When I was building my coop, I found these instructions for making an external nest box. Being a complete novice, I found the details and photos very user friendly.
http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2011/03/10/external-nest-box-plans/
It was not too difficult to adapt them to my coop, even though I was not building the Garden Coop. You could probably even put in the adaptions that Bruceha mentioned, for having the door be smaller with a six inch wall below it to keep the bedding in, instead of the removable blocks behind the full door that are suggested.
I made mine with the blocks. They have their pros and cons. At clean out time, it's nice to brush all the old pine shavings right out the door. But it was tricky measuring the blocks just right. Sometimes they slide in place nicely and other times they are a tight wedge or somewhat loose.
I also used a piano hinge on mine instead of two separate hinges. I've actually grown quite fond of piano hinges. They work well in a lot of scenarios.
Anyway, I hope the link is helpful for your learning process.
http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2011/03/10/external-nest-box-plans/
It was not too difficult to adapt them to my coop, even though I was not building the Garden Coop. You could probably even put in the adaptions that Bruceha mentioned, for having the door be smaller with a six inch wall below it to keep the bedding in, instead of the removable blocks behind the full door that are suggested.
I made mine with the blocks. They have their pros and cons. At clean out time, it's nice to brush all the old pine shavings right out the door. But it was tricky measuring the blocks just right. Sometimes they slide in place nicely and other times they are a tight wedge or somewhat loose.
I also used a piano hinge on mine instead of two separate hinges. I've actually grown quite fond of piano hinges. They work well in a lot of scenarios.
Anyway, I hope the link is helpful for your learning process.
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