Nest Boxes in the run instead of the coop?

[Wise Woman]

So today my husband tells me that he doesn't want me to put the new coop in the place I had been planning for months now to put it. I designed an all in one covered coop/run just for that space. This design will not work in the spot he now wants me to put it because the area is already fenced in. The whole idea of the new coop/run was to make it easy for me to care for the chickens with my health condition and to give my husband back his shed, which the chickens and goats now occupy.

I was going to build a 6 ft wide coop with a 10 ft long run on either side for a total of 26 ft in length and it would be 6 to 7 ft. deep. The new location is only 21 ft in length, however it will be a full 8 ft wide. The problem is that if I use the same plan and just shorten the runs, it will still be too far for me to tote water, food etc. due to the area being fenced off. We will have to remove one section of the fence so I can put a door on the side end of the run closest the house instead of on the front of the run as planned. But if I do that, I will have to walk thru the run to the coop to gather the eggs, even with outside access, as I won't be able to access the coop from the side walk as I had planned.

Since murder isn't really an option, would it work to put the nest boxes in the run instead? I never had them outside before, but then again, I never had a fully covered run either. I could put them right next to the people door as you enter the run. I have a wooden china hutch that is 4 ft wide that I will be using to make the nest boxes and I would make sure that they are protected from the weather. Something similar to this.



My current boxes have curtains on them and the girls like that so I would continue to do that. I could make some out of heavy fabric for the winter and light fabric for the summer. They work really well. My girls yell at me if I lift them up while they are in the nest boxes.

Anyway, this would allow me to still have my outside access doors to gather eggs without entering the run or the coop. Just wondering if this would work out or not. I have re-think everything now. ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!! Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[cavemanrich]

I am really having a difficult time imaging how your set up is.... Still Don't know why it would be difficult to enter coop. Redo things to have access to your coop and drop the outdoor nesting area idea. Here are just a few of my thoughts with a NO VOTE on the outdoor nesting.. BAD WEATHER.. COLD WINTER... FREEZING EGGS ( much more during winter then inside coop ) ATTRACT FREE MEAL SEEKERS. I could think of more in time... WISHING YOU BEST WHICHEVER ROUTE YOU CHOOSE.

 

[chicksurreal]

I am really having a difficult time imaging how your set up is.... Still Don't know why it would be difficult to enter coop. Redo things to have access to your coop and drop the outdoor nesting area idea. Here are just a few of my thoughts with a NO VOTE on the outdoor nesting.. BAD WEATHER.. COLD WINTER... FREEZING EGGS ( much more during winter then inside coop ) ATTRACT FREE MEAL SEEKERS. I could think of more in time... WISHING YOU BEST WHICHEVER ROUTE YOU CHOOSE.

I agree. We have some nesting boxes under our raised coop with a hinged door that raises up to gather eggs from the outside. We are having a terrible time with skunks even though we don't leave eggs there overnight, they just have to come and check it out. Needless to say, we're moving them into the coop.

 

[Wise Woman]

Thanks for your input. I know this is all very confusing. I will try to draw up a diagram and post it.

We currently have our goats and chickens together in a large shed with a fenced in yard. Our yard is very long and narrow and we also have a septic tank, so I have very limited options as to where I can put a new coop. I can't keep them where they are forever as the whole plan was to house them in my husbands shed until we could get something else built. That time has come as we really need him to be able to use that shed as a workshop.

I was planning to build the new coop in a section of yard close to the house and just off our side walk so I would be close to a water source and wouldn't have to schlep very far out through snow in the winter. Husband now wants me to take a section of the current animal yard for the new coop since we are down to two old goats and won't be getting any new ones. Once the goats are gone, the rest of the yard will be used for a raised bed veggie garden.

However, if I do that, I will have all the exact same problems that I have now, since he won't remove the fencing. I will still be dragging hoses for water and I would still have to either enter through the run to get to the coop or through their current yard, like I do now. I had wanted to gather eggs without entering the coop or run at all. I guess I will just have to go in and out of the run to get them.

 

[JanetS]

Here's a picture of our nesting boxes. We get the eggs from the outside by lifting the lid. We don't go into the coop or run. Would something like this work for you?

 

[Wise Woman]

Thanks for the picture. The problem is that I was trying to get the coop closer to my house and access it without going into our current run. It gets full of snow in the winter and if that is my only way into get the eggs and so forth, I will be just as bad off as I am now.

I have been working on this problem all morning and I think the only way it is going to work is by removing a couple fence panels so I can get in and out of the coop or run easily from the sidewalk. I checked and they are only screwed into the posts so I don't know what the big deal is. He will have to install a hose bib out there for me as well. He is going to need one out there for our future garden anyway, so he might as well do it now. Then I can use my original plan with some modifications and it should still work out ok for me. Thanks for the help.

 

[cavemanrich]

Thanks for the picture. The problem is that I was trying to get the coop closer to my house and access it without going into our current run. It gets full of snow in the winter and if that is my only way into get the eggs and so forth, I will be just as bad off as I am now.


I have been working on this problem all morning and I think the only way it is going to work is by removing a couple fence panels so I can get in and out of the coop or run easily from the sidewalk. I checked and they are only screwed into the posts so I don't know what the big deal is. He will have to install a hose bib out there for me as well. He is going to need one out there for our future garden anyway, so he might as well do it now. Then I can use my original plan with some modifications and it should still work out ok for me. Thanks for the help.

Modify that panel to be a gate or part of a gate to provide easy entrance..