How to Use a Chicken Nesting Box (Roosting Box)

Roosting boxes offer your hens a private and relatively dark area in which to lay and incubate their eggs. These boxes are available in numerous sizes and shapes. The best roosting or nesting boxes are clean, dry and spacious enough for hens to stand up in. Nesting boxes are typically designed to accommodate between two and four hens. Both a liner and bedding material should be included in a chicken's nesting box and these must be replaced on a regular basis.

Things You'll Need

  • Chicken coop or barn
  • Roosting box
  • Hammer
  • Nails
  • Corrugated cardboard
  • Straw
  • Pine wood shavings (optional)
  • Roosting perches
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Instructions

    • 1

      Obtain a suitable roosting box of at least 18 inches long by 18 inches wide or construct one from high-grade plywood. Angle the top of the roosting box to prevent chickens from sitting on top of the box. Include a lip at the entrance of the box to prevent either the nesting material or the eggs from accidentally being pushed out.

    • 2

      Nail a roost bar to the front of the box to allow the hen easy access to the nest box.

    • 3

      Secure the roosting box to the side of your chicken coop and raise it 24 inches off the ground. Don't position the nesting box higher than the chicken's roots, or the birds will choose to root or sleep permanently in these boxes.

    • 4

      Place a piece of corrugated cardboard on to the bottom of the box. This cardboard acts as a liner and is easy to remove once it becomes soiled, particularly if eggs have broken in the bedding.

    • 5

      Place dry pine wood shavings onto the corrugated cardboard to prevent eggs from breaking and keep them clean to some extent.

    • 6

      Place four roosting perches into the nesting box. These perches resemble a ladder and are typically angled toward the rear of the box. The roosting perches should have a diameter of 1 inch for small chicken breeds, such as bantams, and at least 2 inches for the regular types of domestic fowls.