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girlnamedsara

In the Brooder
Jun 8, 2016
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We had chickens growing up and now I am grown and with my own tribe and have started on the adventures of backyard chickens. I have 5 girls (I hope) a Black sex link, white leghorn, and three barred rock. I tried to start simple. Our goal is fresh eggs, family friends, and BUG control. So far after 4 weeks I am trying to establish the permanent coop location. Currently they are in a small chicken tractor in our basement. We live in the north east and nights are still a little chilly so it's working out well even though the coop is done. I'm trying to convince my husband to let me locate it just off our back porch. I have not had a problem with smell yet since I keep the girls extremely clean and they free range most of the day with me. We have a very wooded lot so I worry about predators. Any suggestions on convincing my husband I'm not crazy on location. I Think it would be wonderful to be able to walk right out to them and gather eggs.
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Hi and welcome to BYC - glad that you have joined us. Your question will likely be best posted in the "Coops and Runs" forums, where the gurus will point out the pros and cons of your suggestion for locating the coop.

More generally, you'll find lots of info in the Learning Centre https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center, and if you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you

All the best
CT
 
To me, the most important part of locating the coop is drainage. A wet coop or run is a dangerous coop or run from a disease standpoint. A wet coop or run will stink. Wet poop can draw flies. You need to locate the coop and run where water drains away from it. If you put it where water drains to it or, even worse, water stands after a rain you will regret it.

It sounds like your coop may be fairly small if it is built but not yet located. I don’t know how big of a run you are planning either. The tighter the chickens are packed, the more the poop is concentrated. Concentrated poop can smell and draw flies.

I don’t know enough about the layout of your land, your planned management practices, how hard you are willing to work every day of the year, or many other factors to be able to tell you where the best place to locate the coop is. To me the biggest risks are smell, flies, and to a lesser extent noise. I’m all about convenience, I think people on this forum worry too much about the comfort of their chickens at the expense of their own comfort and convenience. Heavy cleaning on a regular basis may not be all that convenient. Are you ready to live with the results of your decision? Because it is your and your husbands decision.


Welcome to the forum.
 
Ridgerunner said:
To me, the most important part of locating the coop is drainage. A wet coop or run is a dangerous coop or run from a disease standpoint. A wet coop or run will stink. Wet poop can draw flies. You need to locate the coop and run where water drains away from it. If you put it where water drains to it or, even worse, water stands after a rain you will regret it.

It sounds like your coop may be fairly small if it is built but not yet located. I don’t know how big of a run you are planning either. The tighter the chickens are packed, the more the poop is concentrated. Concentrated poop can smell and draw flies.

I don’t know enough about the layout of your land, your planned management practices, how hard you are willing to work every day of the year, or many other factors to be able to tell you where the best place to locate the coop is. To me the biggest risks are smell, flies, and to a lesser extent noise. I’m all about convenience, I think people on this forum worry too much about the comfort of their chickens at the expense of their own comfort and convenience. Heavy cleaning on a regular basis may not be all that convenient. Are you ready to live with the results of your decision? Because it is your and your husbands decision.


Welcome to the forum.
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Thank you for the response
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. The coop is a work in progress...8x3 height undetermined due to location. I will be maintaining daily until I figure out the "tricks of the trade". I hope to have a very clean and simple coop. Focused on; weather and venting, being that we are in a cold winter climate. Predators are also a large factor, so off the ground and secure are big. The area in which we would be placing it near the house is lined up to have a complete drainage system put in now. So yes the area is currently a wetter area and needs to be corrected before I would be locating the coop there. I have been spending hours with my "girls" and would hate to lose any of them to predictors or illness.
 

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