One thought about chicken coops attached to a house. A few years ago, some sparrows nested in my attic. Mid-summer I experienced a week of bird mite attacks every night! I went to two doctors and searched on-line to find the source, and eventually caught a few of them and had them identified. It was horrible! I washed, scrubbed, vacuumed and laid down diatomaceous earth all along the base of walls, but it was many sleepless nights and bouts of itching before the problem went away. The mites can travel through walls and squeeze through the tiniest of cracks. I don't know if chicken mites would be the same as those the sparrows had, but I wouldn't run the risk of that experience again. I live in the city now, but if I ever get the space to have chickens, I'll make sure the coop is located away from the house and keep it as clean (and the birds as healthy) as possible. OK, maybe I'm a little paranoid ... but the itching was terrible!!
