Coop Placement for Central Florida

[ILikeChickens1978]

Greetings all,



We just bought a new place in Central Florida that has an existing out building. We want to build a coop on to the side of it for our pretty ladies. Coming from Utah, I've always thought that building south facing coops was ideal. I'm a little worried about doing a South facing coop in a place that never gets cold and the summers get so hot and humid. Would it be better to build on the North or does it even matter? The South side already has a roof and cement floor but the North side would allow us to see the coop from the front porch. Here are some pics for reference:

North:

South:

 

[Percheron chick]

I would use the structure on the S side. Enclose it with wire making more of an aviary and use drop down shades on the south end to block the sun but not restrict air flow for the summer. No need to build a traditional coop. You could use the trellis on the N side the same way but less work using the other side.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My main rule for coop and run placement is “Where will it stay the driest”? A wet coop and run are problems, a dry coop and run are pretty easy to manage. Look at how water drains in your land and how water comes off that existing building.

Yes I see posts on here all the time that insists a coop has to be open to the south. I’m not a believer in that, mine certainly doesn’t. My outside door and window are on the north side. I enclosed the end of a long shed to make my coop. The south side of my coop is protected by that shed. Here the west and southwest directions get the afternoon sun and are brighter and warmer than the south anyway.

We are all so unique that there can’t be one answer that suits us all. Where you are heat will be an issue, but you can handle that with ventilation and shade. Your choice of building materials can help, wood provides better insulation than metal. Put your nests on a shady side so they don’t become an oven. Make it tall enough so hot air can rise and get out of there. Your roosts also should go where they are not on the west side since that gets the hottest afternoon heat.

Once you determine which side will be driest, make it convenient to you. You can deal with the rest.