They don’t like it as much as the other nest boxes, but I found a chicken in the metal nest box! And she laid an egg there! Cleaning and painting it was not a wasted effort, yay! Granted, their two favorite nest boxes were both occupied.
I spy a chicken!
I have been putting down plastic bins everywhere I find an egg on the floor. We are up to 6 nest boxes. For 12 chickens. A little overkill, but they fight over the two boxes under the workbench. Here is a video: https://youtu.be/6hDRHzRU3fQ. I thought Velociraptors were eating my chickens; no, it was just a hen screaming at another hen coming toward her nest box.
The chickens have not seemed interested in the metal nest boxes, so I added a couple of curtains in the same fabric as on the nest boxes under the work bench. The curtains make it look nice a dark, we’ll see if it entices any hens!
Metal nest boxes in a new location with new curtains
I’ve been working on my chisel skills again. It is a good thing that I’m making stuff for chickens and they aren’t known to be tough critics, as I still need more practice! But I’m pleased with the way this table is coming out, all things said.
I decided a while ago that I wanted to make chicken “furniture” for the coop; items that are movable rather than built-in so I can rearrange. Being a first time chicken owner, I know I’m going to want to rearrange. (Heck, I just like rearranging in general.) So with all our designs, we are thinking flexibility first.
I’ve read that chicks are more traumatized by being picked up from above, rather than approached from the side, not surprising since most threats come from above). I’ve also read that Faverolle chicks are particularly prone to little chicky terror. I have a 2×3 foot dog crate that I planned on using as the brooder, so to raise it up, I decided to build a table. The shelf underneath will hold nesting boxes when the hens reach that age, and the crate will be my isolation unit for injured chickens when I no longer need it as a brooder. Once the whole thing goes in the coop, I will install a 45 degree “roof” over the crate so the chickens can’t roost up there.
I went to the lumber store and was absolutely thrilled that there were prefabricated slabs in the sizes I was planning to make. (I do have a biscuit joiner, and was going to biscuit together 1×4″ lumber, but this saved me time and, believe it or not, money!) So then I just needed three 2x4x8 pine boards. The legs are 36″ tall, and the outside dimensions are 24″x36″. For the top rail I made a large dovetail joint, and for the shelf (which is 18″ off the ground), I cut mortise and tenons. I did take pictures of the best cuts, but all the joins needed to be filled with wood filler. I sanded down the whole thing and rounded the edges to reduce splintering and potential harm to my hip if I run into the thing.
Dovetail joint joining two 2x4s
I have not finished it yet, but am planning on rubbing it with Tung oil, just to make it easier to clean later. When the coop is done, I will assemble the top and shelves permanently, but for now it will stay in 4 pieces because those are easier to store!
Critters and Craft 