Chicken House Plans - You Need Nesting Boxes Too

Don’t forget this important part of your chicken house plans.

You can’t have chicken house plans without nesting boxes, it’s what makes their house a home.Well, kind of.

Nesting boxes are necessary for several reasons, but primarily - the chickens need them.The nesting box is the comfortable, safe area where the hen feels safe enough to relax in some shade and away from the light.
A general rule is to create nesting boxes on a ration of one for every three to five hens. When a hen is ready to lay an egg, she will search for that quiet, private place – something that is soothing and safe.  The nesting box fills this purpose and gives the chickens that safe, comfortable place to lay eggs.

Nesting boxes are not only beneficial to the chickens, but they are helpful for those folks who are raising chickens as well.  First, it keeps your chicken house organized where the eggs are produced in one area.  Without nesting boxes, chickens will find any place, and I mean any place, to lay eggs.Then egg hunting becomes a reality rather than an Easter pasttime.  Another benefit for the chicken raising folks, nesting boxes makes it easier to collect the eggs and to determine freshness.You can determine the freshness of certain eggs because of the order and time you collect your eggs from the nesting boxes.

So Now, How Do You Construct The Nesting Box?

Size is important to remember when making nesting boxes.They need to small in some respect to the chicken so that it feels comfortable and safe.  However, the nesting boxes cannot be so small that you are not able to clean them.  A good sized nesting box is about one-foot square, but you can check with your local feed store or veterinarian for the breed of chickens that you are raising. 
For more on the design of the nesting boxes, read the rest of the article here for complete chicken house plans