Anyone here have circle opening for nestbox with access door outside

[kuntrychick]

Is there any way to make the nest boxes with the round holes in the front be constructed to have acces to eggs from outside? I think the round holes are so cute but definiety want outside access to eggs. The circle opened boxes to me looks more private for them.

 

[justbugged]

I have seen antique metal nesting boxes with round holes. If you PM'd fellow BYC member Chicken Rustler he may be willing to send you a picture of his.

 

[goldies99]

as long as the box extends out the back of your coop you can have a back hatch.....even if you have square boxes now in a row
if you cut a dummy board with round holes and put in front of the square box you will get the look your looking for....

 

[Hollywood Hen]

I did this when adding exterior nest boxes to my coop - it just seemed easier to cut circles out of the existing plywood walls with the jigsaw than squares! I think it keeps more bedding in the nest box too.

I built the boxes as separate pieces and then hung them after they were completed. The hens approve.

 

[kuntrygirl]

This is as close to round that I have. I'm not a fan of outside access doors, so mine don't have that feature.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I have round holes on the fronts of my nest boxes and I collect eggs from the outside. You can see more pictures of how I made them on my byc page: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=56638

 

[Hawkeye95]

Like someone else suggested, you can just make your external square box like you would see on any coop (in the coop section) that has external boxes. On the INSIDE of your coop, that is where you'd place a board over the opening of your nests and just cut out a circle-- just like Gallo Del Cielo showed you on theirs. Easy! Then you can still open it up from outside just like you normally would on any other box and access it. The only difference is that the board covering up the entrance to the boxes have round holes cut out of them inside the coop instead of being exposed to show that they are square. To cut your holes in your piece of wood that will cover the boxes- you'll want to use a drill with a large hole accessory on the end of your drill-- like the attachment used to cutting pot lights in your ceiling and use that to get your hole started. (that's what I've been using and it works fine) Then use your jig saw to get into it and cut out the rest of the circle you drew on your board. It would be pretty easy to do.