Choosing Chicken Nests

You may not think that the type of nest that you buy for your chickens is important, but you would be mistaken. There are several different models available, and each can offer something different for you and for your birds. The health and happiness of your birds will certainly determine how well they lay for you, so don’t make the wrong choice for your chickens or for your business.

When you start looking at nests, you will see that most are made of galvanized steel. This is certainly to keep your nests in the best possible condition for several laying seasons, but there are some drawbacks. The less expensive models will not have nest bottoms, which means that you will need to come up with a solution of your own. If you do not, then cracked eggs and urine could lead the metal to rust well before its time. Trying to save money with the cheaper model could mean that you are paying more money later to rectify the mistake. Instead, you should either buy a model with rubber or plastic nest bottoms or purchase the bottoms to add to your metal nest to make cleaning easier.

You will need to consider the perches for your birds, too. Wooden perches are certainly the most popular, and they have been around for years. There are drawbacks to the popular wooden perches, though, and that’s why many new nest models now have plastic perches. Wood can rot over time, which will require replacement perches if you wish to keep your nest. Also, wood can invite termites and other pests to hang around your chicken nest, and they could then infest your birds, too. You will probably find that it is easier and more efficient to go ahead and invest in the nests that have plastic perches, even if it might be more expensive in the beginning.

There are also different sizes, which will allow you to make purchases as your hatchery or chicken farm grows. You can purchase a larger one to begin with and then add to your nests as the number of birds grows. You can purchase nests as small as two holes at a time, so it’s easy to just grow your business gradually without laying out money for nests that you don’t yet need. You can consider all of these things when you go to make your first nest purchase.

By: Will Hanekom

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Surehatch is a leading supplier of egg incubators and poultry supplies. Surehatch caries all hatchery supplies including egg incubators, brooders, feather pluckers, breeding pens and more. Visit Surehatch.com to find all of the products you need to start raising chickens.