Coop/Run location help—too close to house?

[McChooky]

My chickens are close to my house which makes it easy to check on them. It also helps keep the larger predators away by being so close to my house. Having just a few chickens makes them easy to take care of. Congratulations!

 

[Ricognyze]

I’ve been scouring BYC and it seems like mice are likely something anyone will encounter. So is it basically just a situation where you just do your best to mitigate the problem??

Remove food at night? Any other tips?

 

[McChooky]

I’ve been scouring BYC and it seems like mice are likely something anyone will encounter. So is it basically just a situation where you just do your best to mitigate the problem??

Remove food at night? Any other tips?

I use 1/2" hardware cloth on my coop and covered runs( vents and openings too)It also has an apron around the bottom .I have not had any problem with mice and snakes getting inside.Its well worth your time and effort to make an apron around the bottom with hardware cloth.

 

[Sally PB]

Remove food at night? Any other tips?

Remove water too. I take all the food and water out of my coop and run every night. Since I have the food bowls inside Rubbermaid containers (12x16" is a good size), it's a matter of put the tops on, stack 'em up, and carry them back into the house. In the morning, I refill the bowls, carry it outside, and set everything out.

Water is in a large metal pet bowl, which is dumped out every evening and refilled every morning. In the winter, it's in a heated pet bowl, again, dumped out every night. Having the bowl set up on a cinder block helps keep dirt from being scratched into it.

For electricity in the coop, I have a heavy duty contractor exterior grade extension cord with 3 outlets. One for the water heater, one for a string of white Christmas lights from about November to April, because it's kind of gloomy in the run. We don't get a lot of sun that time of year.

My coop/run is next to, but not touching, our garage. There's about 3-4' between them. Makes it much less work for me, and one side of the run is protected from wind. Even though it's the least windy direction, it helps.

 

[Ricognyze]

Remove water too. I take all the food and water out of my coop and run every night. Since I have the food bowls inside Rubbermaid containers (12x16" is a good size), it's a matter of put the tops on, stack 'em up, and carry them back into the house. In the morning, I refill the bowls, carry it outside, and set everything out.

Water is in a large metal pet bowl, which is dumped out every evening and refilled every morning. In the winter, it's in a heated pet bowl, again, dumped out every night. Having the bowl set up on a cinder block helps keep dirt from being scratched into it.

For electricity in the coop, I have a heavy duty contractor exterior grade extension cord with 3 outlets. One for the water heater, one for a string of white Christmas lights from about November to April, because it's kind of gloomy in the run. We don't get a lot of sun that time of year.

My coop/run is next to, but not touching, our garage. There's about 3-4' between them. Makes it much less work for me, and one side of the run is protected from wind. Even though it's the least windy direction, it helps.

Thanks. I’ll plan to remove everything at night.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks for the climate info. Minnesota can (notoriously) dip below zero but can also hit upper 90s and humid. So climate on both ends is a concern.

Yes, I plan to cover about a 6’ x 10’ section for shade and elements protection.

My parents lived on Minnesota for a while and told me how it gets both extremes.

I’ve been scouring BYC and it seems like mice are likely something anyone will encounter. So is it basically just a situation where you just do your best to mitigate the problem??

Remove food at night? Any other tips?

I've never had them myself and leave food out all the time.

Everyone's situation is different and there is no one-size solution.

 

[NatJ]

I am in the design phase....I plan to repurpose an unused dog run

Chickens will fly out of that run, unless you cover the top.

(Possible exception for Silkies and Frizzles, because their feathers don't work right for flying; also a possible exception for some really heavy or lazy chickens. But most chickens of most breeds will get out of that pretty easily.)

 

[4timandlisa]

We live near International Falls MN and are building our coop/runs 14 steps (and I have short legs!) from our kitchen door. We will have two guineas, 10 hens. Our coop will be 10x10 with a 10x10 enclosed run on the W and E sides. We have to seriously consider just how much snow we are willing to shovel! Predators on our property include mink, weasel, martin, bear, skunk, eagle, falcon, hawk, curious deer, curious moose (or one that decides the side of a building is the perfect place to scratch an itchy shoulder!). We do have moles, voles, ground squirrels that could burrow in for chicken feed, but hopefully the concrete foundation and hardware cloth skirt will discourage them,
Chickens closer to the house is *decidedly* better for us! Not too worried about rodents infesting our home. We are pretty particular about keeping food for us and our pets cleaned up and everything tidy/minimal. We do have cats and a dog with will catch critters.
Hope this helps!

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

I didn't see where anyone addressed your concern that it may be too close to the house. I'd look into the local ordinance on the matter, just in case. It may not be an issue where you are from a legal standpoint, but here, each town has its requirements on distance from other structures. In some cases, fowl cannot be kept or housed within 20 feet of a residence and in other places, it's as much as 200 ft. from any structure in the city.

 

[Ricognyze]

Chickens will fly out of that run, unless you cover the top.

(Possible exception for Silkies and Frizzles, because their feathers don't work right for flying; also a possible exception for some really heavy or lazy chickens. But most chickens of most breeds will get out of that pretty easily.)

Yes, definitely! I haven’t completed the run. Still in the planning stage of where to place it.