Coop going up!

[Qi Chicken]

The coop is really going up!!!! Now if only I could find batteries..... Sorry, the construction pictures would have been much more interesting than the final result.

But anyway here is my question. He hasn't cut the hole for the nest boxes yet. I posted the other day and someone said 14 X 14 rather than 12 X 12 for standard chickens. Agree? 14 or 12 deep??

I just read a thread tonight that said that exterior nest boxes were a waste of time. The kind where you open a door on the back and reach in and get the eggs from there. I thought that it would be easier for our kids, ages 3 and 5. Any thoughts on this? We do live in Iowa where it gets mighty cold. Like 20 below for a week or more at a time. Was worried about the eggs freezing. ....And the chickens too of course! The coop is insulated and has electricity to it. We will keep it probably around 40 degrees (?) in the Winter? What temp is appropriate? Thanks!

We weren't going to insulate the nest boxes if that makes any difference.

Sorry, just thought about ventilation. We have vents around the top. Maybe 5 inches high and I would say about 4-5 feet long all together. On opposite walls. (West and East side) Also 2 windows --also west and east. Adequate? We could maybe add a gable vent or something. Coop is about 120 square feet.

 

[faykokoWV]

my nest boxes are inside. It forces me to go in and actually see the chickens each day, which i would probably do anyway, but its a good habit to develop.

There are many different opinions on heat/ no heat in the coop. you'll just have to decide what's right for you and read what information you can to make the decision.

There is also a good section in the learning area about winterizing your coop. The ventilation sounds adequate, but how many chickens do you have and what are the dimensions of the coop. You need to watch for condensation.. if you have it then your ventilation isn't enough.

sorry, kind of a rambling answer.

 

[Georgiapea]

If your coop is roomy enough to walk into, I'd put the nest boxes completely inside. Some coops are pretty much 'chicken sized' which makes a nest box reachable from outside a necessity.

Our brand new coop is a 10X8 storage shed purchased as a kit from Lowes. I created a nest box system by placing a board up on cement blocks stacked 2 high. On the board I put a row of 4 guinea pig igloos turned upside down and filled with fine grass hay. I may come up with a better system later on but I had all the parts I used, so it was quick, easy, and got the job done.

Georgia in Alabama