My husband and I are moving to the mountains (the Sierra Nevada's in CA) by the end of Spring. We currently have a small "A" frame coop that I want to modify (for more chickens, of course). In modifying it, I want to safely attach egg boxes to the outside so we can use the current spot where the bucket boxes are for more roosting area (for more chickens, of course!)
That being said I have a barrel of safety concerns that my DH doesn't quite get but is willing to accommodate his DW. First, we will be extending the run area to accommodate more girls, no roos. Second, the egg boxes will be mounted above the run on the outside to have enough room for the additional roost. See photos below.
Current set up & nest boxes. Remove nest buckets change the poo board and mount a new roost.
New roost across on left just like the right and the nest boxes mounted from the outside. I can open the front doors as they are open below to reach eggs. You can't really see the doors in this photo but they are secured with sliding bolts.
This is where the next boxes would be mounted and the new run would be the same height as the current run but extended it out six to eight more feet with hardware cloth on all sides and over the top mounted to doors that could be opened to rake & clean the run. The coop is 3 feet wide and six feet long.
Phew all that pictured and said to ask about the nest boxes and safety. We are moving to a much less populated area where coyotes, possums, skunks, racoons, hawks, and Lord only know what else are present. I need to make sure the nest boxes are secure.
Just so you know, the coop will sit on wire covered by stepping stones using the deep litter method. The wire and stepping stone extend beyond the bottom of the coop frame by two feet all around.
I'd love to find boxes like the hard plastic ones that usually mount inside a coop but instead would be solid on the outside. Please see below how I modified a photo (sorry for using an existing brand photo and "bastardizing" it but I didn't know what else to do.). Would this be safe & secure enough if I could find something like this??? And if anyone knows if these already exist, please tell me where to find them.
Thanks for any help and advice. I live in a mostly "animal" secure neighborhood now and I'm still paranoid. Living where there are coyotes and such has me really nervous about my girls.
Donna
That being said I have a barrel of safety concerns that my DH doesn't quite get but is willing to accommodate his DW. First, we will be extending the run area to accommodate more girls, no roos. Second, the egg boxes will be mounted above the run on the outside to have enough room for the additional roost. See photos below.
Current set up & nest boxes. Remove nest buckets change the poo board and mount a new roost.
New roost across on left just like the right and the nest boxes mounted from the outside. I can open the front doors as they are open below to reach eggs. You can't really see the doors in this photo but they are secured with sliding bolts.
This is where the next boxes would be mounted and the new run would be the same height as the current run but extended it out six to eight more feet with hardware cloth on all sides and over the top mounted to doors that could be opened to rake & clean the run. The coop is 3 feet wide and six feet long.
Phew all that pictured and said to ask about the nest boxes and safety. We are moving to a much less populated area where coyotes, possums, skunks, racoons, hawks, and Lord only know what else are present. I need to make sure the nest boxes are secure.
Just so you know, the coop will sit on wire covered by stepping stones using the deep litter method. The wire and stepping stone extend beyond the bottom of the coop frame by two feet all around.
I'd love to find boxes like the hard plastic ones that usually mount inside a coop but instead would be solid on the outside. Please see below how I modified a photo (sorry for using an existing brand photo and "bastardizing" it but I didn't know what else to do.). Would this be safe & secure enough if I could find something like this??? And if anyone knows if these already exist, please tell me where to find them.
Thanks for any help and advice. I live in a mostly "animal" secure neighborhood now and I'm still paranoid. Living where there are coyotes and such has me really nervous about my girls.
Donna
