don’t. You might see 3 of them in the bigger one all at the same time! The one on the right looks like the opening is smaller so I wouldn’t divide it.

Ditto Dat^^^

You might move the table away from wall a bit and shove the nests back so they can land on front of table to get into nests instead of adding a perch.

You could add an sharply angled board on top of nests if they start to roost there......or build a poop board and roost.