Better? Access to eggs from outside or walk in coop?

[fireguy56]

Hi all, Great replys from all to question. Again, personal preferance in my reply. Totally understand the thinking of indoor if ya way up north with severe cold winters. My comment was for the south or s.w. or just anywere with mild winters. Also, just my personal opinion. That is what I love about this site......newbies, as I feel I still am, can gain such a wealth of info. here. It is great.
Keep an eye on Hurricane Irene for those of you in projected path. Nothing to play with. Take it from old seasoned Hurricane vet form South on Gulf coast. Stay safe.
Erik

 

[reksat]

Inside for me . Thats just how I designed the coop.

 

[Ole rooster]

I would think inside if you have a full size walkin door. Outside for the coops that are raised off the ground 24 inches or more. Mine is raised 24 inches and I could still go inside if I wanted, but I put the nest boxes for outside access for ease of use and just in case I got a snake I would have a very limited distance to travel for him or her to be outside. Might not be sensible thinking but not many folks don't accuse me of that to start with.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I have mine in the service area...inside the coop, but outside the chicken area. We have big dogs and foster dogs. I wanted
the kids to be able to collect the eggs without the risk of one of the dogs pushing past them and getting into the coop. The
kids can close the people door before lifting the lid of the box. We have strong winds from both directions & it rains sideways, so this helps.

 

[Midwest Lizabeth]

It's a matter of personal choice. Since you're working with an existing coop, I'd go with what works best for you/family and ease of construction. All of us have different levels of skill sets and/or access to tools.

We built our coop and installed the nest boxes so that you could do both (with a vinyl floor). We had some of the old galvanized six nest boxes that already had the steep angle on them to keep the hens off of them. They hang inside the the wall of the coop (here's what our next boxes look like, only in two rows of three: http://dblrsupply.pinnaclecart.com/products/Galvanized_Heavy_Duty_4_Hole_Nest_Box-4628-262.html ). Then we've got hinged/flat doors on the outside wall of the coop (they don't stick out) that open up to the back side of the nest boxes. We spent a great deal of time looking at the various coop designs and tried to use what we thought would work for us. There's so many good ideas when you look through the various coops.

If you/family members have allergies (I do), that may also be a determing factor. Some of us need to be able to gather eggs from outside the coop. Chicken feathers, poo, etc. can be wicked to those of us that are allergic to our feathered friends.

Good luck on your construction project!

 

[littlefork]

We did the same as Knock Kneed Hen and I love it. I keep my coop shoes in there, the chicken treats, and my cleaning tools, everything is handy and stays dry. Our hens are not laying as yet but we installed the nest boxes under the poop board with an access door that opens from the storage area.
Also when I step inside I close the storage area door before I open the coop area door so there is no chance of any hens getting out.