Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[GQsm]

Thought I would share this as it has worked well for me.

 

One of our hens came with free lice

 

I put a plastic tray in the corner but it was a battle with the rain which the rain won and the girls emptied it of it's dust very rapidly anyway.

 

Looked at a few ideas like trugs, cat litter trays and planters but thought I might be able to cobble something together that solved the issues better, especially the rain.

 

This is what I ended up with using a 80L storage container with clip on lid from The Range - around £7

 

 

 

 

The box is tapered and the lid edges mean water drips to the ground rather than running down the sides.

The hole is approx 10cm from the bottom and shaped to allow hens in while keeping dust in and rain out.

I have drilled lots of 1cm holes at the top of the box but under the lip to help with air flow, humidity and heat without rain getting in.

With it being clear, the sun dries the dust and warms it up. You can still watch them even though they are under cover and hopefully the lack of privacy will mean it stays a dust bath rather than an alternative nest box.

Duct tape was used to outline the hole, cover some cracks I got while cutting with the jigsaw and make the edges smooth. A finer blade would be better next time to avoid cracking the plastic when cutting.

Parcel tape was put around at hen eye level because one of the hens was confused and didn't seem to appreciate she couldn't access the sand through the sides or even get out when I placed her inside! This solved it.

 

Only downsides so far are the contours of the lid hold some rain water and I saw a hen jump on top with dirty feet and drink from the other end of the lid. I pour it off at the moment but will work something out to stop this.

The duct tape and parcel tape don't look great so I could use prettier tape or paint to make it look nicer.

 

It has been in the WIR for a week and has been great, We have had a lot of rain but it hasn't got in and the sand has got drier (it was damp out of the bag). Very little sand has been kicked out of the entrance.

I envisaged it for one but the two top hens often go in it together.

Had a good laugh at the weekend when one hen ended up with her head pressed against the side in the sand with the other sat on top of her not that it bothered her at all! The other two hens who did not go in the basic tray dust bath have not started using this yet but I am hopeful.

 

So far better than expected, will try to update this if any shortcomings become apparent. Will be interesting to see how it handles Winter.

[Mars]

As rule of thumb, you learn as you go.

PS. the chicken wire is not fox proof, if foxes have access to your WIR they will easily go through that chicken wire, for fox proof wire you need weld mesh wire

 

something like this

http://wireandfencedepot.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=23&products_id=127

[GQsm]

As rule of thumb, you learn as you go.

PS. the chicken wire is not fox proof, if foxes have access to your WIR they will easily go through that chicken wire, for fox proof wire you need weld mesh wire

 

something like this

http://wireandfencedepot.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=23&products_id=127

 

We have an enclosed garden with very high fencing. I already looked into weld mesh before we bought our WIR which only came with the weaker wire. Was thinking I would add some weld mesh at some point to be on the safe side.

[The Dogmother]

Good idea to reinforce with weldmesh - Hills of Devon were good, cheap suppliers last time I looked.

 

Like the idea for the dust bath - my runs are covered, so they don't get wet, and I make to with a cracked old Belfast sink full of wood ash.

[GQsm]

Update:

All hens happily using the dust bath for bathing.

 

Lid has kept the sand dry even when the rain has been heavy.

The hens have managed to peck the tape off in some places so I've removed it where it became loose.

 

One problem has arisen in that the lid claspe plastic has cracked. Looks like it's become brittle from cold weather so next plastic tub will need to be cold temperature resistant. It is still holding together though and lid seems only part affected.

[sjp]

Update:

All hens happily using the dust bath for bathing.

 

Lid has kept the sand dry even when the rain has been heavy.

The hens have managed to peck the tape off in some places so I've removed it where it became loose.

 

One problem has arisen in that the lid claspe plastic has cracked. Looks like it's become brittle from cold weather so next plastic tub will need to be cold temperature resistant. It is still holding together though and lid seems only part affected.

it's not so much the cold as the UV light that causes plastic to go brittle most is not all storage type boxes are made for indoor use so don't have the UV filter chemicals in them that get put into exteria grade plastics of instance windows and doors guttering etc. I'm sure there was a post some were of a DB made out of one of the smaller blue plastic barrels their made to with stand most climates as they get shipped around the world and left out in storage yards from here to Timbuktu and all places in between one with a screw on lid is easy to convert