Coop Location - We live on a hill facing south

[Robotmomma]

Hi, I am building my first coop. Having a bit of trouble agreeing on the location for our coop. Husband wants bottom of our yard which is at the bottom of a hill. He says the ground is more level down there and away from all of our neighbors so less likely to bother them. But it can get muddy in the winter. I feel like they should be closer up to the house and I will just level out a spot there. I have a picture of our yard.

It is a pretty good hill for sledding. We crash into the fence at the bottom. Hard to tell from the pic but it is a steady slope and flattens out at the bottom.

I want to put them buy the mulberry tree on the right next to that bush on the fence line where our compost bin is currently sitting.

What do you guys think?

Is the mud at the bottom of the hilll a good enough reason to not put the coop down there. It would be easier to fence off that corner down there if the mud was no big deal.

We can't agree. He is very set on the bottom of the hill. What do you guys think?

Thanks very much!

 

[Judy]

A muddy area is a terrible location for chickens. The poop will get wet and STINK. It can also cause foot probems, not to mention overgrowth of parasites. A coop and run need to be well drained.

 

[jetdog]

Forget about the muddy area, it will be more convenient in the winter to have it closer for dealing with electric and frozen water, just more convenient.

 

[countrydreamer8]

Good Morning All, I have a similar problem except I have 2 sheds already in place but I don't know which one would be the better one to use. Right now they 1 mo. old chicks are in the 1/2 shed [4' x 8'] attached to the back of my garage. Very convenient for me since all I have to do is go through the garage and into the coop. My concern is where to put the ventilation for air flow. I live in Upstate NY and if I did my research correctly our prevailing winds are SW & NE. there are only 3 walls open to the outside: 296 degrees to the NW; 30 degrees to the NE and 200 degrees to the S. The second shed on my property is a full 8'x10' shed facing SE but its further away from the house [huge problem in the dead of winter]. Any suggestions on where I can place ventilation on the shed attached to the back of my garage?

 

[jetdog]

Good Morning All, I have a similar problem except I have 2 sheds already in place but I don't know which one would be the better one to use.  Right now they 1 mo. old chicks are in the 1/2 shed [4' x 8'] attached to the back of my garage.  Very convenient for me since all I have to do is go through the garage and into the coop.  My concern is where to put the ventilation for air flow. I live in Upstate NY and if I did my research correctly our prevailing winds are SW & NE.   there are only 3 walls open to the outside: 296 degrees to the NW; 30 degrees to the NE and 200 degrees to the S.  The second shed on my property is a full 8'x10' shed facing SE but its further away from the house [huge problem in the dead of winter].  Any suggestions on where I can place ventilation on the shed attached to the back of my garage?

A picture would be helpful to get an idea of what you have.

 

[Robotmomma]

Thanks for replying.

Judy, I think your comment about the wetness making it stink made an impression on my husband. LOL.

jetdog, I was thinking closer to the house for ease of reaching them in the snow and cold too. Good point about the frozen water.

 

[Robotmomma]

okay, another question. which way would you situate the window? I was thinking east or south. or maybe southeast?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You don't say where you live but don't put a window south as it will over heat the coop. Those that coop birds in winter would use windows south facing for heat but chickens do well in cold and prefer to be outside. I don't use windows at all and really don't understand why people do. If you have a rooster it's going to crow before sunrise if it has light. If you need ventilation then add ventilation. Yeah, I don't get windows for coops at all. Well, maybe if you've an old one hanging around and just want to use it instead of sending it to the dump I suppose. No I'd still not use one.

 

[countrydreamer8]

thank you Jetdog I will see if I can send a picture from my iPhone. in the meantime just picture a 8x10 shed kit sitting on a deck attached to the back of a garage. the human doors are facing the NW & the back of the shed is SE 118 degrees

 

[countrydreamer8]

Hi I live in Upstate NY just 7 miles south of Lake Ontario. Our winters do get very cold in fact this past winter we broke a record in Feb. I've already got 2 very narrow windows in this shed which will work in the winter months.