Covered coop & run designs, why are the coops always on the end?

I see no reason why you can't have your coop built in the center of the enclosure if that's what you want (I have my coop plunked in the center of my run, but it's not built in, just a free standing unit in an uncovered run). Certainly your idea sounds nice and thought out with consideration for both chickens and humans. I hope someone chimes in with more feedback.

 

I think that usually the access to the next boxes are on the end because it makes it easier for people to get the eggs out without having to go into the run. Saves people from getting muddy/poopy shoes.

Other than that, I don't see any reason why nothing that you have laid out would be any sort of issue,

 

I guess I'm confused. If you've designed something that will work for you and is aesthetically pleasing to YOUR EYE, then why would it have a "fatal design flaw"?

I imagine that most coops start out as a coop and then a run attached to one side/end - making accessing the coops easier for most folks. I've seen several designs where a coop has had multiple/different runs come off of it with the coop in the middle - works for those designs. I've seen runs with free standing coops in the middle.

Another consideration of the coop being on the end is not having to enter thru the run - being in direct contact with birds that may be aggressive. Or that you might take "something" away from or bring into the run and then the coop.

Personally, we've moved. What worked well at our previous house/property doesn't work at all here on our new property. I have to deal with sand (LOTS of it) and heat - so a full wooden coops doesn't work for us. Open air does... As much as we'd like to free range our birds, we haven't been able to on this much larger property due to predators - including marauding dogs that are unmarked/collared that dug under our fenced pasture.

Clean out doors - really think it varies depending on layout of coop, how coop is positioned in run and ease of access.

I don't think most folk think about the roof not covering the next boxes when they are put on the side for ease of access. A lot of the placements of things are done that way due to maximizing the space that is available and it seems like most coops are always too small. Or that "chicken math" happens right away to most folk. Or cost gets in the way, so they choose the most economical for them at the time - even if layout may be "weird".

I can't wait to see how your layout will look when it's finished! Do you have actual plans already done that you can post pics of?

 

Do what works for you. Mine will have nest box and feeding access inside and under the roof of the run. I want to be able to block the N and W winds in the winter and early spring and me protected from those awful winds as well. I'm thinking it will work out well, besides I always have my mud boots if needed but the run will be a deep litter with straw etc so should not be bad to walk on.

 

If you have bad winters be careful as more entrances equates to poorer insulation, unless you close one of them. I suppose the two entrances would be useful in the summer to provide ventilation. Also one run would be easier to clean than two runs.

 

Build it however you want. But keep in mind these few things. What are the things you will be doing daily and is the coop designed to make it easy to do them? What are the "big" jobs that might be done less often and does your design allow for doing them easily? Just make sure one doesn't interfere with the other.

I like my coop at the end. It saved on construction costs as it serves as one of the sides of the run. I only have to have one coop door and one run door in order to access all areas. That's less in construction and less points of access that need to be secured. I can enter my coop without having to first enter the run. I can easily corner a bird in my long run if I have to catch one rather than try and chase it around or under a coop. Snow is an issue for me so if my run was uncovered I'd want fewer doors to have to clear from and would want to clear only a single area rather than two.

It sounds like you've had chickens before so you're the best judge of what will suit you best. As for only seeing a lot of "coops on the end" designs, it is probably more related to construction costs and expansion opportunities than anything else.

 

Designing a coop is a big project at least in the mind. In the end its what works for you. My only suggestion is, because the coop will be in the "front" yard, try to make it complement your house so it doesn't look gaudy.

 

Build what you want. There's no requirement to put the run on one end, though it does represent an optimization for time and materials. I promise that the Chicken Police won't cite your for making a center-coop structure. There are many reasons I can think of to do so, including segregation of flocks or quarantine of new birds.

That said, our coop has the "coop" in the middle, with a feed room shed on the end opposite the run. We built a "drive thru window" between the feed room and the coop, and I must say it makes coop maintenance a breeze (and will be pleasant when the winter arrives.)