Placement of coop

[HBChicken]

Thanks everyone for the insight on planting grass. I will definitely cover any greens that I plant so they can enjoy them but not destroy them.

 

[ClearSkye]

Well where I live there are rules.. blasted rules.. gotta be 25 feet from any dwelling. I am in a city limits and not the country, ya see. Luckily my back yard is plenty big enough to handle that. But if you are in a similar situation, check out the rules where you are.

 

[ECBW]

Don't bother planting green in the coop. Throwing in grass clippings is much more effective.

 

[SpoilMyPooch]

I would agree with Ridgerunner about not making the choice between sun and shade but between dry and wet and good drainage and poor drainage. Your chickens need to be kept dry as much as possible. They are built to handle quite extreme cold temperatures but they cannot tolerate wet and cold. They can handle being very cold much better than they can being very hot! Ventilation is more important in chicken coops than insulation- which is a surprise to most people.

I have designed an infographic and written an article about what makes a perfect chicken coop and run in which I present the thoughts of some of the top practitioners in the chicken keeping world. I came up with 23 important "elements." You can access it at the link below.

http://www.allaboutchickens.info/better-chicken-coop-run/