Need advice on coop/run orientation.

[navychick]

Hi Everyone,
My Chicks are coming July 5th and I am soooo excited. We are building our coop this weekend and I was wondering what direction the run should face?
Would morning or afternoon sun be best. We live in Michigan BTW. Also, any advice is most welcome.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I don't know how Michigan summers are-

are they really hot?

Do you get much 100 degree weather?

Overheating is a danger- you will want to ensure that they have some shade available in the summer.

(And to get out of the rain.)

I hope that helps.

 

[carrlr]

I live in Illinois. My coop/run runs East-West. I have shade clothe over most of my run. In warm/hot months I think it's important that they have either natural shade (trees, bushes, etc.) or shade from their coop, or surrounding buildings. You'll want to ensure the coop is well ventilated, but not breezing in the winter months.

 

[colebarnhart]

Mine is attached to the north side of my coop and my coop is elevated, however, after I built it, the chix seemed to be too shaded and not getting enough sunlight, as the sun is mostly toward the south as it goes from east to west. So they are only getting the morning sun and after seeing that I was wishing that I flipped my design, yet now that it's getting way warmer, I'm changing my mind again and glad I have it the way it is.

In Oklahoma the weather is CRAZY and it gets super hot and also gets pretty darn cold, (well at least to me, you would probably laugh at our winters), and of course this time of year there is a tornado warning flashing across the tv every single day, but even when it's not tornado season, the wind is just insane at times.

So, I know it gets cold there but not sure how hot it gets in MICH, but maybe try and base your design keeping all weather issues in mind as well as function and ease of cleaning, etc.

 

[navychick]

Thanks, I imagine the cold winter is a greater factor than the few, precious really hot days we get. Honestly, I am adicted to this site but it seems the more I read the less I know and more confused I become.

 

[colebarnhart]

Yeah, I hear you man!!!! I had no idea that I would become addicted either and that there was so much to know about chix (i.e. the coop design, breeds, predators, hatching, brooding, I mean the list seems endless)

 

[WoodlandWoman]

The north wall of my coop has no openings, the pop door and run are on the south wall. The east and west walls have windows. The east wall has smaller windows to accommodate the people door, which is only on that wall because it's the closest to the house. The west wall then has huge windows, since there's more space to work with. There's a little window on the south wall, but it's no big deal that it's there.

Mainly, we wanted to block the arctic winter winds coming from the north. We always get a big drift against the building on that side. Having windows on the east and west sides gives a lot of nice summer ventilation. It catches all the breezes coming through. Since there isn't much for windows on the south side, it blocks a lot of summer heat. We also covered the run near the coop. It gives shade, makes a nice area on rainy days and keeps us from having to shovel snow to free the chickens, unless there's a blizzard blowing the snow around.