Coop beside house?

[HSMOM]

I have 6, 5 day old chicks and plan to start working on their coop and run this weekend. I have 2 acres of chain linked fenced property but I have decided to put the coop and run on the east side of my house. It is the only place that gets shade during the hottest part of the day. I think it will be fine but some others have tried to discourage me. Am I setting myself up for a mess.....smell, insects, rodents? Of course I plan to practice good hygiene and maintain things but without having prior experience I cannot anticipate problems and don't want to have to relocate things. Thanks

 

[Mattemma]

Great during the winter,but in the summer I don't like it.I ended up walking my chickens to the far back yard due to the flies.Coop was not so bad,but I can't walk around the yard (close to the house) picking up droppings all day or covering them.It is easier to move them during the warmer months,but I love having them close during the bitter cold months when I run out with warm food and water....then run back inside.

 

[EweSheep]

Great during the winter,but in the summer I don't like it.I ended up walking my chickens to the far back yard due to the flies.Coop was not so bad,but I can't walk around the yard (close to the house) picking up droppings all day or covering them.It is easier to move them during the warmer months,but I love having them close during the bitter cold months when I run out with warm food and water....then run back inside.

2x

 

[phelpcd1]

Yep that's my only complaint also.........FLIES! I'm in the hot TX heat and my coop is at the back of the yard (city yard) but I do let them roam around alot. I have a deck/patio off my house they don't get on, so they are beyond that, but the flies are still crazy. Ya, no way you can pick up or cover poops all over the yard. I have one of those hanging fly catchers you fill with water in the run which helps but still...

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

the shade is important, but you can make your own shade too, I think you should also consider prevailing wind, will it be blowing odors toward your house, or away.? Do you like to grill outside and hang on the poarch....is it easy for you to walk over to do chores or no. Flies happen, before I had chickens we had flies, little ones, huge ones,strange ones, I think we actually have fewer now, maybe the chickens are eating the larva. I know they love spiders. Either way build it so its easy for you to take care of, where you can see it and enjoy it and not too far away.

 

[HSMOM]

the east side of my house experiences the least wind. My only other option is to put it in the backyard which is the north side and it gets all the strong winds there. Am I being naive in thinking that if I use DE in the litter and hang fly strips and clean aggressively that I won't have an issue with flies and smell? To be honest my experience with chickens is VERY limited. Maybe I am romanticizing the whole thing a bit. I am starting to realize that chickens are little poop machines b/c these 6 chicks are creating LOTS of it. My hope is that once they are full grown I will let them free range in my fenced in yard.......will there be poop on everything if I do that? I have 3 kids and it's their playground and I don't want them to have to constantly watch out for poop.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Yes chickens poop anywhere they want, alot depends on how much area they have, but it's just a fact, how much are you willing to do? Cleaning poop gets old real quick and it takes the enjoyment out of owning them, six chickens are not too many and usually the poop falls down into the grass, dries quickly and isn't a big deal...compared to say, a big old slippery goose poop.! I don't see how it's wrong to attempt foresight on something that could become a nusaince, I use pine chips on the floor and only clean the whole coop a once a year, maybe. If it stays dry it doesn't really smell, a problem using sand or de is that it doesn't really adsorb water so the smell can get pungen.t, plus chips allow air to circulate.,and it's relatively cheap .
Now, as far as stepping in it, sometimes you just can't have it all. Just hope for good rains!, don't know how you want to handle it, but there it is.

 

[Nicole01]

Our coop is inside our garage with the run along side our house. Unfortunately it's the west side, which is the warmest, but we provide plenty of shading and planting a ton of trees. I love it! Our run does not touch our house either. We heat the coop in the winter and cover the run with plastic for use all year.

Run-summer

Winter

Door to free range

Coop inside

Revised nest boxes

 

[Roxannemc]

Since yours are 6 days old... A heads up,,,,mine are 9 weeks and have you ever seen goose poop by a lake?thats chickens too. Yeah put them where you can see them out back and shade with something.Not too too close to the house but where you can enjoy seeing them.
An idea... You can always put ornamental grasses that get tall (6 feet plus ) behind their run,coop ...those grasses will grow fast and shade them from sun and wind in both winter and summer.Winter you leave the thick brown grass there and cut it in early spring when it warms up a little. March- April

 

[kaykaypw]

Hi,
I have my coop right next to the house. I did this for the bird's security mainly. I keep it very clean, I think having it close to the house keeps me motivated!
I would put the coop wherever it will get the most shade during the summer.

Karen