Marital debate: exterior egg door or not?

[LizzyJo]

I wanted the exterior egg-getting-doors, but my son-in-law (my contractor for the job) pointed out that since I had him insulate the coop, it was a waste to have little doors for cold and drafts to enter the coop. I thought the idea was cute, but I went along with him.

Also I agree that it's a good idea to actually walk in the coop to see what's going on in there. One time I walked in and noticed what looked like blood under a roost! It turned out that my grand kids has given the girls some watermelon.

Anyway, it probably depends on weather among other things.

 

[BlackBart]

Mine are on the outside.
I didn't have to debate with the Husband because I built the coop myself.
I also put in a skylight with inside ceiling sliders for night time darkness and winter warmth. I made a stained glass leaded window for the coop door so I can see whats going on inside without opening the door.
I just saw a great idea for a outside bulk feeder. Might be my next project. Also a great idea for a pen run door.
Yikes, too many projects!

 

[redoak]

Exterior egg collection = No poop on shoes

 

[ticker9400]

My husband does all the construction and work but doesnt give a hoot and a henny about my chickens.. Sooo if I were in your shoes it isnt really a deal breaker... I dont have one, I have to walk into the run several times a day anyway so it isnt a big deal to go into the coop anyway and I like for them to be used to a big human being around but I could see one being useful... hope you can come to an agreement.. just remember once its done its done.. as my husband loves to say ...

 

[patandchickens]

All things being equal, I believe it is a lot better to NOT have an exterior egg door. It's a weak point for weatherproofing and predatorproofing, and makes you less apt to go in the coop and *notice* things.

However, if you often have to collect eggs wearing Nice Shoes, or if there are small children or chickenophobes involved, that could easily outweigh the disadvantages.

So there is a considerable amount of personal taste involved

Good luck, have fun with your argument <g>,

Pat

 

[greathorse]

I agree with posters that feel like you should get into your coop on a regular basis and gathering eggs is a good way to do that. I do have an exterior access and I like it for a few reasons.

One it provides me access to the eggs even if I am dressed for work on something like that. Two it provids a place to put the roost board without taking up additional space. My layer box acces is right under the roost board and if I need to access the boxes it woule need to be elsewhere. Finally my 3 yr old grand son can gather eggs with out needing to go into the coop.

I built my own and the expense would be very very negligible. A couple of hinges maybe. It would require and extra bit of time for construction

 

[CityChook]

We built our coop without the exterior nest boxes for a couple of reasons:

a) It would be one more spot that would have to be locked/unlocked for predator control
b) It would be one more spot that would need engineering so that it didn't leak with rain/snow melt
c) I couldn't figure out how I was going to insulate the box so that my eggs didn't freeze before I got to them

Soooo, we put the community nest box right next to the front door. Food/Water are in opposite corner. I can do basic chores and have a look around without walking inside, so even if I'm in high heels, I can feed girls and check for eggs without making a mess of my shoes. It works.

Good luck!

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

It might be nice and convenient to have one, but we don't. We also have a pen that's large enough to walk into it. One plus would be that you wouldn't have to step in chicken poop to get the eggs, but the person who mentioned going in to see if anything was going on with the chickens had a point, too.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
So what's YOUR problem. Just make sure that it's HIS job to walk inside the coop to gather the eggs everyday and get poo all over his newly-polished shoes. Why would YOU care.

 

[montcapu]

I have the exterior lid and it does defiently kleep the kids busy, but my chickens always lay on the ground of the coop, no matter how many times I put eggs in the nest boxes, those eggs always end up on the floor with the other ones, so I have added a couple of milk crate and they have started to lay in those so at least it is a little better