Coop Pacement

[hodgepodge73]

Hi everyone. Just wondering about coop placement. Pan on building my coop on Monday. I have picked a place under a tree to offer some shade protection. Should the nest boxes or door face a certain direction (south etc..) or does it really matter? My chickens will have a fenced run (for days that I will be away) but will mostly be free range in my huge fenced back yard.

 

[teach1rusl]

My only advice would be to make sure the pop door does NOT face the prevailing winter wind side, at least if you're in an area that gets winters. Mine DOES, and now cold winter wind from the northwest (in my area) blows straight in that pop door during our coldest months

 

[Ridgerunner]

To me, the main thing about coop placement is to put it in a dry area. A wet coop or run can be unhealthy. Locate it where water drains from it, not to it.

I don’t know where you are located, how hot and sunny your days are in summer, or how much shade you get on the south side. Assuming you are north of the equator, the south side is usually not as bad as the west, but if the sun really heats that side of the coop, I suggest not putting your nests there, whether inside or exterior. Heat can be really dangerous for chickens. You don’t want your nests to become ovens. So put them on a cooler shadier side of the coop.

I don’t know what your coop looks like or how your ventilation is set up, but I suggest any ventilation down low also be on the shady side of the coop. If you have ventilation up high and down low, cooler air will come in lower down and warmer air go out of the top. If you put that lower opening in a shady area the air coming in will be cooler so you’ll get better air movement in the summer.

To be honest, unless you are in some really extreme heat location this isn’t that important, except for the part about keeping it dry. That is important. If you have the option, these are little tweaks that can potentially make it a little better but don’t stress over these if it makes it too inconvenient for you. Lots of people don’t take this into consideration and do fine. Modifying your profile to show your general location can help with some of these questions.

Welcome to the forum and the adventure. Glad you found us.

 

[limited25]

You have already gotten some good advice so I will just say

 

[Intheswamp]

My only advice would be to make sure the pop door does NOT face the prevailing winter wind side, at least if you're in an area that gets winters. Mine DOES, and now cold winter wind from the northwest (in my area) blows straight in that pop door during our coldest months

teach, you've probably already thought of it, but what about putting a windbreak up in front of the pop door? A few fence posts and a couple of sheets of tin or some plywood and you could knock a lot of the wind off. Easily removed in the summer. The chickens would have to make a ninety-degree turn as they come out the door but it'd keep the direct wind from hitting the door. Just a thought...

 

[teach1rusl]

teach, you've probably already thought of it, but what about putting a windbreak up in front of the pop door? A few fence posts and a couple of sheets of tin or some plywood and you could knock a lot of the wind off. Easily removed in the summer. The chickens would have to make a ninety-degree turn as they come out the door but it'd keep the direct wind from hitting the door. Just a thought...

Thanks Intheswamp - we use the translucent tarps with fibers running through them to wrap our runs each winter...where you have the plywood in the drawing. It's a pain in the butt, because our main run is really big. But it does help. Just one of those miscalculations that make me go "What the hell was I thinking?" I appreciate your suggestion though!

 

[Howard E]

Back in the day, both site and orientation mattered a great deal. They wanted the site to be high and dry......best on light to sandy (meaning well drained) soils and if at all possible, protected from the north wind. A south facing slope was ideal, east second, west third with a north facing slope being the last choice (cool and moist in the winter and open to cold north winds). The windows and most vents almost always faced south (some even went so far as to advocate a few degrees east of south if you can believe that) to take advantage of the winter sun for light and warmth. They wanted winter eggs from their hens, and the most winter light possible was going to help with that. Doors were usually placed on the east side away from the prevailing north and west winds. As much open ventilation as you can manage without creating a situation with drafts (neat trick if you can pull it off).

Nest boxes to the side (east or west) or under the roost bars IF you have a droppings board between them. Nest boxes high enough so hens on the ground can't see in. Hens want to hide their eggs in a dark corner, so that is what you want to provide for them in the way of nest boxes. Nest boxes accessed from the outside meet this criteria pretty well. Roosts in the back away from the opening windows and roosts higher than the nest boxes else they may try to roost in the nest boxes. Ideally, roosts will all be on the same level and about 8 to 10 inches of roost space per bird.

So you are wise to ask. There are a lot of time tested and proven poultry husbandry factors to consider (or used to be) when building a nice, functional poultry house.

 

[hodgepodge73]

Thanks for all the info.

 

[hodgepodge73]

Thanks for all the info.