NICE NEST FOR (NEARLY) NOTHING

Image Gallery

by PHYLLIS M. LETELLIER

It was the same old story. USDA pamphlets recommended one nest for every five layin' hens. I had a dozen of the "girls", and the only commercially available nests were huge metal banks of ten compartments apiece. I wouldn't have needed that many even if I could have afforded them.

So I decided to do-it-myself. After all, I figured a chicken nest couldn't be too awfully difficult to put together. My survey of the readily available materials soon convinced me that cardboard boxes—free from my friendly neighborhood supermarket—would be "just what the doctor ordered".

Of course, I tried a number of experiments before I got my nest designs "just right". In fact, one of the lessons I learned during this trial-and-error period is that chickens don't necessarily agree upon one standard size and shape of container to lay their eggs in . . . each breed has its own preferences.

The closest thing I've found to a "universally acceptable" box size happens to be the one that supermarkets generally receive their egg deliveries in, In the case of these "nests", at least, I know the answer to the old riddle about "which came first".

Regardless of what size crates you choose (that is, which ones your chickens pick for you), the cardboard nests are a snap to construct.

First, cut a nine-inch circular doorway about two inches from the end of one of the "long sides" of the box. I find that a round hole is less likely to tear out than a square opening would be.

Then, since hens will peck at any loose edges that they find until the box is a wreck . . . you'll have to cover the cut border of the hole inside and out. A simple way to do this is to "buttonhole" the opening with small pieces of masking tape. Stick 'em to the inner wall of the crate first, pull 'em over the lip of the hole, and then attach 'em to the outer surface. It takes a little longer if you overlap each sticky strip with the next one, but the result will hold up well enough to be worth your trouble. All of those little "radius" tapes, of course, will leave a regular sunflower of ends around the opening. I cover the "petal tips" of this "flower" with longer strips of adhesive, which creates a sort of lumpy circle around the hole itself. This process can be seen pretty clearly in the accompanying photo.