How to Make and Sell Birdhouses: Build Them for the Right Bird

Birdhouses sell to two groups of buyers. Gardeners and bird watchers buy nest boxes that birds can use, and other buyers want a decorative birdhouse for the garden or porch. The two products are built, priced and described differently. This post covers what Etsy shows about demand, what a nest box needs to work for birds, how to match a box to a species, six birdhouses to make and sell, and the costs to plan for.

Decide which product you are making before you cut any wood. A nest box follows the build features set out by bird conservation groups. A decorative birdhouse can follow your own design, as long as it is sold as décor.

Are Birdhouses Worth Selling?

We checked Etsy in October 2026 to see how birdhouses sell. The results show steady demand, a wide spread of prices and a few limits to plan around. Figures come from the first page of results for each search and include paid ads.

What Etsy Shows

• Prices cover a wide range. On the first page of results for “wooden birdhouse”, 58 listings ran from $13 to $629. The middle price was about $63, and half of the listings sat between about $40 and $121. Hand-carved cedar “wood spirit” houses sold for $96 to $240.
• Nest boxes sell for less. On the first page for “bluebird house nest box”, the middle price for a single box was about $42, and half sat between about $29 and $55. Peterson-design boxes were listed at about $70 to $89, and camera-ready boxes at $95 to $105.
• Sets bring the price per box down. Sets of four cedar bluebird boxes were listed at $44 to $90, which is $11 to $22 a box, and one set of eight was $119.99. A four-box set from RiverintheWoodsShop carries Etsy’s Bestseller badge at $59.99.
• Established shops show steady sales. Shop totals cover everything a shop has sold, but they show what is possible. JCS Wildlife in Evansville, Indiana, which sells bluebird houses, shows 15,014 sales since 2011, and Kettle Moraine Crafted shows 4,030. Jorvic62, which sells hand-carved cedar birdhouses, shows 3,742 sales since 2009, and a $118 house carries a Bestseller badge. Newer shops are selling too: TheNestBoxBarn in Bay City, Michigan, shows 1,593 sales since 2023, and MeadowlarkLaneBirds in Denver, Pennsylvania, shows 813 since 2024.
• Buyers search by design and feature. Listing titles name designs such as Peterson, Gilbertson and Kentucky slot, and features such as predator guard, easy clean and camera ready.

What Cuts Into Profit

• Competition. On the “wooden birdhouse” page, 22 of 58 listings were paid ads. On the bluebird page, 12 of 29 single boxes were priced at $30 or less. A named species, clear photos and a stated build specification help a listing stand out.
• Time per piece. Carving, painting and shingled roofs take more hours than a plain box. Price for your hours, not only the wood.
• Shipping. Many of the listings above offer free shipping, so build the cost of packing and shipping into the price.

Birdhouses suit a small workshop when you batch-cut a few proven designs, sell nest boxes in sets, and add a higher-priced decorative line.

What a Nest Box Needs

Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s NestWatch program lists the features of a good birdhouse. Buyers who know birds look for them, so state each one in your listing. These features apply to boxes meant for nesting birds. Decorative houses are covered further down.

1. Untreated Wood at Least 3/4 Inch Thick

NestWatch recommends untreated cedar, pine, cypress or fir, with walls at least 3/4 inch thick. Boards sold as 1-inch lumber are actually 3/4 inch thick, so they meet this. Avoid pressure-treated wood.

2. No Paint and No Perch

NestWatch lists unpainted wood as a feature of a good birdhouse. It also advises against outside perches, which birds do not need and which can help predators reach the box. University of Missouri Extension adds that perches let starlings and House Sparrows harass birds that nest in cavities. The same guide says painting the outside of a box can make it last longer, but the inside should stay unpainted. If you offer a painted box, paint the outside only.

3. A Sloped Roof With an Overhang

The roof should slope and overhang the front by 2 to 4 inches and the sides by 2 inches. NestWatch also suggests cutting a gutter 1/4 inch deep under the roof on all three edges, to channel rain away from the box.

4. Ventilation and Drainage

Drill two 5/8-inch holes in each side wall near the top, four in all, for ventilation. Add at least four drainage holes of 3/8 to 1/2 inch in the floor, or cut away the corners of the floorboard. Set the floor at least 1/4 inch up from the bottom of the walls.

5. A Side or Roof That Opens

Buyers need to check and clean the box, so make one side or the roof open. A hinged side works well, with a latch or a nail to keep it closed.

6. Galvanized Screws

NestWatch recommends galvanized screws for the best seal. Nails can loosen over time, and staples should not be used.

7. A Rough Interior Below the Hole

Young birds need to climb out of the box. Roughen the inside wall below the entrance with coarse sandpaper. For bluebirds and swallows, NestWatch suggests shallow horizontal grooves that work like a small ladder.

8. A Mounting Plan and Predator Guard

NestWatch advises mounting boxes on a metal pole instead of a tree or fence post, with a baffle below the box. Cone baffles and stovepipe baffles are common. Leave a few extra inches at the top and bottom of the back panel, or pre-drill mounting holes before assembly, so buyers can hang the box easily. Listings that include a predator guard or mounting hardware can charge for it.

Match the Entrance Hole to the Bird

The entrance hole decides which birds can use a box, so build each box for one species and say which. NestWatch says European Starlings can enter a hole of 1 9/16 inches, so a smaller hole keeps them out. House Sparrows can fit through a hole as small as 1 1/4 inches, so hole size alone does not exclude them. Both are introduced species.

Bird	Entrance hole	Mounting height
Chickadee	1 1/8 inches	5 to 15 feet
House wren	1 1/8 inches	5 to 10 feet
Bluebird	1 1/2 inches, round	3 to 6 feet
American kestrel	3 inches	10 to 30 feet
Screech owl	2 1/2 to 4 inches	10 to 30 feet

These figures come from University of Missouri Extension. Published guides differ slightly on some sizes. Mass Audubon lists a 1-inch hole for house wrens, and Texas Parks and Wildlife lists 1 1/4 inches. Floor size, box height and the height of the hole above the floor also vary by species. Take them from a tested plan for the species you build, and check the plan against NestWatch’s guidance before you cut.

Decorative Birdhouses Are a Separate Product

Many birdhouses sold online are decorative. They are painted, have perches, several rooms or ornate roofs, and suit buyers who want garden décor. They often do not match the NestWatch features above, such as unpainted wood and no perch.

Some ways to keep the two products clear for buyers:

• Label decorative houses as décor. Some Etsy shops use “indoor/outdoor decor” in the title.
• Keep nest boxes and décor in separate listings, with separate photos and descriptions.
• Avoid promising that birds will nest. State the species the box is sized for and let the buyer decide.
• Put your effort into styling and photos for décor. These houses sell on how they look. See our post on taking product photographs.

6 Birdhouses to Make and Sell

1. Bluebird Nest Boxes

Bluebird boxes are a common choice because the designs are established and buyers search for them by name. Use a 1 1/2 inch round hole and mount the box 3 to 6 feet up on a metal pole. Single boxes mostly sold for $20 to $55 on Etsy, with Peterson-design boxes at $70 to $89.

Avoid describing a box as sparrow-proof. NestWatch says no documented design permanently keeps House Sparrows out, so state your design name and hole size instead.

2. Chickadee and Wren Boxes

These boxes are smaller, use less wood and take a 1 1/8 inch hole. RiverintheWoodsShop sells them in mixed sets, such as two wren boxes and two chickadee boxes, and in sets with a bluebird box. Mixed sets let a buyer attract more than one species.

3. Box Sets

Sets of four or eight boxes sold at $11 to $22 a box on Etsy. They suit batch cutting, because you make one design several times from one cut list. Packing several boxes in one shipment also spreads the shipping cost.

4. Screech-Owl and Larger Boxes

Larger boxes use more wood and cost more to pack and ship, and they sell for more. Screech-owl boxes were listed at $100 to $140 on the bluebird search. University of Missouri Extension lists a hole of 2 1/2 to 4 inches, a floor of 6 by 6 to 8 by 8 inches and a mounting height of 10 to 30 feet. CedarRusticDesigns in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, lists squirrel-resistant versions.

5. Camera-Ready Nest Boxes

Some buyers want to watch the nest. Several listings sell bluebird boxes labelled camera-ready, with extra interior space or side access for a small camera, at $95 to $105. This is a way to add a feature to a design you already make, instead of a separate product.

6. Hand-Carved and Hand-Painted Decorative Houses

Carved, painted and personalised houses sell as garden décor. Hand-carved cedar houses were listed at $96 to $240, and a custom-colour house at $25 carries a Bestseller badge. Sell these as décor, and keep them separate from your nest boxes.

Rules and Wildlife Law

• Birdhouses are general products in most cases. The CPSC treats a product as a children’s product when it is designed or intended mainly for children 12 and under. It says craft kits that are not specifically marketed to children 12 and under are likely general use products. If you sell kits marketed to children, read the rules in our post on wooden toys to make and sell.
• Native birds and their nests are protected. NestWatch says it is illegal to harm or harass any native species, including nests and eggs. House Sparrows and European Starlings are not protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Include a Care Card

A care card in each box answers common buyer questions. It can say:

• the species the box is built for, and the hole size
• how high to mount it, and that a metal pole with a baffle is advised
• to leave the nest in place during the breeding season, because the parents may raise another brood, and to clean the box only when there is no sign of breeding activity
• to remove the nest at the end of the season and scrub the box with mild detergent and water, or with one part bleach to ten parts water if the nest was soiled

Costs to Plan For

Birdhouses sold for general use are not children’s products, so the testing costs covered in our wooden toys post do not apply. The main costs are materials, time and shipping. Plan for:

• cedar, pine or cypress boards, with offcuts for small boxes
• galvanized screws, hinges and latches or nails
• mounting hardware or predator guards, if you sell them with the box
• packaging and shipping, which grow with box size
• marketplace fees if you sell on Etsy or a similar site
• printed care cards

To work out the wood cost per box, divide the price of a board by the number of boxes you can cut from it, then add hardware. Our guide on setting the final selling price on your craft covers how to price for materials, time and overheads.

Tips for Selling Birdhouses

• Name the species and the hole size in the title and the first line of the listing.
• List the build features: untreated cedar, wall thickness, ventilation, drainage, a side that opens, galvanized screws and no perch.
• Photograph the box mounted on a pole and show how the side opens for cleaning.
• Offer sets and mixed species. They bring the price per box down and raise the order value.
• Sell in more than one place. Etsy, your own shop, garden centres, farmers’ markets and craft fairs reach different buyers. See places to sell crafts online and how to sell at craft shows.

For more ideas on what to make, see top 10 woodcrafts to sell. For the wider picture of running a woodworking business from home, see how to start a small woodworking business from home.

Sources

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology NestWatch, Features of a Good Birdhouse
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology NestWatch, Managing House Sparrows and European Starlings
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology NestWatch, What Do I Do With the Nest After the Birds Have Fledged?
• Pierce, R.A. II, 2017, Nest Boxes for Wildlife, University of Missouri Extension
• Mass Audubon, Birdhouse and Nesting Chart
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Nestboxes and Birdhouses for Common Birds
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Children’s Products
• Etsy, 2026, Search results for “wooden birdhouse”
• Etsy, 2026, Search results for “bluebird house nest box”