siting the coop

[bassoonmom]

My husband is soon to build our first chicken coop. We're excited about this new venture! We've decided to build a walk-in "playhouse" style coop 8'x4', but we can't quite decide where to best locate it in our yard. We have six large spruce trees to work around. One proposed location nestles the coop nicely beneath/between a couple of the spruce trees, which will provide part shade/part sun and plenty of protection from the wind. But we'd like our girls to produce plenty of eggs all winter here in Wisconsin, and I wonder if we shouldn't site the coop more in the open and slightly away from the trees for increased daylight. How much are my hens going to be affected by short winter days? Should we simply plan to add artificial light? Should the windows in the coop face east, south, or west? Any and all suggestions appreciated!

Cindy in Madison

 

[maplesky7]

I used to raise bees and the consensus is to face the hive south for the winter sun.


In the winter I use lights to keep them laying but production does drop. If they are in the sunlight... then you won't have to worry about things getting wet without a chance to dry out. Maybe you can situate the coop so it gets part sun and part light?

 

[bonniebe]

i live in northern michigan, and used 2 bulbs on a timer from 5 am til 5 pm, from dec to mid feb, and got 2 eggs a day from 3 chickens. find the best site to protect from shade and wind, and use artificial light in the shortest days of winter.

 

[teach1rusl]

The nestled between two trees sounds lovely because of the setting and the wind barrier. However, I'd base it more on availability of electricity. It's nice having power available in your coop for MANY reasons. I have a glass door and window facing east and one window facing south, and it made a HUGE difference this past winter. During the day, it would heat up nicely inside the coop...of course in the summer I put a curtain on the door to BLOCK light...lol. There's still no guarantee of course with egg laying. Many hens will molt in the fall, and egg production will drop or stop. And then right after that comes winter...with much shorter days. But anything you can do helps. Depending on how cold your area gets, I'd recommend insulating if that's an option for you. The less energy going toward fighting off cold, the more that can go toward egg production imo.