I have been using plastic nest boxes, to be specific Hagen Vision boxes, for over 3 years now and I love them! There are some precautions that need to be taken with any next box though, and with plastic even more so given that plastic typically has much less texture than wood which can easily cause splayed legs if not prevented.
In the past, I was simply roughing up the plastic liners with sand paper to give the chicks something to grip once they hatched, and it worked very well to prevent splayed legs. However, by doing this the liners need to be replaced much more often because it is hard to clean and disinfect them properly with the scratches in the plastic. |
In most stores, you can find paper towels that are half the size of a full one. These fit almost perfectly into a Hagen Vision liner and are what I like to use to absorb the chicks droppings and provide good grip for the chicks in addition to the shavings.
I start with a clean and un-sanded liner, one half-sized paper towel sheet and GSE water solution. GSE (Grape fruit seed extract) is an excellent and 100% natural way to kill and prevent bacteria growth, and since it is edible and completely safe for use around birds I take advantage of
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