Pasture Pen Nest Box Upgrade

The bucket nest boxes I originally put in the Heras Panel Pasture Pens never really worked very well, They just weren;t quite big enough and could cause hens to break eggs. But because I used these pens more for grow outs it didn't matter too much and I changed the one I used for the layers into a bigger nest box like the one in this post. 

Currently I have all three of these pens with potential laying hens in. So it was time to upgrade the last two pens to have proper nest boxes, which can even stay in when raising meat birds in there as well. 

I had decided on a blue food barrel as they are easy to clean, about the right size and cheap enough. It almost seems like a waste, but they only cost about £4 and if I was to build it out of new wood it would cost far more. 

It's fairly simple to make. Cut just a barrel and take the middle section out of it, leaving the sides intack. I do these cuts with a thin metal cutting disk in a small angle grinder - creates a lot of plastic dust so make sure you wear eye protection! Then create some wooden supports with a timber on the front to act as a perch and one on the back to stop the plastic ripping - something I learnt from the first one I made. 

Also I always drill a few drainage holes in the bottom, the pens are water proof but sometimes driving rain can get in there and it's good to have an escape for any water that is collected. 

I then fitted the nest box by screwing through the back batten into the pen itself. Always make sure the nest box is lower than the perches otherwise birds will want to roost in them at night. 

I tend to fill mine with either sawdust (which is a product I am never short of due to being a carpenter) or cut long grass and herbs to fill it. 

What do you fill your nest boxes with? 

Do you like this idea of a blue barrel or prefer a nest box made from wood?