# Nesting Boxes



## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

Hi all and Hola from Baja Mexico The new loft is coming along and just want an input on nesting box size. We have whites and I think this time I want to make the boxes smaller. I think 16 w x 12 d x 14 h in that way I can use 1 x 12 and get a way from plywood. I think that will give me room to have space for a second nesting bowl. My concern is the 12" deep but with fronts that should work. Let me know if you have used 12" deep box and any feed back.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

The only thing I can think of is if you are letting them hatch young in those is they may take another one and not use the same one when the hen wants to lay again when her babies are still in the nest, or nest box. so one pair may take up two of them, instead of one box that can hold two nest bowls well.. my nest bowls are 9" round so it would fill up a 12 x 16 more than half way. with two adults birds and possibley two growing squabs in there and a nest bowl it seems a bit cramped to me.


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

That a good thought so I might open them up to 24 x 12 x14. I alos have a 9"m bowl. Thanks


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## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

12 is too narrow. We did 12x16x14 and you can't get 2 kids with both parents in the box. I would consider 15x16. That would let you use 1x8 on each half.


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

Jaysen said:


> 12 is too narrow. We did 12x16x14 and you can't get 2 kids with both parents in the box. I would consider 15x16. That would let you use 1x8 on each half.


That is a thought but then we have a gap in the middle and it becomes much harder to clean. If 12 is truly to narrow then it back to plywood.


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## Pijlover (May 5, 2010)

I also have 24x14x16 sized nest boxes and a 9" bowl but my pairs still take two nests. 
I was thinking similarly of making smaller nests so that i can have room for more pairs, because in any case they will occupy two nests.


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## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

My actual boxes are 24x16x18. We have full front (plastic widowhood) on all the boxes. We stop 2 boxes by simply closing the unused nest boxes and putting a second bowl in the boxes 3 weeks after a round hatches. The size makes the second bowl fit very well. 

So use a closing/closed front on unoccupied boxes and you won't have birds taking two boxes.


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## lmorales4 (Jul 8, 2010)

A really successful racer inmy club showed me his breeding system and he has the exact same number of breeding pairs that he has boxes each cock only gets one box and when they first go in the breeding section their are no extra perches. Then once each cock has a box he pairs them and then puts a single bowl in each cock sticks to his own box he then puts second bowl in when the babies are about 15 days old and then puts those babies on the floor the week after, he then takes away the first bowl and starts the process all over again. It works great for him, his boxes are 12x24x12. The system relies extensively on having one pair per box if one gets freed up you must close it up or else the cocks will start fighting over it.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

lmorales4 said:


> A really successful racer inmy club showed me his breeding system and he has the exact same number of breeding pairs that he has boxes each cock only gets one box and when they first go in the breeding section their are no extra perches. Then once each cock has a box he pairs them and then puts a single bowl in each cock sticks to his own box he then puts second bowl in when the babies are about 15 days old and then puts those babies on the floor the week after, he then takes away the first bowl and starts the process all over again. It works great for him, his boxes are 12x24x12. The system relies extensively on having one pair per box if one gets freed up you must close it up or else the cocks will start fighting over it.


That is not really "his" system....lol.. what you described is how it's commonly done and why nest boxes need to be wider then 12 inches... which can house two nest bowls if need be or squeakers and one nest bowl and two adult birds as said. It makes the transistion for the hen allot easier and the family stays together till weaning.


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## lmorales4 (Jul 8, 2010)

Sorry but everything I had read said that you should have two nest boxes per pair, but I guess most people on PT were wrong


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

lmorales4 said:


> Sorry but everything I had read said that you should have two nest boxes per pair, but I guess most people on PT were wrong


sure two is great! if they are not big enough to hold two nest bowls they will want and take another nest box when the hen lays again.

making them wide, (mine are 35 inches wide.) make it so they already have two nest boxes in one, so they can transition better because they do not have a divider there..sooooo imagine. two nest bowls.. one with featherd out squeakers in it and dad feeding them.. and then another nest bowl with a sitting hen in it.. all in the same space. cock can keep an eye on his kids and hen too... THAT IS WHY IT IS GOOD TO HAVE A WIDE NEST BOX, so they do not have to have two seperate ones.


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## Pijlover (May 5, 2010)

Conclusion is...
either you have a big nest box or two smaller nest boxes for a single pair, both will work fine for the breeding pair 

Right??


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## Pollo70 (Jan 3, 2012)

I had double nest boxes in the loft for my breeders and they still decided to lay on the floor  so out come the milk crates


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## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

The answer is: figure out how you want your birds to behave and build nest boxes that encourage that behavior. 

I only want one box per pair so I build bigger boxes.


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

Thanks for all the input. Currently we have nesting box that are 16x36x18 that i built for Kings but have been useing for homers. Now we are in the constuction of our third and LAST Palomar (LOFT) so I just think how I can make thing work better. I'm not a big fan of scraping plywood so I was wanting to use 1" lumber But putting two boards leaves a gap so cleaning to a little harder and stuff fall through. Maybe I just have to make up some 1 x 16 stock and then make the boxes out of that. Just more work and time but this should be fun.......RIGHT ??????????


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