Interior vs exterior nesting boxes

[mi2bugz]

Is one way better than the other or is it just preference and accessibility?

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I think accessibility has a great deal to do with it. If you have a large walk-in coop, than interior nest boxes would be just fine. For a small, non-walk-in coop it's almost a necessity to have an exterior nest box.

 

[Primo]

Yes, just to save floor space or accessibility. You will find that they will not always lay in the boxes anyhow, and will have to get in from another door from time to time to get a few eggs

 

[ChickenLegs13]

A coop with exterior nest boxes allows for a smaller, more proportional & scaled to a chicken structure and results in less materials used & lower cost, whereas a coop with interior nests requires a larger, more costly structure. There's the matter of asthetics because city people want a cute little coop that blends in with the neighborhood, not something that looks like a shanty town outbuilding and sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

[mi2bugz]

Thank you for the replies. Just wanted to make sure I didn't inadvertently make my life harder.

~ Nicole

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

A coop with exterior nest boxes allows for a smaller, more proportional & scaled to a chicken structure and results in less materials used & lower cost, whereas a coop with interior nests requires a larger, more costly structure. There's the matter of asthetics because city people want a cute little coop that blends in with the neighborhood, not something that looks like a shanty town outbuilding and sticks out like a sore thumb.

I don't see any savings in materials used.

The interior nest boxes aren't on the floor (at least mine aren't), so they don't use any floor space.at all. They only take up wall space, and can be built from most any material since they are not exposed

It takes more material and effort to build boxes with closeable and lockable lids, that have to be water tight and weatherproof

The ONLY advantage I see to outside boxes is not having to enter the run or coop to get the eggs

 

[Hokum Coco]

Is one way better than the other or is it just preference and accessibility?

You do not have to change your shoes if you want to collect eggs with an exterior nest box. Grand kids who might be a bit timid of a chicken can also collect eggs from an exterior nest box (in a perfect world).

One disadvantage you may have an escapee chicken when a grand kid checks for eggs with an exterior egg box..

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: That's because people tend to make the openings much bigger than needed to just remove eggs

 

[mi2bugz]

We are going to build access panels from the outside of the house but didn't want to build outward if could help it. Thank you!

 

[petrel]

That sounds like the best of both worlds. I built an exterior next box with a roll out design. My coop is part of a tractor, so inside space was limited. I also wanted my children to be able to retrieve the eggs without having to enter the coop.