Old metal "Repaired" 10 hole nesting box cabnit...think it's worth it?

[k2chickens]

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/grd/1741460916.html

Going to pick it up in a few hours, guy lives about 20 minuets away from me. WOULD NOT BUDGE from $70 cash. I consider myself a professional haggler too and this guy was a stone wall. We have 30 australorp pullets about to lay in 5 weeks for our produce stand business we have on the side and we need something like this. Guy said he repaired it himself and the roost's and angled top are both made out of cedar. I was somewhat worried about that due to rotting in the near future but i guess if i stain and seal the wood parts then it should be fine.

It was that or this brand new set up 5 minuets away in town..

http://www.ruralking.com/chicken-nest-6-hole.html

Basically double the price just to have some silly chickens lay their egg's for me lol. The only advantage i think the old one has is that it's a 10 hole to where the brand new one at my rural king is just a 6 hole.

Tell me what ya think guy's, im dieing to know!

 

[Katy]

Go buy a couple of covered cat litter boxes. Much cheaper and they'll probably only use one of them anyway.

 

[k2chickens]

Quote:
thought about that but they run like 16 bucks a piece at walmart and i would need at least 5 of them....this way is still cheaper by about 10 bucks

 

[RobbingPeter]

I have seen plenty of DIY nesting boxes that look cool. I built my own into the coop with the outside opening. I used scrap pieces of shelving I had laying around and a busted up picket fence.

I have seen the aforementioned kitty litter boxes as well as milk crates filled with straw and 5 gallon buckets on their side that have had 2/3 of their lid cut off with the remaining 1/3 serving as the lip.

You can build them out of anything you want.

I know that everyone says that cedar shavings are bad for chicks - is the cedar wood ok for the nesting box?

 

[Katy]

Quote:
thought about that but they run like 16 bucks a piece at walmart and i would need at least 5 of them....this way is still cheaper by about 10 bucks

I have about 25-30 BLRW hens in one pen......they use 2 of the 4 nest boxes in there....the 2 they use are the litter boxes.

 

[gmendoza]

5 gallon buckets at lowes or home depot.get the lids and cut a hole in the side,or turn them on their side,nail em to the coop wall,toss in hay and walla!!

 

[k2chickens]

will it help if im only paying 30 bucks for it as my brother is going 40?? lol. I can't build to save my life, im just banking on this saving time and effort on my part. I could always slap some flack spray paint on the outside metal and just stain the wood and have a nice looking nest box i could sell further down the road for a profit?

 

[EweSheep]

Well it is a good price for a ten hole and with the work he put into it, I say its a good deal but he can come down on it. Other than that, if he is FIRM on his price, then there is nothing you can do to change his mind. It depends how bad you want it.

The cedar isnt a problem as long you got open ventilation and that small of an amount of cedar, you woudl be ok.

If it was ME, buying it, I would go ahead and buy it and use Rustoleum spray paint it on the outside so it would not rust anymore. I had a eight hole nest that was much worse than yours, I had to put wooden boards under each box and nothing i can do for the rust. It served me a long time until my family and I had to move in town after the LL didnt want to fix up the house anymore after a lightening fire.

 

[k2chickens]

thanks for the input guys, its now at my house ready to be tweaked just a tad before i introduce the pullets