Adding a external egg box to my coop

[tucker0104]

How would I go about adding an external egg box to my coop. I originally built one and just put it inside but now I am wanting to access it from the outside.

 

[extrememainer]

Could you take a picture of the coop?

 

[CapricornFarm]

Here is mine. I cut a hole and put the box part inside and part outside.

 

[tucker0104]

Here is mine. I cut a hole and put the box part inside and part outside.View attachment 1132566View attachment 1132567

I am wanting to do something similar but I am wanting to do more. I started off with just a couple chickens and now I have 25. So, I am wanting to go from 1 or 2 boxes to at least 5 or 6.

 

[CapricornFarm]

I am wanting to do something similar but I am wanting to do more. I started off with just a couple chickens and now I have 25. So, I am wanting to go from 1 or 2 boxes to at least 5 or 6.

Ok, i would just make a big long box. 12x6=72 inches long. 12" high, 12" deep. Cut a big hole in the side, put a board under it and mount the box. No need to cut 2x4s or separate into separate boxes. They will try to all use the same one anyway.

 

[RUNuts]

Looks a lot like mine. I have 2 30" long boxes external to the coop. I left tabs on the boxes and "insert tab A into hole B" and drywall screwed them to the coop 2x4 supports.
The hole acts as a bedding retention damn. I need to cut some feed sacks to make the joint and hinged top water proof. That was on my sunny day get-to-it list before the hurricane. Yep, it leaked all over the place.

I put hardware cloth on the "floor" of the nesting boxes for easier to clean. My birds should be laying by Halloween, so we will see how that works.

best of luck on the nest boxes.

 

[PetesChicks]

Before you cut into the wall of your coop, make sure you know where your studs are. If you cut through them it will cause serious problems with the structural integrity of your coop. You would need to add jack studs & headers to the wall, it might be more trouble than it's worth.

You could plan it to go between studs, using the existing studs to support the nesting boxes, and just cut the sheathing for the hole you need. Most studs would be either 16" or 24" on center. This means if you made a 4' wide nesting box, you would either have 2 studs in the middle if they are 16" OC or 1 if they are 24" OC. Make sure you are careful to not cut the studs while you are making the hole. If 16" it would be easier to make the boxes that wide, and you would have 3 wide. 24" you could divide it into 4 boxes wide. Double stack them, and you would have 6 or 8 boxes, which should be plenty. Good luck!

 

[tucker0104]

Before you cut into the wall of your coop, make sure you know where your studs are. If you cut through them it will cause serious problems with the structural integrity of your coop. You would need to add jack studs & headers to the wall, it might be more trouble than it's worth.

You could plan it to go between studs, using the existing studs to support the nesting boxes, and just cut the sheathing for the hole you need. Most studs would be either 16" or 24" on center. This means if you made a 4' wide nesting box, you would either have 2 studs in the middle if they are 16" OC or 1 if they are 24" OC. Make sure you are careful to not cut the studs while you are making the hole. If 16" it would be easier to make the boxes that wide, and you would have 3 wide. 24" you could divide it into 4 boxes wide. Double stack them, and you would have 6 or 8 boxes, which should be plenty. Good luck!

Those are great ideas. I will get out there and measure today. Thanks again.

 

[PingoBags]

An easy way is to just use a skill saw. Set the blade to the thickness of your wall so you don't cut through studs. Mark out your straight lines and cut. Once cut out, build a frame around the hole, connecting it to the existing studs and adding some support where needed , create the dividers, walls and hinged roof, or however you plan on accessing it.

That's how I did mine. Didn't take very long and is strong enough to stand on.

 

[aart]

Those are great ideas. I will get out there and measure today. Thanks again.

Take some pic too, to go along with the dimensions?