Nest Box Location

[magicjeep]

Good morning everyone.

I am in the process of turning a Little Tikes playhouse into a coop for my 4 chickens. I have the playhouse on a platform and right now I'm looking to make an 8'x8' run surrounding the house. I've seen designs where the nest boxes are built onto the windows of the playhouse, they look like window a/c units. I like this idea son I can get to the nest boxes without going in the coop but by doing it this way I will only have a foot of space to walk between the nest box and fence. I'm also concerned that during the winter, I'm in NJ, the boxes may get too cold since they wouldn't be insulated.

So my question is could I put the nest box inside the coop, like a bucket nest box, or is it better to leave them outside to give the hens more room inside the coop?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Judy]

IMO, that is a small coop for 4 birds, especially in northern winters. I would not make it smaler by putting a nest box inside it.