Coop/Run on a slope?

[CynAlexa]

Hello! Anyone here have a coop/run set up on a slope? To comply with city rules the best place for my hens is on my slope. I’d appreciate any suggestions and/or pictures.

 

[21hens-incharge]

How steep is the slope?
How big will your coop be?
Pictures will help a ton.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

Nothing wrong with having your coop on a slope as long as your construction is sound. In fact, it almost guarantees good drainage -- as long as runoff is channeled around the chicken facility rather than through it.

How many chickens were you thinking of getting and how big is the coop? Also, where, in general, are you located? Climate matters so we can give better advice if we know what sort of weather and predators you'll be dealing with.

Show us some photos of the proposed site and the proposed coop and we'll be happy to help you sort it out.

 

[Sportsman94]

don’t know how steep your slope is, but this is the one I built on a slope this year. You can see the bottom 2x6 basically touching the ground on the side closest to the coop and several inches up on the side at the end of the run. This was my first coop build so I’m not sure how well I did, but it seems good so far. I filled the run with coarse wood chips from a tree trimmer with hopes that any water draining through it will filter underneath them to the low end. If that doesn’t work I will dig a trench on both sides to support runoff

 

[3KillerBs]

My new coop-in-progress:

DH is experienced with framing and worked the slope into his design.

 

[FatCat99]

here’s pic of mine. If you don’t add some form of terracing on a slope the chickens will pick the ground clean and will have issues with erosion. I terraced the run into 8 foot sections (length of landscape timbers), Lowe’s has a good video online for simple garden terracing. I did use a deadman on the lowest wall as it is more than 2 timber’s high. I wanted to keep the total height as close as possible to the stone wall behind so I lowered height at top of run as well. The underside of coop is also enclosed which added some more run area. Filled the terrace boxes with sand (concrete sand, not play sand which is too fine) after this pic was taken. There is perforated pipe drainage along the lowest side and bottom wall of the run, also as shown in the Lowe’s garden terrace how-to video. Good luck!

 

[Lucy Brown]

How steep is the slope?
How big will your coop be?
Pictures will help a ton.

I agree. It all depends on those two things.

 

[neo71665]

Mine is on a slight slope. Built it with the mind of good drainage.

 

[CynAlexa]

Hello! Anyone here have a coop/run set up on a slope? To comply with city rules the best place for my hens is on my slope. I’d appreciate any suggestions and/or pictures.

 

[CynAlexa]

This is a pic of my coop and the area where I want to move it to and make it into the run for the hens. I would put the coop High enough so that the door is at the level of the slope and they can walk out to the area that is currently a little garden.