Why do people put their nest boxes outside the coop?

[tberggren]

I hope you know what I mean. The hens get into the nest from inside the coop but the nest is actually outside with a lid that raises up. Just wondering what the idea is behind this, is it to keep the nest so that it is impossible to roost over them and dirty the nest?

Thanks so much
Theresa

 

[fowltemptress]

I understand it's for easy access to the eggs.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I've wondered about this too! I'm guessing it is to preserve precious space inside the smaller coops.

 

[setter4]

Mine is like this so I didn't take away any floor space in the coop and so that I can access the eggs (IF they ever come) from outside the coop.

 

[SSO202]

Yes both of those of those reasons are correct. It saves space and makes getting the eggs easier. There are some disadvantages though. You must make it waterproof where the lid hinges and also make sure it is tight enough to keep out predators. It also makes collecting eggs in inclimate weather a bit more of a chore.

 

[rooster-red]

Post # 2,3 &4 are the reasons for mine being that way.

One of my coops is 4 1/2' tall, the other is 3' tall, and I'm 6', so I can't get to the inside easily and don't want to compact myself on a daily basis.

 

[walkswithdog]

For me it was saving floor space - just room to move inside the coop because half of my flooring is either under the roosts or part of an in-coop brooder. I'll probably gather eggs from inside but I can choose to get them from outside.

Overall it improved space available to people and birds since I couldn't increase the shape/footprint (converting a half-cinderblock hog shed).

 

[New Kid In the Coop]

Yep! that's why we did it like that. More floor space and we can get our eggs with out walking into the run and coop. The roof hangs over the nest boxes so they are protected. We also have a lock on them to keep clever critters out! Our chicks are still young so we don't have any eggs yet but I think it will work out.

 

[Jarhead]

We had 5 reasons to do it:
1.) More space in coop
2.) Nest boxes stay cleaner
3.) easy access to eggs
4.) easy access to clean

 

[Sylvie]

Quote:
Ok I'm sitting on the edge of my seat in suspense! What's reason number 5?