The Best Chicken Nesting Box Filler and Why We Use It

If you are new to backyard chicken flocks or if you have had them for years, chicken nesting boxes are a big part of their laying cycle. Hens lay a certain amount of eggs per year, and depending on the breed of chicken it can be quite a lot, or less so. Having a safe place where they can lay their eggs is so important. A place to prevent broken eggs is also just as important.

Now, there are multiple ways to create nesting boxes affordably and there are some really creative options as well. But today I want to talk about what to fill them with!

Believe it or not, its an important element that we sometimes probably overlook. I know I have in the past.

Traditional Nesting Box Material:

I have used traditional nesting material in our laying boxes such as hay, straw and wood shavings. While they are all good fillers, if you have chickens you know that they have a tendency to kick all the filling out onto the ground.

If you have a higher lip on the front of your nesting box, maybe you dont deal with this, but man, ours really go to town and I am constantly refilling those laying boxes.

The problem is, when they lay eggs on a hard surface, there is a bigger chance of them breaking when they are laid. They also run the risk of being smashes when another hen comes to lay(because if your hens are like mine, they all fight over the same box, even if you have multiple).

Chicken keepers like you and me cannot afford to let those delicious eggs be destroyed because of this issue. I check our nesting boxes a few times a day to prevent any issues but even with the best of intentions, you can have loss.

But, since I have started to use these chicken coop nest liners those problems seem to be a thing of the past.

There are a few advantages to using these liners for your laying hens:

First, they offer a soft place to lay their egg. There is less of a risk of having broken eggs when using these nesting pads.

Second, they keep things clean. I have noticed that the boxes stay much cleaner when I am using liners. I notice that there is less poop in the nesting boxes. Yes chickens often poop in them to.

Third, cleanup is super easy! All you have to do is remove the entire pad and throw it away! It doesn’t degrade or fall apart.

Fourth, They cannot kick the filler out of the box like they can to other bedding materials! This is the biggest advantage to me because you can go through a lot of nesting material in a short amount of time.

These nesting box liners work great for all sizes of chicken breeds including larger breeds like orpingtons, or bantams.

These bedding liners fit a 12 by 12 inch laying box, which is the ideal size for nesting boxes.

So, if you are looking for a way to tighten things up in your coop, help keep your nesting boxes clean, and help to protect the eggs that get laid, definitely try these nesting box pads.