Refrigerator Nesting Box

Refrigerator Nesting Box LIVESTOCK Poultry 28-4-20 When it's time to collect the eggs from his small flock of chickens, Clark Carpenter doesn't have to go inside the coop. Instead, he just opens the door to his refrigerator. The Hamilton, Mont., farmer cut a hole the size of the refrigerator into one corner of the chicken coop, then fitted the refrigerator into it with the door to the outside. The back side of the refrigerator was cut out. He put a plywood tray over each of the shelves, with a lip on front and back to keep straw and eggs from falling out. Perches and ramps make it easy for the chickens to enter the back side of the refrigerator. "People are amazed when they first see it. One woman thought I kept the chickens inside the refrigerator permanently," says Carpenter. "It's nice to be able to reach in from the outside without having to walk through manure. It also eliminates the need to build nests inside the coop. The chickens seem to like it, and the eggs stay clean. The coop has about 20 chickens in it, and I've seen up to three chickens sitting on each shelf at a time. A bigger double wide refrigerator could be used to accommodate even more chickens." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clark Carpenter, 605 Alvista Loop, Hamilton, Mont. 59840 (ph 406 363-3827).

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