chicken house nest boxes

[tinnerjohn]

I'm building a chicken house for the chickens my wonderful brother-in-law got my grand kids for easter (actually Grandpa has wanted some for a long time, just wasn't sure how it would go over with Grandma (she has bad memories of a rooster when she was little). Her brother solved that obstacle for me. Back to the point. I want to use the treated plywood that was left from the floor to build the nest boxes, but am not sure if the chemicals used would be harmful to the chickens. I'm not a tree hugger completely, but I just want to be safe. Hopefully, someone on the forum has had some experience with this and can offer an opinion. John

[Don McCombs]

Other opinions may vary, but I would not use the treated plywood. I have had a reaction to it and the hens may, too.

[RaymondDurban]

Get yourself some plastic milkcrates, cut one side down a little for easier entry and exit and screw the crate to the wall. Put a little straw in there and your done!!

[tinnerjohn]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to pass on using the treated plywood. Something just told me it was a bad idea, guess I just needed a second opinion. I like the milk crate idea, just may give it a shot. I can taste the eggs already. John

[ellen]

Whatever you use make sure you put some sort of "lip" on the bottom of the box. Chickens like to get in the boxes and "ruffle" the nesting material to make it nice and comfy. This lip will help to keep it in the box.
Check out this web site. They have lots of good info.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/index.php

[daddydip]

old roofing shingles work good for a base. after they get to mucked up toss them, replace and keep on grabbing eggs

[Brent]

I had one piece of treated plywood out of 12 on the sides of my round pen. Guess which one one of the horses decided to chew on. He didn't feel too good for a couple of days but everything turned out all right.

[tinnerjohn]

Thanks for everyones input. After Mama not wanting to give up her milk crates (she uses them for laundry baskets) I decided to use treated on the floor and T1-11 for the back, ends , and dividers. So far its been working well. One of the chicks that was "sexed" started crowing about three weeks ago and one of my neighbors came over tonight to tell me he really enjoys hearing it. I hope the rest of them feel the same because I'm not real fond of chicken and dumplings. I think I will try the shingle idea though. It sounds a lot easier than scraping with a piece of sheet metal. John