nest box How high

[only one lay]

Switching my shed and my coop due to flock growth ( wife says I'll need bigger if I keep going). New place allows for nesting boxes to extend with a lid as to allow egg collection without going into coop. Floor of shed (new coop) is 24 inches off ground. How close to the floor can the boxes be and my girls be happy using them? Perches are planned for the back and will be higher then everything else.

 

[jenjscott]

they don't really care. Mine are two a couple of inches above the floor with two more right on top of them. I thought they would like the higher ones, but mostly they use the lower ones.

 

[SoJoChickens]

The chickens will use them even at ground level. The reason to raise them up a bit is to keep the chickens from scratching dirt and other debris into the nest. It is just easier to keep them clean if they are up off the ground.

 

[Jetlander]

Well don't do what I just did... I built the coop on the ground with the nest boxes on the outside at the perfect height for me. I then proceeded to put the coop on the 18" posts I put in the ground. Well, needless to say I am now about 18" too short to retrive the eggs. I'm such a dork sometimes. I guess I will have to work something out.

 

[only one lay]

A nice ramp with treads every few inches could work great LOL