Placement of coop near outdoor food preparation area... dumb idea?

[Nonny]

I'm going to be building a bigger combined coop/run, and in our small suburban yard there's limited places to put it where we'll have easy access to the eggs, as well as easy viewing of the girls while we potter about in the garden. The coop will fit perfectly between two palm trees that grow next to our carport, which is a double carport, and the car is parked on the far side of it so I'm not worried about fumes or anything, but the thing I think may be a dumb idea is that in the half of the carport that will be next to the coop is where I have my outdoor table and chairs, and the BBQ, because on the very few times a year I can be bothered entertaining, that's where we sit to cook and eat (my house is too small for guests and we don't have a dining table LOL).

So is it a dumb idea to have the coop right next to where we will be eating (even though it's only a few times a year)? I'm thinking that if there's any smell I can do a coop clean out the day before if I need to? Are there any weird health risks associated with serving/preparing food that close to the chooks?

I dunno - we're not too precious about germs round here and figure it's all immune building but maybe my friends will have other ideas so I'd like to know if it's likely to make others think twice about coming over for dinner.

 

[clairabean]

Could you stomach eating BBQ chicken while your chickens watch you? Would dust be an issue for you? Smell? It depends how close you really want to be with your flock. Or how close your guests want to be, really.

 

[ll]

If you have an alternate location, chose the alternate. Good luck!

 

[Nonny]

Hmmm... I don't care about chickens watching me eat chicken and plan on having a sand run and in our humid climate the dust probably won't be a problem, but I dunno - the flies or smell might be an issue. - the only alternate location is down under the trees where it's quite damp and dark/shady.

It might be easier to put the furniture elsewhere I think.... or move the car to that side of the carport and have the table on the other (just when we're expecting company) so not only will the coop be further from the food, there'll also be a car in between.

I want a bigger house!

 

[Oregon Blues]

Maybe you could put your picnic area elsewhere. I suspect that the additional flies and the smell of chicken manure and feathers might not add to the enjoyment of your dining.

 

[Nonny]

See at the moment the coop and run is about 10 meters from the carport and I'm out there every day so don't notice any dust, flies or smell at all. This is with a dirt run and a bit of straw thrown down. I assume a sand run would be even less likely to smell?