Question for land owners

[Bossroo]

All of this information is nice, however each State, County, and City has their own Building and Health setback ( from property lines, buildings, wells, septic fields, etc. ) codes/ ordinaces. So, it would be wise to contact them before you build or you may just have to more / remove it from that location.

 

[remuda1]

Twenty acres here. Ohhh, I would say between 50 and 60 feet. It's on the northeast side of my house and I can see it easily from my office window. I also sometimes crack my bedroom window at night so I can keep an ear open for anything going on with my LGDs. I put the coop and run next to the paddock that my sheep and LGDs sleep in. I wanted some residual LGD protection for the coop and run and so far that's worked out well.

We have winds out of the south predominantly for eight or nine months of the year so if we happen to get some rain in the warmer months, the smell from the run is carried away from us. I wish there had been more shade in the location though, but I ended up covering over 2/3 of the run which is 12X27 feet. The coop is in a lofted barnlike building.

 

[al6517]

We have over 80 acres and chose to build about 200ft or more from the house, I can hear and see the coop and any problems. It has it's own water and electric supply and the land has a gentle slope for drainage, I didn't want it near the house at all, but near where the other livestock get housed. I knew I would allways be adding on and have lots of materials and supplies and a big compost pile out there so I could just go out and work at will. I drive right up to the chicken condo doors when I get home after working to chore, it also help when loading and unloading feed and materials and cages and such, having a good working chicken area for me was critical in it's placement.

 

[flyingtnh]

Oh and one more thing if you're already planning some real construction (which it sounds like you are). I don't know where in W TX you are, but if you're up by Amarillo or other places where you get freezing in winter, I have to say that one really nice thing the guy who owned this place before us did was to plumb the FF hydrants w/hot and cold water. Very easy setup - just an extra supply line and valve in the basement where it runs out to all the FFs (we've got 4). We can turn off all the water to them, turn on just the cold, just the hot, or mix it.

 

[Arkantex]

I am just North of Midland and Odessa. We live out in the country about 5 miles out of Andrews. Winters aren't to bad, with the exception of this last year. I noticed some people mentioned septic systems... How does that factor in to the equation?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I like being able to see the pens from the house.
Access to electricity and water also makes closer proximity to the house important.

 

[partsRheavy]

Henhouse is probably 200 or 300 feet from the house and situated on 10 acres outside city limits.

Personally I would prefer the henhouse a bit closer to the house to make it easier to check on them at night. I'm raising some ~10-day old baby chicks inside because there is a raccoon problem. I also upgraded/secured the main henhouse and the chick/pullet cages with hardware cloth, rocks etc.

There are few flies because guineas get 'em.

We selected LARGE breeds for our babies (Jersey Giants and soon-to-come Australorps) in part because of the raccoon situation. We're trapping but some of the varmints make off with free sardines.....before the trap closes on 'em.

 

[spiritdance]

We've got 28 acres and converted an old mobile home for the chickens and a shop. That limited how close to the house we could place it, but it's still convenient at about 150 feet away. That's pretty nice until it snows; then I wish they all lived on my back porch

. If you are building from scratch, one thing to consider is the cost of underground wire if you want electric in your coop (IMO a must have). Plumbing is not too bad other than the trenching to make sure the pipes don't freeze, but the wiring gets expensive real quick! If I were to build new coops now, I would put them closer to the power pole on the other side of the house and just trench the water further. As for the mention on here of the septic, I know in some locations if you want to be "legal" to sell eggs, etc., you have to have a clean-up facility that ties into your septic system. Out here, we just needed a lateral line to disburse the water away from the coops/runs.

 

[swatchick]

I've got 11 acres, and chose to build ours on one of a very few relatively flat sites about 80 ft from the house, down the hill toward the woods (our house sits pretty close to the road on the uphill side). The basic arrangement is that our house is on one side of the garden and the chickens are on the other. In terms of distance from the house, I like it that it is close enough, and the view clear enough that I can see it from the house, and it isn't a huge trek to care for them and any smells do not waft directly to the house. On the other hand, it's not much fun to trek out there in a storm, or after dark on a foggy night when the mountain lion has been seen about... If I'd been using my brain at the time, I would've put it INSIDE the already fenced garden for better predator protection, but I wasn't, so I had to build it like a fortress.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
One should never place structures over the septic tank or weep field. That is against codes everywhere.