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DiveJedi

DiveJedi

Chirping
5 Years
Jan 3, 2017
16
6
74
British Columbia, Canada
Hi everyone, long time lurker here and decided to join the conversation. So new to chickens that I don't have any yet. Looking at setting up a coop and bringing home some new chicks this spring when the snow melts.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how far to have your coop/run away from your house? I have a shed that I was looking to convert to a coop but I am worried it is too close to the house (15 ft). I am looking to house at max 10 chickens to start but potentially grow the flock.

Looking forward to some great conversations!
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Greetings, DiveJedi, and :welcome! Pleased you joined our community. I think the biggest issue with having a coop that close to the house would be odor. Predominant wind direction would be a consideration and I think very frequent coop cleanings would be in order. Best of luck to you and your spring chickens! :)
 
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I've seen some coop set-ups where they are built right next to the house so 15' doesn't sound bad to me. As redsoxs said, you'd have to be diligent about keeping it clean, but that's important to do no matter how close or far away from the house the coop is.

Thanks for joining us!
 
Apart from the unpleasant orders wafting up to your house, some insurance carriers will not allow coops to be within a certain distance of the house or attached to it. This stems mainly from fire risks assorted with chicken coops. You might want to contact your provider to see what they say.
 
My coop is close to my house maybe 25 ft. I keep it clean and I put an exhaust fan on the opposite side of the coop so if there is any smell it goes away from my house
 
Welcome to BYC DiveJedi! I was also a long time lurker before joining. I now have four coops and 51(at the moment) chickens. The closest one to our house is currently about 15 feet from the back door, but it is a tractor coop that we move around the back yard. It only has four, 2 month old silkies in it right now so, no odor problem. The closest "permanently" situated coop is about 30 feet from the house, and the others are further away. I use the "deep litter method" and PDZ stall refresher in the bigger coops to control odor. You probably would want the run to be on the side away from your house, but I think you could use your shed for a coop.
 
Great responses all - x2 on the "keep it clean, keep the stink at bay!" comments. My birds are about 25yds from house - love that i can hear if something comes preying on them at night! I am in the process of putting all my laying hens and their flock guardians (roos) in a large, well ventilated shed and using their current coops for "grow out" and breeding. There are so many different design suggestions for how to put the roosts, poop boards, nest boxes, etc. either in a barn or shed on this site. (As well as basic coop design to awesome chicken mansions too!)
Have so much fun with your adventure!!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/9/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance
 
G’Day from down under DiveJedi
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Welcome!

As you can see, our coop and run is very close to house [they free range in the garden all day]. We have a slatted timber floor in the coop due to our climate and each morning I clean up the overnight poops and wipe over the floor; we have deep litter in the covered run. No odour problems!

Our problem is noise .. the gals can get pretty vocal at 05:00AM when they want out of the run and into the garden
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It is definitely a bonus that I can hear any overnight upsets and race outside if need be.



I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends
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