If you don't have roosters, or don't mind hearing them, I'd say put the coop as close as you can stand. I'll bet you'll have problems with predators on 3 acres in MD, so it would be good if you can immediately hear any unusual fuss when it happens.
""Maison De Cheepie" Because I built it with what I around the house and found at swapmeets etc....and I am the cheepest labor around. "
Great inspiration, since I have to build a larger one soon.
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Love it! Mine have what I call "chicken races", especially right after I let them out in the morning. Maybe I should call their pen area (as opposed to the coops themselves) Preakness? Ascot? (but I don't have black and white hens...)
Re: Predators - build your night coop like a tank! And be sure you get them in before dark every night - I set my cell phone alarm so I hear it wherever I am. I read somewhere on this board that if you can't hear your chickens when you're in the house, use a baby monitor. As soon as I get a...
My first coop, a tractor built on a rolling garden-cart platform, is named The Coop-Mahal, because it took the builder about 3 months to finish, what with changing plans, tweaking and improving, etc. It's built like a tank. The second one, a wire enclosure attached to a salvaged dog igloo and...