A question for those of you with outside nestboxes

[Blue_Myst]

I'm thinking of making my nestboxes into external nest boxes so I won't have to go into the coop to get the eggs everyday. What is the best way to make it easy to clean if I do this? I was thinking of having it come on and off the coop, and for those of you who have nestboxes assembled this way, what is the best way to go about this? I don't want rain/varmints to get in and all through any gaps between the boxes and the coop.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[cajunlizz]

sorry , BUT I have over 100 in my flock and IMO coops are for roosting and laying only . I would never put nesting boxes on the outside . Hens need a calm and peaceful place to lay . I know SOME lay on the ground , under the coop , ETC. but the designated place is inside a coop.

You could make the nesting area that you can LIFT a section ( like a drop door on hinges ) from outside of the coop and pick your eggs without entering . UNLESS this is what you are describing and I misunderstood the post .. Sorry

 

[Blue_Myst]

Oh, I'm sorry, I should have made myself more clear! Well, I suppose they do lay outside, but only if they're really stubborn and want to give me a hard time

I meant the kind that latch on to the outside of the coop but are accessible from the inside of the coop....argh, I can't find a better way to describe it, I'm sorry

 

[cajunlizz]

Like a hutch ...... YES , I want my hubby to design our nesting areas that way and he said NO , better to enter the coop to make sure all is fine .


I want the side of the coop to lift 1/2 way to reach into the nest boxes that are INSIDE the coop ... NOT mounted on the exterior

 

[Orpington Poultry]

From your post, your coop is not under any cover. Freestanding. Yes you can have your nest boxes attached to the outside wall protruding out, you just lift the lid and access the eggs.

If you use rooding material on the lid or have the roof line extend out over the nest boxes that will also keep them dry.

As long as you routinely clean your boxes, change shavings or whatever you use for bedding material, you should be fine.

Hope this helps. I have all my nests with access from the exterior for easy egg collecting. Love it.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If you live in a very cold area, you can also have the nest inside the coop and just have a small access door in the wall that you can reach through, to gather eggs. Some coops are designed like that, too.

 

[Chickenteacher]

I have had them both ways and the outside reach is way better for "backyard squishies"... We have a box extending out from our coop. It's about 4 feet wide, maybe 18 inches high and is accessible by the hens through two holes from the inside...I stapled an old towel over the holes and cut a slit in it for the girls to slip through....so far so good....We have a flip top with hinges outside so I can just walk up, excuse myself if the girls are in there, and remove the eggs.....as for cleaning, I replace the sawdust shavings as needed, the girls kick it around sometimes and on sunny days when the flock is out grazing in my back yard, I will leave the top of the layer box propped open to let the sun freshen it up.... When it does need a cleaning, I'll go with a small garden shovel, empty the contents into the coop, let the sun do its thing and then reline the bottom with DE or sand mixed with sevindust and put fresh shavings on top of that....If you want pics, just ask....