As people gradually turn to self-sufficiency and embrace homesteading, the humble backyard chicken is one of the biggest resurgences. Each day, they are simple, cheap to keep, and give fresh eggs, but only if they have a nesting area such as a nesting box.

As increasing numbers of people learn self-sufficiency and living off the land, the chickens are the ideal “starter” animals. You will need nest boxes for these productive hens to lay the eggs, so keep reading to learn the five easy steps to build a chicken nest box.

Step 1: What’s the best box design?

First of all, chicks are not very fussy! You must know this! Three main elements make a box ideal for the best laying conditions for chickens:

  • Dark
  • Quiet
  • Private

The box has to meet those three requirements, or the hens will not use it and certainly not lay eggs inside. So you must keep these three points in mind while you are reading the rest of this guide and building the nesting box so that you can make more eggs and keep your hens happy!

Step 2: Find out the right size.

You need to know how many you need and also how big the nests will be before you begin to build your chicken-nesting box.

Let’s begin with the number you need.One nesting box is a good general rule for every four hens. So you need at least five nesting boxes if you have a flock of 20 hens.

Now onto the nest’s size.

  • Regular Chickens: 12inches high, 12 inches wide, 12 inches deep.
  • Bantam Chickens: 12inches high, 12 inches wide, 10 inches deep.
  • Large Chickens: 12inches high, 14 inches wide, 12 inches deep.

Step 3: Find the right place

You have now figured out how many boxes you need to build and how large they need to be because it involves the design, and now it is time to find the right location for them.

There are two options:

  1. Set it to your current co-op
  2. Make an independent nesting box

If your existing chicken coop meets the three critical criteria above, our preference is always to incorporate the nesting box to your coop.

It’s quite easy to fix a nesting box to an existing coop, which will save an extra amount of effort to make a brand-new chicken coop if you already have a chicken-home.

Step 4: Design the Nesting Box

Note that with a nesting box, the chicken needs nothing fancy. Most of the time, a simple wooden box with divisions is sufficient. When you build a free-standing nesting box, then you can invent and use various styles and materials.

Step 5: Build the Nesting Box

Remember, chickens are not fussy. It is just important to check that the nesting box is sturdy and has no holes in it.

When you build with wood, ensure that your edges are sanded and that all splinters are covered so that your chickens don’t get cut. It would help if you created an efficient’ lid’ for the box when you have added walls so that you can open the box and easily access those delicious eggs. Put an inch of straw on the base of the nesting box to make sure the nest-box is comfortable for them.