nesting box inside or outside of enclosure ?

[quackkquack__]

hi ! so i was wondering if it'd be better to have a nesting box inside or outside of my duck enclosure.
i have a 12 x 12 and a 10 x 10 attached to each other. the 10 x 10 has a 2 x 2 nesting box attached to the outside , completely closed with a lock. i haven't had any issues with predators , only rain since recently , the door has been bending ( no ducks are in the 10 x 10 at the moment ! we plan to fix the door very soon )
and i was thinking about having a 4 x 6 or 4 x 8 attached to the 12 x 12 since i have 8 ducks , 4 females.
i dont really care about accessibility to the eggs , i dont mind going inside to collect them since i like seeing my babies everyday anyway. but i wanted to save space inside the enclosure. so would it be better to have it inside or outside ? we do live in a place with quite a few predators , but with the other 2 x 2 nesting box we have , ive never had any issues !
i just wanna know whats best for my ducks to keep them safe and warm.

 

[Debbie292d]

Ours is inside. We have straw in there and they made a big nest.

This is our duckhouse, inside of a 5' x 10' pen. They get locked in there at night, and sleep in their house. Their food is in there. It's a plastic coffee can and a vinegar jug with 1/4 of it cut open. Both are secured to the wall (chicken coop on the right). Also there's a bucket in there for water, but they get water elsewhere once they are let out in the morning.

 

[jxp]

My ducks simply bed down in the pine chips in a corner of the henhouse. I've tried giving them a floor level nest box but it went ignored. McDiver will lay her eggs either in the little nest she made in the pine chips or under a bush in a quiet out of the way back corner of the yard. Then when she notices Ive gathered her eggs, she moves to another corner.

 

[NatJ]

i just wanna know whats best for my ducks to keep them safe and warm.

I think it will really come down to which way you can make it secure enough against predators. If you can make it equally safe either way, then choose based on what is easier or what gives them more total space or any other reason that seems good to you.

 

[Penpal]

I never made a nest for my ducks (when I had ducks). They don't roost like the chickens, they just created their own nests within their lean to space. Six hens, two nests. Then I got 4 Muscovy duck hens who shared with the two nests. I think if it doesn't matter to you, let them do what they want.

 

[quackkquack__]

my ducks definitely do lay and sleep wherever they want ! but i still wanted to have them a nesting box , or some sort of little house , that they can have access to when it's windy and rainy or cold during the winter , and if they wanted to lay their eggs there , or , although they are protected , it doesn't stop predators from sniffing around , and perhaps hide in it if they wanted to !