Does the nest box have to be in the coop?

[kellykungfu]

Hi Folks,

Does the nest box have to be in the coop? I rather have it in my covered chicken run for ease of access. Does anyone not have their nest box in the coop?

Thanks in advance. Have a great day and God bless.

-k

 

[Wynette]

It depends on what part of the country you live in. You really don't want your fresh eggs sitting out in super hot weather, and they'll freeze in winter...but you might consider an option like putting them on the outside of the coop so you can access them from the outside, something like this:

 

[flip9109]

i have 4 in the coop and 2 in the run. they use the ones in the coop more.

 

[elmo]

I don't think there's going to be much of a temperature differential between inside the coop or outside the coop unless your coop is heated/cooled. Actually, in summer it's probably hotter inside the coop than outside.

It depends on what kind of nestbox you use. Many hens prefer to lay in a dark place, so if you have an open nestbox and stick it out in your run they may not like to use it. But if you have a covered nestbox, they might accept it just fine.

If you put your nestbox where it's easy for you to collect the eggs, you'll collect them more frequently, and that's a good thing for freshness.

 

[chik magnet]

I have three in my run and eight in my coop.