My coop is about 100 yds upslope from the house...if you free range at all, you'll want them to be far rather than near. Poop happens. A lot. Best if it's all not around the house where you walk the most. Also, if you don't feed fermented feed, those poops are going to attract flies and stink....you'll not want that close to the house either. Our garden is close to the house but the coop is far.
Since I keep the dogs centered around the coop area, this also keeps dog mess a good distance from the house...all the dog poop goes in the woods, their pee and muddy tracking about stays up the yard and not near the house. This all makes it nice when company comes or grandchildren come to play...they still have clean areas of yard that are not affected too much by animal dirt. Oh, the chickens still range and poop down by the house but it's not as much poop as is deposited closer to the coop.
When the rooster crows of a morning, it's a muffled sound and not loud enough to wake us....too far away. When the hens get loud about an egg laid, it's far enough away to not disturb our lovely silence too much. When the dogs bark on patrol at night, it's directed towards the woods around the coop and not in the direction of the house....this is nice as well. Not a bit too loud for good sleeping. They don't bark often, so when they do it's noticeable but still not as loud as if it were right under our window.
Makes it nice to have them at a distance. Downside is having to carry water to them, especially in the winter but it's still a great trade off.
Since I keep the dogs centered around the coop area, this also keeps dog mess a good distance from the house...all the dog poop goes in the woods, their pee and muddy tracking about stays up the yard and not near the house. This all makes it nice when company comes or grandchildren come to play...they still have clean areas of yard that are not affected too much by animal dirt. Oh, the chickens still range and poop down by the house but it's not as much poop as is deposited closer to the coop.
When the rooster crows of a morning, it's a muffled sound and not loud enough to wake us....too far away. When the hens get loud about an egg laid, it's far enough away to not disturb our lovely silence too much. When the dogs bark on patrol at night, it's directed towards the woods around the coop and not in the direction of the house....this is nice as well. Not a bit too loud for good sleeping. They don't bark often, so when they do it's noticeable but still not as loud as if it were right under our window.
Makes it nice to have them at a distance. Downside is having to carry water to them, especially in the winter but it's still a great trade off.