How to Hang an Outside Mounted Nest Box

When breeding birds, hanging nest boxes on the outside of the cages or aviaries can make them considerably more accessible to the owner. Outside mounted boxes also don't take up space within the cages, giving your pairs more room to move around, play and fly. Most outside mount boxes come without instructions or mounting hardware, but they are not difficult to hang with a few inexpensive supplies from your local hardware store.

Things You'll Need

  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Drill
  • Screw hooks, no. 10 size
  • Pliers
  • Wire cutters and metal file (if cage does not have a nest box door)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Hold the box up to the cage, exactly where you want to mount it. If the cage has a nest box door, be sure to hold the box in such a way that the entry hole on the box lines up with nest box door.

    • 2

      With the nest box held against the outside of the cage, use a pencil to mark the location of horizontal cage bars. Making sure that the box is level, mark where the horizontal bars are on the front of the box in two or three places.

    • 3

      Take down the box and use a ruler to extend your markings into horizontal lines across the front of the box. This will let you see where the screw hooks can go so that they will attach the box to the cage at the proper height.

    • 4

      Choose four spots to insert the screw hooks. Ideally, two should be about an inch from the top of the box, and two should be about midway down the box. The screw hooks will need to go into the edge of the side panels that face the front of the box, so that they do not extend into the box itself. Mark the spots to drill 3/8 inch higher than the lines you drew showing the location of horizontal bars. This is so the top of the screw hook rests on the horizontal bar when the box is mounted at the location you chose.

    • 5

      Drill holes in the four spots you made, using a drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the the screw hooks. The holes should be about 1 inch deep.

    • 6

      Screw in the no. 10 screw hooks. You can do this by hand most of the way, but the last few turns will probably require a pair of pliers. Make sure that the entire straight portion of the hook is within the wood and the hook itself is straight with the rounded part at the top.

    • 7

      Remove the nest box door entirely, if your cage has one. How to do this varies by cage manufacturer, but usually you will need to open the connecting hooks of the door using a pair of pliers. If your cage does not have a nest box door, you will need to use wire cutters to create a square or rectangular opening large enough for the entire entry hole of the nest box to be unobscured. If you do need to cut a hole, make sure to file down the edges until smooth to avoid injury to the birds.

    • 8

      Lift the box up and hang it by placing the hooks over the horizontal bars. There may be a small gap between the box and the cage itself, but this should not be large enough to cause a problem. The weight of the box should keep it firmly in place.