Rollaway Nest Box Colony 48

Note: pictures showing the egg collection tray are from our divided nest boxes made by the same Amish shop. The pictures display the egg collection tray and lid setup. The Colony nest boxes are open design with the same outside but without the dividers. Click Here if you would like to see the same nest box with dividers.

Manure cleanout is a breeze, especially on the outside rear collection. You can roll a wheelbarrow right up to the box and pull out the manure tray just under the egg collection tray and dump without ever having to reach in or disturb the layers.

Nest boxes have metal mounting cleats, the cleats screw into a solid wall and the nesting box hangs on to the cleats. Simply lift off the complete nest box to remove to power wash and to disinfect.

The community-style nesting boxes are designed for commercial applications whereas the typical nesting compartments walls have been eliminated and replaced with front curtains allowing for an open concept community nest. Chickens quickly gravitate to the boxes thinking they are entering the individual nest. Community-style nesting boxes handle more chickens than the traditional divided nest style. The 48” will handle nearly double the capacity of a 48” nest box with dividers which typically accommodate 20-24 hens.

To collect the eggs simply lift the front cover and the eggs will be all lined up for a clean simple collection without having to disturb nesting hens.

Colony Nesting boxes are simple to install and provide many superior benefits over wooden nesting boxes. Open backs hang on two supplied hanging cleats that are screwed into the wall. Simply lift off to remove and power wash. To use as a rear collection the nest boxes are hung backward on the outside of a wall over a cutout hole allowing the open back to then become the entry for the curtains to hang on.  When the rear collection is selected using the drop-down box we supply a hinged door to cover the one front side and roost brackets to relocate the roost bar to the new front. Selecting the rear collection in the drop-down box will incrementally show the price difference for these extra parts.

Using them as a rear collection takes up zero space inside the coop and the taller opening created by the slant of the top allows for larger breed birds. 

Nesting boxes come with a training egg. These nesting boxes require no nesting material as it will inhibit the eggs from rolling forward. This makes these boxes easy to keep clean and reduces the risk of infestation. If needed, you may use regular amounts of nesting material and then gradually reduce as the chickens become trained.

Roost bars may be lifted up to discourage entry when needed. When used as a rear collection the roost bar can be accessed from the outside through the hinged door.

These rollaway egg nesting boxes are well-made from heavy-gauge galvanized metals and have no plastic lids or trays to break as others on the market. They are made of heavy 26 and 16-gauge galvanized metal. The 26 gauge is used on the main horizontal structure and the 16 gauge is used for some of the ends and main supports. Others in the market use thinner gauge metals.

Nesting boxes are simple to install and provide many superior benefits over wooden nesting boxes. 

Nest box entry is 8” tall at the entrance point for the front collection and 14" tall for the rear collection. Inside compartment measures 14" tall x 48" wide x 11-1/2” deep.

The 48” nest measures overall 49” wide 20” Tall 17” deep.

The Colony Nest Boxes also ship flat to save on shipping costs and will come completely unassembled like a large erector set. The next boxes assemble using 3/16 and 1/4 bolts. Instructions are the same as the divided boxes so the assembler will need to focus on just the pertinent parts (less the dividers) at hand. Click Here for assembly instructions. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most difficult they will rate between 9-10. People who are mechanically inclined who can visualize from the pictures and the limited assembly drawings seem to do well. Those who need detailed step-by-step instructions will likely struggle without some help. It will be good to have a second set of hands to hold the longer parts as they are being bolted together.  Metal edges may be sharp, and gloves should be worn. You will need a flat head screwdriver, adjustable wrench, or wrenches for the nuts and a hammer to attach the caps on the lid hinge bar.

With old-fashioned Amish-made quality comes some non-modern-day conveniences. Nesting boxes are built and ship from a small Amish shop without computers using only old-fashioned UPS Logbooks. We do not receive electronic tracking numbers.

We will give you a general idea of the ship date and then you will just need to let us know if for some reason you don't receive the order within 10 days for us to manually have it tracked. This system has worked very well with hundreds of these nest boxes being shipped.

What is the difference between the Colony and Community Rollaway Nest Boxes? Both are exceptional community open concept nest boxes providing exceptional commercial duty long-term performance. You will need to decide which one best fits your needs and budget.

They are just made by two different Amish companies who have different approaches to building rollaway nest boxes.

The Community Nest Boxes use a laying mat for the eggs to drop and roll on. These mats will also collect a buildup of manure and must be cleaned or changed regularly. Extra mats are available for change out. The Community Nest Boxes have an advantage of a closed-back that can be sat in the middle of a coop or screwed directly to a wall. The collection tray is a bit larger to hold more eggs between collections and it can be mounted front or back for a rear or front collection option.

The Community nest boxes ship flat in a unique way so that they can lift out of the box and have the ends assembled rather quickly. Click Here to see all of our rollaway nest boxes including the Community Nest Boxes.

The Colony Nest Boxes are made by the same Amish shop that makes our 2, 4, and 8 compartments divided rollaway nest boxes that we have sold for over a decade. They use a bit thicker galvanized metal on the important horizontal cross members and brackets. Our cost is also a bit less on the Colony so that we can pass that savings on to the customers.

The Colony Nest Boxes have a PVC coated wire mesh floor with a slide-out manure tray underneath so that the manure falls clear of the egg collection. The wire mesh is set on a slope with some curvature to give it a spring soft landing for the eggs to drop and roll on. The Colony Nest Boxes have open backs that slide over removable wall cleats and will need to be hung on a solid surface. Nest boxes may also be set back to back sandwiched between a board for aisles in large operations.

The Colony Nest Boxes also ship flat but are completely unassembled like a large erector set and using 3/16 and 1/4 bolts. Instructions are the same as the divided boxes so the assembler will need focus on just the pertinent parts (less the dividers) at hand. To print, the complete assembly instructions click on the PDF file rollawaynestmanual at the bottom of the page below the shipping calculator.