Egg hutches - watch before building yours!

[@reprosser]

Thanks for the video. I am currently building my coop based on the CC design. Just a note to all that there is a LOT of work to DIY a coop inspired by the CC design. I am a woodworker who has done carpentry work and it has been suprising just how much work is involved to get all the details right. Any change here or there can impact things all around. I enjoy a good challenge and this build is certainly that. The J-channel addition of the egg hutch is a great improvment over a sharp metal edge.

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Thank you. And thanks for pointing out all the details that go into designing a coop like ours and the domino effect that happens when we do make changes. We appreciate that so much.

[@samsdaughterdehaven9990]

I'll bet there is a lot of detail! I'm an amateur 'builder' but expert retro-fitter, if you know what I mean. Sometimes you have to know how to work around your mistakes! I built a 11x16 cattle panel greenhouse with 2' sides. Don't ask how I got 11', though! 4 cattle panels long and I got them all up by myself. I'm a 69 year old woman. Work smarter, not harder!

[@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403]

The elevation of the egg hutch is very smart and was the part I wasn't getting. Thanks for that info!

[@Charlie-fe7qh]

Just a quick fix to your one nest box problem of Debris buildup, is to relocate hinge point underneath or style so when opened it removes the ledge to even catch it.

[@rianreese4138]

I absolutely love the T hinges, I used them for the door on my greenhouse, so I will definitely use them with the chicken coop in the future when I start building it.

[@MoaByte-v2z]

I made that mistake. The next mistake was using a piano hinge that caught bedding. You guys are kind to show your secrets to us DIY'ers.

[@knightshade6232]

here in the tropics its the cold that kills our chickens thats why we put warm lamps inside their cages to help them incubate & stay warm, we use also coconut leaves for their roof & bamboo poles for the struckture

[@wictorsson]

I really like your coops, I live in Sweden and will build one similar to yours. You are a great inspiration for me. If you make the door so it goes all the way to the bottom and put the hinge on the underside, there will be no shelf for material to land on. It will clean itself every time you open and close. Also there is no way for water to enter either.

[@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403]

If you put the hinges at the bottom and have the egg hutch door go all the way to the bottom, wouldn't there be nothing supporting it? Maybe I'm just not seeing what you're saying.

[@sparkyprep2077]

Love Carolina Coops

[@chuckmorgan9829]

Great info. Thank you

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tory464]

❤👍it the way I built mine.

[@LuLu-kz7pg]

Have you guys put gutters up on a coop? For a sustainable water catcher system

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Yes most of the coops we install we also install gutters for our water system. Thanks for watching.

[@Scorch2534]

Beautiful egg hutch. Can you explain why you don't like roll-away egg hutches? Do you just find them unnecessary?

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Hi, thanks for the compliment. We do find them unnecessary, and in crafted one that functions well and fits with our style coop it poses a domino affect of issues in building. In addition, we find since you cannot use traditional nesting material in the rollaway egg hutches (the eggs won't roll) the chickens tend to avoid it.

[@katiec527]

How do you remove the backing of the nest box to be able to sweep it out when needed?

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

We will do a video showing just how to do that.

[@alanbrown4015]

I would love to have a box like that, do you have instructions how to build one for to buy? I just started using your hip bedding and I think it’s gonna work great best thing I’ve ever used

[@alanbrown4015]

I mean Hemp bedding

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Thank you so much! So we do not sell manuals or building plans, however, we sell our egg hutches separately as an accessory so people who DIY their own coops can install it. Here is a link to one of our egg hutches you can purchase: carolinacoopsflockshop.com/collections/coop-accessories/products/triple-nest-box-egg-hutch

[@tinab7791]

I made mine very similar to this.

[@blakewuestenfeld9420]

I am currently about to build my own egg hutch and planned on going with a similar design but try to incorporate a "roll-away" design with Astro Turf type material. It seems to work for a lot of guys on KZbin and was curious why you guys haven't tried it or if you have tried it in the past? My thought was that this would be the best way to keep the eggs clean and to not have to deal with broody hens.

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

We have built a roll away egg hutch for our coops. We will have a video coming out soon showing it. stay tuned and subscribe!

[@blakewuestenfeld9420]

@@CarolinaCoopsVideos got any pointers on what angle to use? I'm planning on going with a 3" rise every foot.

[@shumakern]

@CarolinaCoopVideos have you thought of making an egg hutch we can buy just like the windows?

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Hi! We already do that! Check them out here: carolinacoopsflockshop.com/

[@0505abab]

I cant get over how much materials are used thats more than my house im living in

[@rosemarynishti4764]

I'm thinking about adding another nesting box onto a coop that I purchased similar to the one in this video. Would that be difficult to do? My first time building and I don't need anything fancy. Do you ever do video's about adding things on? Their coop is so small and I really want my girls to be happy!

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

The biggest advice I can give, is to just make sure your egg hutch or nesting box is accessible from the side, not the top, and make sure you use the right nesting material. You don't want to open a nesting area from the top because chickens are genetically predisposition to run away at the sign of ariel activity. Meaning that your chickens might think you're a hawk trying to eat them or take their eggs, causing for an uneasy flock that you would have to manage. Next, we constantly test out different nesting material to see which one makes the chickens in our flock more comfortable to laying eggs. If your chickens are not comfortable when trying to lay, they will find other places to lay their eggs. Which means your eggs could get lost, or your predators may get to those eggs before you do if you let your flock free-range.

[@amordebelleza4770]

You should make and sell roll away egg hutches.

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

We have and we do, we feel you shouldn't need one, but we will make them if you contact us.

[@arthurtorricer4544]

do you ship coops to hawaii?

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Yes we do. We have several coops in Hawaii. We will actually be doing a full turn key coop in Maui soon. Thanks for watching.

[@buckstarchaser2376]

You may want to make a way for the chickens to get into those nest boxes from the inside of the coop, since they lack the general skillset and physical features to open that gate latch to get in from the outside. You can see from the static camera placement that this is just a display model, screwed to the outside of a coop.

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Thank you for your comment. However, we respectfully disagree with your assessment. The nest boxes are designed with careful consideration for the chickens' access and safety. While the camera angle may suggest otherwise, rest assured that the coop is fully functional, and the nest box access has been thoroughly tested to ensure ease of use for our feathered friends. If you have any further concerns or questions, please feel free to reach out.

[@dcrane3950]

Nest boxes

[@TexasNana2]

❤❤

[@Merk01A]

Great if you live in the south. If you are up north were it gets below 10 degrees days on end this will not work.

[@ChristynO]

Do you sell j channels to add to already purchased coops? That metal edge on the nest box has always scared me! I'm a klutz. If I can cut myself, I will!

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Yes, we do! Visit our Flock Shop to buy the egg hutches. They come in 3 different sizes: carolinacoopsflockshop.com/

[@pamelaholmcrawford2306]

How about sheep’s wool?

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Not a bad idea, chicken owners who have used sheep's wool don't report experiencing many problems. Some perks include the insulation and the way the material handles water. It still allows for a comfortable nesting situation for the chickens. It may not be the most known way to nest chickens, yet you wouldn't harm anything if you were to give it a shot. The only issue we see is that it may be hard to maintain, clean, or upkeep. So, if you do use it, make sure you have an abundance of it.

[@stephm281]

❤❤👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@kevinraabe8643]

How about a roll away nesting box

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

We don't feel that they are necessary with our coops. However, we have made them for customers, so if you want to order one, please contact us at 919.794.3989. thanks

[@kevinraabe8643]

@@CarolinaCoopsVideos may I ask why you don’t feel it necessary for your coops Do the chickens not break them or get them dirty? Thanks for the feedback and I love your coops I built mine and modeled my nesting box door after yours.

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

@@kevinraabe8643 We feel for the most part (there are always exceptions) if you don't have any overcrowding or health issues and you give your chickens what they need they shouldn't eat their own eggs and shouldn't get dirty (most times). Roll away nest boxes cause other issues, and from our experience, while they seem more convenient for people, they aren't the best for chickens. You can't have good nesting material in there which chickens want, because the eggs won't roll, so the hens might look for other places to lay. Hope that all makes sense.

[@karenmartin9008]

​@@CarolinaCoopsVideos we can confirm we've had more issues with chickens not using the nesting boxes since we converted them to roll away. It was like the Carolina Coops one, but we had set up everything else in the coop to be automated for minimal work for our neighbours when we go on s

[@karenmartin9008]

​@@CarolinaCoopsVideos we can confirm that we've had issues with our chickens laying outside the nest boxes since we converted them to roll away. That being said, we have managed to convince the girls to cooperate, but it took a bit of work, finding and blocking access to their other spots. It works for us though, as we can take short breaks away for up to a week, and don't need anyone to check on the chickens, with water nipples, tread-on feeders, daylight-activated coop door, and now getting the eggs out of the way so they don't get broken. 😊 We have a security camera monitoring them also, so if there is an issue we can contact the neighbours to check on them, but we're not burdening them constantly with our frequent trips.

[@rebeccaplumlee9601]

Drop down doir good for those of us in wheelchairs! I can take care of my animals with ur chicken house/coop after its set up (someone does have to carry my feed out).

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Thank you for your comments. We strive to make our coops accessible for everyone.

[@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403]

I don't like the bedding choice for one main reason: I'm going to build my egg hutch such that the eggs roll down after being laid and the chicks can't get a chance to eat them. With that bedding, the egg sits there and if you happen to have a chicken that's eating eggs, there's no way to hide them.

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

We agree, for roll away nest boxes the bedding we recommend wouldn't work.

[@karenmartin9008]

​@@CarolinaCoopsVideos we use the fake grass mats topped with some long length straw in our nesting boxes and the eggs mostly roll into the collection area, and the straw mostly stays in the box - we tidy it up a little every few days. My hubs wouldn't keep an egg-eater anyways, but he says the best self-discipline is removal of temptation!😂

[@KennyM-p3o]

Love your videos, but wait a sec. You want to keep the roof cool but you use black?

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

That's a common thought, however, because metal has a low thermal mass, heat is not absorbed into the roofing material and then transmitted into the coop. The painted metal roofs are even more energy efficient that plain metal roofing. (yes, even black roofing!) These roofs not only reflect solar energy, but also re-emit most of the solar energy that the coop absorbs.

[@normand1242]

🌷 Promo SM

[@Try2-Imagine]

Have always had hinge roofs and never had a leak. You clearly must be doing it wrong.

[@CarolinaCoopsVideos]

Agreed! We are referring to the DIYers that may be experiencing leaks and hoping this helps troubleshoot leakage issues.

[@Try2-Imagine]

@@CarolinaCoopsVideos oh, gotcha. I misunderstood.

[@zaneketchum585]

That seems beyond expensive as in $100 per dozen expensive or a 80 year ROI LOL

[@0505abab]

My nephew has his chickens as pets I know it sounds funny because I get. The eggs but thaey are pretty cool animals

[@karenmartin9008]

That's true about the ROI, but you don't usually look for ROI on hobbies or pets, at least not in $ terms. People spends thousands on landscaping, swiming pools, etc. This is another form of landscaping and recreation.😊

[@angieforeman1037]

Dang bud you freaking talk to much!!! Stop talking and lower your prices!!!

[@Timpon_Dorz]

Be nicer if you added a mini split so they can live and hatch in climate control... Just saying... Lol