Question About Nest Boxes "Outside" Coop Frame..........

[aart]

DuginMT do you have trouble with them roosting in the nests rather than on the roosts...looks like the roost is just barley higher than roosts.

 

[DuginMT]

Not so far, but they have only been in there for two nights. The nest box perch is about 6" lower than the main roosts and is made out of 1/2" cove molding. I am hoping it will be low enough, and uncomfortable enough that they won't choose it as their favorite roosting spot!

 

[DuginMT]

Update, now the chicks have been using the coop for about two weeks and 11 of the 13 go readily to the high roosts and 2 continue to try to roost on the coop floor or coop door threshold - I have been putting them up on the roosts every night around 9. No problems with any of the chicks roosting on the perch for the nesting boxes. My chicks are only about half grown and only use up about 6' of the 15' available roost area - they always huddle closely together on the front end of the coop. I know they will grow, but already thinking about picking up some Leghorns next spring to add to the flock! Maybe three or four.

 

[milola]

We built ours with the outside nest boxes and indeed the hinged cover leaked at the wall. The solution was a 40 cent piece of clear vinyl from walmarts fabric department.. We took off the hinges, placed the vinyl where we wanted it using silicone to glue the top edge to the outside wall, then replaced the hinges, which holds it down from wind blowing it up. It is dry as a bone in there now. And we had two weekends of torrential downpours a couple of weeks ago. Now all I need is for the chickens to get old enough to put some eggs in there for me.

 

[sandysylvester]

Thank you everyone for your input!

........I got my coop, which is being delivered today. The coop is not a coop but a shed. They will have a window and doors open pending good weather so they should have decent ventilation. We do need to make some modifications but the prices for the fancy cute coops were pricey. I got an 8x12 vinyl sided shed for only a few hundred dollars more. Go figure. Anyhow, they are not getting the entire shed, but at least 4x8 of it, and the nest boxes will be inside.
I hope this makes the girls happy! Will post pics once we partition it off and get the chicken door installed.

 

[HandsomeRyan]

I use that term loosely. I had a question for you folks who have coops with external entry nest boxes (the ones you lift the lid to get eggs).
http://amishcoops.com/4x6-chicken-coop/

My DH seems to think they are a "leak/draft/etc (weakness in structure) waiting to happen. I prefer them because the actual roost area is bigger.

Just wanted input from experienced owners on how you guys like or dislike them. We are on the fence of either building or buying at this time.

If they were really a problem I don't think you'd see them used so frequently. The leakyness or weakening of the coops structure is a direct result of the quality of craftsmanship which goes into building the coop/box. Mine was well built and works just fine.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

I added an external box ot my new coop, the lid is so tight that the fresh paint keeps sticking and makes it hard to open, LOL. I'm going to take a candle and was the edges where the lid meets the box. Not too worried about the hinge leaking as I have a 1ft overhang of the coop roof and it's on the downwind side of the coop.

 

[DuginMT]

Final update, about a week ago with my urging all of my chicks now go to the roosts by 9 pm. They never roost on the perch for the nest boxes, which is about 6" lower than the roosts. Life is good!

Doug