nesting boxes for heavy breed birds question

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Thanks everyone, that helps a lot. I think I'll put nest boxes on the floor and a second row on top of it, maybe I'll make that one a community nest box and see how they like it.

I'm not having eggs collected from the outside of the building because of the high winds we experience from Oct-May. 45 mph would be considered a breeze! LOL We've
clocked the winds at over 120 mph...that was an extreme year. We've had winds blow 7 days straight at 45 with gusts 75+. It also rains sideways so everything has to be pretty
tight.

 

[Nostalchic]

Julian CA sounds like Wyoming! You know, the other thing you might consider is putting a dividing wall into the coop, so that you can separate a feed/storage area from the main coop, since your coop is a substantial size. I've done this, so the front of my nests are flush with the coop side of the wall, and I can access the back of the nests from the feed side, by sliding panels. It also gives me a little ledge or counter top (which is the top of the nest box structure) in the feed side to put things, work on, etc. I have an old screen door between the two areas, and screening above the nests. It's a little tight, but it works out great, keeps the feed containers and other supplies on the feed side a lot cleaner than if it's all one big room. And your kids could get the eggs from the feed room side without risking any hens escaping.