Dec. 8, 2025

5 Hidden Coop Mistakes That Are Hurting Your Birds-Part 1

Show Notes
Transcript

Discover the real secrets behind a clean, productive, low-stress chicken coop that keeps your birds happy, healthy, and stress-free. In this episode of The Poultry Keepers Podcast, Rip Stalvey, Jeff Mattocks, and Carey Blackmon reveal the five coop setup choices that have the biggest impact on flock health, egg quality, and ease of management. These aren’t the tips you find on Pinterest—these are the practical, experience-backed methods used by lifelong poultry keepers.

In Part 1, you’ll learn how the right roost design, nest-box setup, and coop interior layout can instantly reduce mess, prevent squabbles, protect feet, increase egg cleanliness, and make daily chores faster and easier. You’ll also hear real-world tips on roost height, materials, spacing per bird, discouraging nest-box sleeping, and the surprising role darkness and privacy play in encouraging clean, well-shaped eggs.

If you want a coop that practically runs itself, and a flock that stays healthier with less work, this episode lays the foundation. Whether you’re a brand-new backyard keeper or a seasoned poultry enthusiast looking to refine your setup, these insights will help you build a coop that works with your birds—not against them.

Watch Part 2 next week for the remaining secrets and a full breakdown of bedding choices, deep-litter methods, and how to reduce coop labor without sacrificing flock health!

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WEBVTT

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Welcome to The PoultryKeepers Podcast.

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In this episode Rip, Jeff, and Carey share the five secrets for the best coop setup to keep your birds productive, happy, and healthy.

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so let's dive right in.

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Tonight we're pulling back the curtain on the biggest secrets hidden inside your backyard coop.

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These are the things new poultry keepers don't always learn from store-bought books or Pinterest pictures.

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I'm talking about the interior setup choices that makes the difference between a coop that's easy to manage.

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And one that becomes a chore, you dread doing.

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By the end of the night, you'll know the five most impactful changes that you can make inside your coop.

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They're going to reduce mess, protect your birds, stretch your feed budget.

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And keep your flock healthier all year long.

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These five secrets can transform your entire experience, trust me.

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And most folks have never heard them explain the way we're about to share them.

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So guys, I, I'd say let's get started now.

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Let's start with, let's start with Roosts.

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Why do

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roost matter?

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Anybody?

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I think roost matter because their chickens originated from jungle fowl.

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And their, their natural instinct is to light up in a tree.

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And having a roost for them to rest on, is, I guess it's like peaceful or home.

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It's more natural than them standing in wet, cold poop floating with bacteria all the time.

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When, like right in Alabama, the last few days, we've gotten a stupid amount of rain.

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Because all my birds have a roost, they're able to not stand in what happens until I can go shovel a truckload of, style pellets in there.

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Exactly.

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I think one of the things that roost bring about is a nighttime stability in the f.

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They're not always squabbling like they would be if they were just out on the ground.

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Yeah.

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How do they help foot health of our birds

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helps our foot, health of our birds a lot.

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Yeah.

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They're not, they were never designed to stand in wet environments at all.

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They're just not they're a dry land.

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Only short exposures to ground moisture.

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Yeah.

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They'll play in a mud puddle for a little bit, but 90% of their time they need to have dry feet.

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Managing that bedding and even going back to, like the roost thing, my birds would roost in the middle of the day.

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If they were if the weather wasn't great or.

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It's whatever, I would, my flock would get up on the roost, in the hen house.

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If the weather was fit or whatever they were out, doing.

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But it gives'em a mental security, a secure feeling to get up on that roost.

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They were just they evolved that way for a reason.

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But yeah, we gotta keep the, yeah.

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They just, I also think it.

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It helps a little bit with air circulation around the birds.

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Yeah.

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But it was strange how they all pick their own spot.

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They do their own thing.

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And you, they don't they don't like being changed.

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Once that order is set, don't go in there and move them around.

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That's just not gonna, not, it's funny to do that.

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Yeah, it's a good way to start a fight, right?

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Things don't work out well for somebody.

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Even in the dark.

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They can tell if there's the wrong person beside them.

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Look, I have went in and in the evenings, I use my green headlamp and I'll go after it's got dark, check'em out, look at their legs, make sure everything's good.

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Because really for me, with my busy life, that's about the only time I have time.

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And if I don't sit them back in the same spot.

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Oh yeah.

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They'll start clucking, like letting me know how I ruin their knot.

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Oh yeah.

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And then the whole yard will be clucking.

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Oh yeah.

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Until I pick the bird up and put'em back in the right spot.

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I'm like, it's dark back here.

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You're not supposed to be able to see.

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They

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know.

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They know.

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They know.

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They know.

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Yep.

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I don't know how they know, but they know,

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right?

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Jeff, and I know you're good with this, how high is the ideal height for a roost to be above the floor of the coop?

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So your roos definitely needs to be higher than your nest box openings, right?

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So this discourages them from sleeping in their nest boxes.

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And if anybody thinks a hand sleeping in a nest box is a good idea.

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I'm sorry.

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You're wrong.

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Okay.

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You do not want that to happen unless you like washing poopy eggs, right?

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Not my idea.

00:05:06.985 --> 00:05:07.286
Yeah,

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I was gonna say, unless you like cleaning out

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nest boxes, just from observation at my place now breeds, the breeds vary.

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We had some Rams, we had Orpingtons, black o orps, we had the barnyard special, three foot off the ground worked really well for my flock.

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Now, if I had heavier birds and mine were the hatchery variety of those breeds, right?

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So they were not the big true heavyweights.

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Two and a half to three foot is about all you can expect a larger foul to really get up and be comfortable.

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But, at least as long as they're 18 inches.

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Between somewhere between 18 inches at foot and a half to three foot.

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I would say, and that depends on your breed.

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Some people like to set up shorter bars, like one at a foot, one at two foot, and then they can hop their way up there and that's fine.

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Don't count the lower bars as roo space.

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And I made my roos bars all level.

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Okay.

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They were, every one of'em was at three foot.

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Because my first Bruce bars, I set up on that whole, an angled ladder set up.

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And all I had was a bunch of fighting.

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The Americana had to be at the top, and if they weren't at the top right, they were just beating the piss out of somebody.

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They were just brutal.

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Even though they were on the smaller side of the flock, weight wise, they're feisty.

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They were just, yeah, they were really feisty.

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I had two of'em that would go in way early before Sunset to ensure they had the highest spot on the roost.

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That's funny.

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It's funny for you.

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It was not funny for me.

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'cause then the fighting begins, it sundown who's gonna be at the top?

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So I just made them, that was my one and only act of socialism.

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I made them all equal at three feet okay.

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That makes sense.

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And it took away all that aggression for top spot.

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I like the roost all on the same level for one reason.

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To me it just seemed like it was easier to clean out from under'em.

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Oh yeah.

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Yeah,

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definitely.

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So I put my roost, so they were all connected by support stringers.

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And then I put'em on a hinge with a counterbalance so I could actually lift it up out of the way, right?

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And the counterweight would hold it in place and then I could clean out without bending over.

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I could get in there with my pitchfork and do what I had to do.

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So

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what about metal roost?

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Yes or no?

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No.

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No metal, no

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PVC

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actually, I like softwood actually.

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And I don't even like oak and maple or hardwood.

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I prefer a soft buy it at the store, a soft pine.

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And usually now the dimensional lumber at a store like Lowe's or Home Depot is all lo lolly pine.

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So the growth rings on it are really wide, right?

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'cause it's a fast growing tree.

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And when you do that wood's even softer than like an old growth pine.

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So I want something that they can claw into, right?

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They can dig their toenails into and hold on.

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So yeah,

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I always like to round over the top edges on the two by fours.

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It just felt like it was a little bit of a more natural, fit for the bird's foot.

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Oh, for sure.

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Yeah.

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That makes it more like a tree limb, right?

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And I think some of the best tree limbs I've seen are people actually go out and cut down, two inch type saplings, right?

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And they'll use those as their roof barks and they'll leave the bark on them, right?

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Yep.

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Because that's your grip point.

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That's your anti-skid, so to speak.

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And it works really good.

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So I do that in my grow outs.

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I'll find some tree limbs or I will make some tree limbs that don't need to be up anymore, like low hanging trees in the backyard and stuff like that.

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I'll take those limbs and I'll put'em in the grow out.

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And use the wire to hold'em in place, or a couple of scrap pieces of two by four to hold'em up so they're stable.

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But I've used those for roosting areas quite a few times.

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They like it.

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They also like ball horses.

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Yeah.

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If you have access to the right kind of saplings or limbs, then.

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I didn't know back when we had our flock, I have a really nice spruce tree in the backyard.

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I could have gone out there and limbed it and got perfect two inch, inch and a half, two inch limbs that were straight and used those for Broce bars.

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No, I had to make'em right.

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I went the hard way.

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I went through all the growing pains of let's make'em on an angle and let's make'em various heights and Right.

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Oh, see when Rip talked about how he liked to round off the edges on two by fours, that just tells me how long it's been since he's built some, he built, he must, he had to have built them right when he built them.

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Because them things are rounded now.

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Because that's less actual wood they have to put in on it.

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I like'em a little more rounded than what they come from the store.

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Yeah.

00:10:16.885 --> 00:10:17.395
Okay.

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I know the way they are now looks like they got, had a quarter inch router bit go over the sides.

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Yeah.

00:10:23.841 --> 00:10:23.850
They

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chafer all the edges now.

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They don't leave'em rough.

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What about space per bird on a roost?

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Depends on the breed.

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Yeah.

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It's pretty

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critical.

00:10:34.541 --> 00:10:34.600
Yeah.

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I had four to six pound birds and I allowed six to eight inches per bird.

00:10:40.150 --> 00:10:48.640
So I would say you're probably, if you're looking for a ratio, like one and a half inch is of linear per pound of chicken.

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Or the other way around.

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So pound of chicken.

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So like I said, I had six inches.

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Yeah, it's one and a half per pound of chicken.

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So yeah, I would've six inches for a four pound chicken, eight inches for a six pound chicken, that way.

00:11:02.676 --> 00:11:10.385
And they were comfortable, but I also always had 20% more roof space than I actually had birds, right?

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I never counted every inch because there's some birds that don't want anyone to sleep next to'em, and they have to have their own space.

00:11:19.895 --> 00:11:23.436
So you always want a surplus of roosting bar space.

00:11:24.035 --> 00:11:24.336
Yeah.

00:11:24.936 --> 00:11:26.711
That's a really smart move.

00:11:27.311 --> 00:11:27.701
Yeah.

00:11:27.971 --> 00:11:29.711
You know how chicken meth works though, right?

00:11:29.711 --> 00:11:35.426
You make enough roosting space for 20 chickens and before you know it, you have 30 and you're out, so Yeah.

00:11:36.025 --> 00:11:37.405
Yeah, exactly.

00:11:37.446 --> 00:11:42.186
You might as well just figure that overage right at the beginning because it's gonna happen.

00:11:42.296 --> 00:11:46.495
It's an illness that all chicken people get at some point, right?

00:11:46.586 --> 00:11:47.485
To have too many.

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And some of us on occasion relapse.

00:11:50.216 --> 00:12:00.480
Earlier we were talking about make sure your roost were always above your nesting box, but also you don't want'em over your feeders or your waterers.

00:12:00.841 --> 00:12:07.846
No, because you're gonna create a mess that's not very sanitary because those birds, they like to poop at night and they can poop a lot.

00:12:08.145 --> 00:12:11.596
If you're doing that, if you're doing the afternoon feeding, like I recommend.

00:12:11.916 --> 00:12:27.066
Then if you're doing a limited amount or controlled feeding and you feed in the afternoon one to two hours before sundown, then for sure there's going to be good Minorca deposits under the roost the following morning.

00:12:27.166 --> 00:12:27.796
Gonna happen.

00:12:28.586 --> 00:12:29.846
You have a little mound.

00:12:30.416 --> 00:12:30.775
Yeah.

00:12:30.956 --> 00:12:34.466
Because they, they get in the same spot on the roosting pole.

00:12:35.005 --> 00:12:35.245
Yeah.

00:12:35.245 --> 00:12:37.405
But it makes it a whole lot easier to clean up.

00:12:37.535 --> 00:12:40.596
Because it's gonna be in a nice little pile.

00:12:40.796 --> 00:12:42.596
Easy to grab with a pitch for,

00:12:42.985 --> 00:12:43.076
Yep.

00:12:43.196 --> 00:12:43.346
And

00:12:43.855 --> 00:12:44.275
toss it.

00:12:44.816 --> 00:12:45.206
Toss it.

00:12:45.806 --> 00:12:47.816
It is not scattered all over the yard.

00:12:47.885 --> 00:12:58.326
There is a method to my insane this to feed in the afternoon that a majority of the chicken poop will be under the roost where it's easy to clean and maintain.

00:12:59.105 --> 00:13:03.755
My old minter said, and we were talking about squabbling between birds, but Mr.

00:13:03.755 --> 00:13:11.015
Reese always said a good roof set up prevents 80% of the nighttime drama inside the coup.

00:13:11.615 --> 00:13:12.426
Amen to that.

00:13:13.025 --> 00:13:23.035
Let's move along to nesting setup because a good nesting setup is going to boost your egg quality because you're gonna be cleaner automatically.

00:13:23.635 --> 00:13:23.785
Yep.

00:13:24.385 --> 00:13:30.196
And I know Jeff you recommend a box size of 12 by 12, or an average size layer.

00:13:30.796 --> 00:13:31.125
Now

00:13:31.181 --> 00:13:34.326
that would be the larger size, like a standard bread, yes.

00:13:34.625 --> 00:13:37.166
Rhode Island red, a true Rhode Island red.

00:13:37.166 --> 00:13:37.706
Yes.

00:13:38.245 --> 00:13:48.916
Now, for people with hatchery birds that only weigh four to six pounds, four or five pounds, you can get by with an eight inch wide nest is 12 high and 12 deep.

00:13:49.225 --> 00:13:52.255
But you don't want extra space in a nest box.

00:13:52.346 --> 00:13:52.645
Okay.

00:13:52.796 --> 00:13:55.765
The biggest mistake I see are nest boxes are.

00:13:56.365 --> 00:14:00.956
Too big and they can accommodate more than one chicken at a time.

00:14:01.316 --> 00:14:01.765
Oh yeah.

00:14:01.916 --> 00:14:04.196
And that creates problems in itself.

00:14:04.796 --> 00:14:15.446
We actually, that's the picture I used for our YouTube art was a picture of nest boxes and several of those nest boxes you can see two birds in.

00:14:16.046 --> 00:14:17.846
And that's just asking for trouble,

00:14:18.446 --> 00:14:20.216
especially if you don't have curtains on there.

00:14:20.556 --> 00:14:20.596
Yes.

00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:25.500
And one of the biggest neglects I see, people don't put curtains on their nest boxes.

00:14:26.100 --> 00:14:30.000
They don't put the nest boxes in the darkest place of the coop in the morning.

00:14:30.030 --> 00:14:42.311
So if that between eight and 11, you need to find where it's the darkest corner of your hen house to place those next, and you still need curtains.

00:14:42.311 --> 00:14:45.221
You want to minimize the amount of light going into that nest box.

00:14:45.821 --> 00:14:46.041
So

00:14:46.640 --> 00:14:50.811
see in some of my pens, I don't really have shade in the morning.

00:14:51.410 --> 00:15:06.326
So what I did was I put my, the back of my nest box from where the sun comes up and the front is away from it, and I've got, I used a canvas type material for the cloth shade cloth.

00:15:06.926 --> 00:15:07.855
And they lock'em pretty

00:15:07.855 --> 00:15:08.245
well.

00:15:08.846 --> 00:15:13.485
Jeff, you were mentioning one time on one of our shows that you used a what was it?

00:15:13.485 --> 00:15:14.505
A pond liner?

00:15:15.046 --> 00:15:16.336
Vinyl right liner.

00:15:16.336 --> 00:15:21.826
You can get a, you can get like a three or four, a real thin rubber sheeting.

00:15:22.166 --> 00:15:27.520
If you go to a better end landscaping store that supports backyard fish ponds.

00:15:27.701 --> 00:15:28.721
So it's a pond liner.

00:15:28.770 --> 00:15:29.730
You can get pond liner.

00:15:30.331 --> 00:15:35.730
And pond liner is excellent'cause it holds up to any ammonia smell.

00:15:35.760 --> 00:15:39.780
It really holds up great to the wear and tear of the hen going in and out.

00:15:40.130 --> 00:15:50.100
And you can cut it, you can cut it to size and then once you get it, a fastened or attached with, self-tapping sheet metal screws or whatever you choose.

00:15:50.701 --> 00:15:59.730
Then you come back with a really fresh, sharp utility knife and you cut vertical slits, like those plastic freezer doors, right?

00:16:00.030 --> 00:16:03.625
And about every inch and a half, don't cut all the way to the top, right?

00:16:03.875 --> 00:16:06.696
Leave yourself an inch and a half or so from the top.

00:16:06.816 --> 00:16:09.785
Don't cut all the way through and work straight.

00:16:10.025 --> 00:16:15.936
And then when you get new pulls that don't know what a nest box is, you can roll or lift those tabs up.

00:16:16.221 --> 00:16:20.390
And tuck'em in behind and it gives a bigger opening.

00:16:20.390 --> 00:16:23.721
So when the pull starts thinking about what's a nest box?

00:16:23.780 --> 00:16:25.191
Where do I need to lay my egg?

00:16:25.191 --> 00:16:28.191
Things like that, it makes it easier for'em to find them.

00:16:28.640 --> 00:16:29.091
And then

00:16:29.525 --> 00:16:35.875
once everybody laying, once they start using them, you can take those tabs off and let'em fall right back down and they'll keep

00:16:35.875 --> 00:16:36.596
using that box.

00:16:37.135 --> 00:16:41.025
Once they determine that's where they're laying their egg, then you're good.

00:16:41.625 --> 00:16:45.780
Why, and I saw this statement, I thought this would be good to talk about tonight.

00:16:46.380 --> 00:16:52.020
Why does darkness, calm and height matter to the nest boxes for the birds?

00:16:52.331 --> 00:16:58.120
Their instinct is to lay their a, in what they feel is a secure location, right?

00:16:58.221 --> 00:17:03.801
Where a, she wants privacy in her mind, she's building a clutch, right?

00:17:03.801 --> 00:17:05.211
That she's gonna set on.

00:17:05.810 --> 00:17:07.701
In a week or so, right?

00:17:07.730 --> 00:17:13.580
And instinct tells her to go to the darkest place to, to lay her egg, right?

00:17:13.641 --> 00:17:16.361
That has security to it, walls and so on.

00:17:16.961 --> 00:17:20.570
And so that's just why they do that now height.

00:17:20.750 --> 00:17:24.260
They need to be able to stand up in there and turn around, right?

00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:25.161
And.

00:17:25.461 --> 00:17:32.780
The bird has to be able to enter fairly comfortably, not a lot of ducking going on, and she needs to be able to go in and turn around.

00:17:32.961 --> 00:17:35.211
So she's gotta have enough height to do that.

00:17:35.810 --> 00:17:36.020
Yep.

00:17:36.141 --> 00:17:40.941
But you want no more extra space, then the bird can go in and turn around.

00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:43.730
Quit thinking your chicken needs a king size bed.

00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:44.760
When a twin will do.

00:17:44.941 --> 00:17:45.330
All right.

00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:46.201
It just don't.

00:17:46.800 --> 00:17:51.480
Carrie, what is your preference for bedding material in the coop?

00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:52.621
To keep the eggs clean.

00:17:53.221 --> 00:17:54.750
So if

00:17:54.961 --> 00:18:11.705
your cl, if the coop is exposed to the ailments and you have a nesting box there, I like to get the pads like they use in the commercial industry that are like AstroTurf.

00:18:12.306 --> 00:18:14.736
Because it still gives them that natural feel.

00:18:14.736 --> 00:18:15.635
It's soft.

00:18:15.986 --> 00:18:17.546
Shavings are really nice.

00:18:17.605 --> 00:18:31.645
They make a fluffy bed, but any rain gets to'em or anything like that, and they're gonna start breaking down and eventually turn into either a soggy mess or Molt.

00:18:32.246 --> 00:18:33.326
And you don't want either one.

00:18:33.851 --> 00:18:46.000
So I use that if it's exposed, if it is inside of a house, I hate to say it, but I really like a straw and hay cause it's soft.

00:18:46.601 --> 00:18:51.701
And especially in the wintertime, they'll get in there in the mornings when it's really cold.

00:18:52.300 --> 00:18:56.441
Leave me an egg, get out when it warms up and it's clean.

00:18:57.040 --> 00:19:09.280
Now this, we've never really talked about this, and I'm gonna share something I learned from a good old boy down in Texas who was keeping like 500 layers in a converted cotton wagon, right?

00:19:09.340 --> 00:19:13.211
So he took an old cotton wagon, converted it into an egg layer mobile.

00:19:13.780 --> 00:19:14.111
Perfect.

00:19:14.711 --> 00:19:21.070
So he kept three to four inches of medium.

00:19:21.671 --> 00:19:25.540
Pine shavings, medium cut pine shavings, not the extra large.

00:19:25.871 --> 00:19:26.351
In there.

00:19:26.951 --> 00:19:31.421
Now he had eight children and all two of them got to go.

00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.540
Two would go to each egg mobile and gather eggs.

00:19:35.111 --> 00:19:47.730
This is one of the slickest tricks I've ever seen the man do is he had a freshly laundered, sanitized damp washcloth in Ziploc bag and.

00:19:48.330 --> 00:19:53.520
When he collected eggs, they went directly into the cartons that he was gonna sell them in.

00:19:54.010 --> 00:20:05.691
So if he reached in and there was by chance a broken egg or a, a Minorca on egg or anything, it got washed immediately and put right into the carton for sale, right?

00:20:06.171 --> 00:20:12.861
And then they'd reach in there, they'd take out whatever soiled pine shavings, you always kept an extra baler, two of pine shavings in every wagon.

00:20:13.401 --> 00:20:14.391
You just refreshed it.

00:20:14.990 --> 00:20:23.201
So he had the least amount of egg washing I've ever seen of any, larger commercial style, egg laying outfit.

00:20:23.800 --> 00:20:25.661
That probably saved him a lot of money.

00:20:26.260 --> 00:20:26.681
It did.

00:20:26.730 --> 00:20:31.020
Prior to seeing that firsthand, I was on the same page as Carrie.

00:20:31.351 --> 00:20:38.580
I always used straw and I got really nice straw, tried to get chop straw so it wasn't too long and fibrous.

00:20:38.931 --> 00:20:47.971
And I was a straw fan, but I tell you what, after seeing that and the amount of eggs he did not have to wash, yeah, I was impressed.

00:20:47.971 --> 00:20:50.441
'cause nobody likes washing eggs.

00:20:50.790 --> 00:20:51.240
No.

00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:55.740
And if you're in a state where you don't have to, that streamlines your efficiency.

00:20:55.740 --> 00:20:56.161
Huge.

00:20:56.490 --> 00:20:56.671
Oh lot.

00:20:57.270 --> 00:21:01.201
And if you're just a backyard person selling them from a farm stand.

00:21:01.711 --> 00:21:06.961
You pretty much do whatever you want to, as long as you can keep your conscience clean.

00:21:07.441 --> 00:21:08.191
Yeah, you still

00:21:08.191 --> 00:21:09.721
need to keep a clean egg, right?

00:21:09.840 --> 00:21:12.990
And then actually dried on manure or something like that.

00:21:12.990 --> 00:21:14.820
You want to flick off with your finger.

00:21:15.270 --> 00:21:16.921
You don't really want to make it wet.

00:21:17.520 --> 00:21:24.250
Some people go and as soon as you get that wet and you're pushing on it, you're actually pushing it through the pores.

00:21:24.790 --> 00:21:28.240
And that egg shelf life is gonna be a lot less.

00:21:28.391 --> 00:21:43.651
So whenever you can just flick it off with your fingernail or something else, but don't get that manure wet until you get the majority of it off with something dry by scraping or, then if you got a little bit of a stain or something, wash it off.

00:21:43.830 --> 00:21:44.131
But,

00:21:44.701 --> 00:21:46.830
so I've got a.

00:21:47.431 --> 00:22:00.871
That's designed for washing pots and pans in a commercial setting is like one of those yellow rubber gloves that has a Scotch Bresse pad on it, like made onto it.

00:22:01.471 --> 00:22:09.060
And I'll use one of those and I'll wear the thumb part out'cause flicking it with your fingernail.

00:22:09.211 --> 00:22:11.790
My fingernails are extremely thick compared to most people's.

00:22:12.361 --> 00:22:18.211
And I've actually cracked eggs, which is weird'cause I can drop eggs and they won't crack.

00:22:18.211 --> 00:22:20.431
But flicking crap they would.

00:22:21.030 --> 00:22:24.810
So I use that and it works great.

00:22:25.111 --> 00:22:27.361
Your eggshells are harder than they used to be now too.

00:22:27.361 --> 00:22:28.171
But anyway.

00:22:28.421 --> 00:22:29.080
Yeah, they are.

00:22:29.681 --> 00:22:31.151
Sue's got the right idea though.

00:22:31.300 --> 00:22:33.905
It's dogs get any of the eggs that had anno on.

00:22:34.476 --> 00:22:36.756
But she must have enough eggs to do that,

00:22:36.935 --> 00:22:38.705
she feeds good feed her.

00:22:38.705 --> 00:22:40.625
Her birds are really good layers too.

00:22:40.976 --> 00:22:44.806
Carrie was talking earlier about the astro terra flack material.

00:22:45.105 --> 00:22:49.726
If you go to the store and buy it, it can be pretty pricey, but.

00:22:50.326 --> 00:22:56.596
Our Lowe's store has a huge big box of remnants and end pieces.

00:22:57.195 --> 00:22:57.375
Oh yeah.

00:22:57.375 --> 00:22:58.546
They'll sell that to you, right?

00:22:58.905 --> 00:23:01.846
They, but that is very reasonably priced.

00:23:01.846 --> 00:23:08.086
So if you want to try that, hop on down to your local Lowe stores and see if they don't have a box of remnants down there.

00:23:08.086 --> 00:23:09.736
You can pick through and get what you want.

00:23:10.336 --> 00:23:11.086
Oh yeah.

00:23:11.685 --> 00:23:24.526
It's important that you have a perch whip on your nest boxes that gives the bird a place to fly up, to walk down there after they find the nest they want to use and lay their eggs.

00:23:24.826 --> 00:23:29.506
It just saves a lot of frustration, a lot of dirty eggs and a lot of scattered shavings.

00:23:30.105 --> 00:23:32.046
But it's, I use it one by four.

00:23:32.645 --> 00:23:34.145
You gotta have a perra, right?

00:23:34.175 --> 00:23:35.226
Yeah, a nest box.

00:23:35.226 --> 00:23:37.385
And a nest box if they don't have perra.

00:23:37.955 --> 00:23:44.355
And it also should be wooden and something they can grab onto, when they get up there.

00:23:44.596 --> 00:23:44.836
So

00:23:45.435 --> 00:23:46.695
before, not wood.

00:23:47.296 --> 00:23:49.665
They're not wood ducks, it can just fly into a hole.

00:23:49.846 --> 00:23:55.185
I was thinking about that Will Smith movie, where they fly into the alien station.

00:23:55.536 --> 00:23:59.226
They don't just do that into the nest box.

00:23:59.826 --> 00:24:02.915
They need a place to hop up to or whatever.

00:24:03.215 --> 00:24:03.486
Yeah.

00:24:04.086 --> 00:24:06.756
So you're showing your age now'cause that's the old Independence Day.

00:24:07.105 --> 00:24:07.375
Yeah.

00:24:07.586 --> 00:24:08.185
Good movie.

00:24:08.546 --> 00:24:10.385
I am ba I never go past it ever.

00:24:10.385 --> 00:24:11.526
Whenever I see it playing.

00:24:11.925 --> 00:24:15.105
Before we move on, I want, I wanna leave our viewers with this.

00:24:15.705 --> 00:24:22.365
One thing about Nest Box is, remember this, hands don't need fancy, they need privacy.

00:24:22.965 --> 00:24:23.205
Yep.

00:24:23.340 --> 00:24:23.461
A

00:24:23.461 --> 00:24:23.941
hundred percent.

00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:28.441
My, the first Nest box that I had in was my reds.

00:24:29.040 --> 00:24:35.790
Because you can't really find 12 by 12 nest box unless you go hijack some milk crates somewhere.

00:24:36.141 --> 00:24:37.911
Which do work really well.

00:24:38.280 --> 00:24:45.000
So what I used was a storage tub up and sue's the one that gave me the idea.

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:51.840
She sent me a picture of a storage tub and she had stapled some curtains across the top of it, and I was like.

00:24:52.365 --> 00:24:53.026
That'll work.

00:24:53.625 --> 00:24:53.865
Yeah.

00:24:54.465 --> 00:24:58.395
Before you move on too far from Nest boxes though, we do got a couple questions in the queue.

00:24:58.996 --> 00:24:59.415
Okay.

00:25:00.016 --> 00:25:00.705
Pop'em up there.

00:25:00.705 --> 00:25:01.066
Somebody.

00:25:01.665 --> 00:25:12.826
So Natalie says she has a Jubilee Orpington, I'm, and I'm assuming a standard grid wanted to know if 12 by 12 is large enough and Yes, it would be.

00:25:13.425 --> 00:25:17.871
Just large enough that is the correct size for a standard bread Orpington.

00:25:18.411 --> 00:25:18.621
Yep.

00:25:19.221 --> 00:25:19.550
Let's see.

00:25:20.151 --> 00:25:20.931
Here's one.

00:25:20.931 --> 00:25:23.691