Sunny or shady side?

[alhanse77]

We will be building a new 6'x6' shed-style coop this spring. It will be going on the south side of the house in a space that is approx 15'x15'. If we put the coop closer to the house it will get full sun all year round, which may be nice in the winter. If we put it near the 6' fence, they will get very little direct sun in the winter as the shadow cast by the fence is 8-10 feet long. We regularly get daytime temps around 10 deg. F in the winter and temps near 90 deg. F in the summertime. We plan on having plenty of windows and ventilation in the coop and the chickens will free range in the back yard for most of the day once the snow melts. So, sunny side or shady side?

 

[patandchickens]

Being as chickens cope better with cold than with heat, I would worry about how hot it'd get *in that heat-trap south-face-of-house* location and incline to putting them further away from the house and thus cooler. I don't suppose there is any chance of either replacing that stretch of fence with mesh, or putting a very large plexiglass "window" in the fence?

Pat

 

[alhanse77]

Quote:
No chance of a window in the fence. We share a white, vinyl fence with the neighbor. They already think we are weird.

 

[Red_Hot_Poker_Farms]

We have the same dilemma, except we are regularly in the 100's in the summer and usually bounce around 25 for regular lows in winter. I am concerned that building on the north side will increase the risk of the run not drying out when in rains and snows.

 

[elmo]

I'd say put your coop where it will get the most shade in the summer, especially in the afternoons. A conventional closed coop can get like an oven inside when the outside temp is 90, even with plenty of ventilation.

I have a completely open, wire sided roofed coop but I foolishly sited it where the afternoon sun hits it. Even with all that wire on four walls, shade tarps over the roof and on the sunny side, the roof traps heat underneath and the temperature at roost level is hotter than the ambient outdoor temp. And in North Texas, the ambient outdoor temp is plenty hot enough in the summer months.

It's way easier to manage cold in a coop than heat in a coop, and heat can be deadly while even extreme cold temperatures rarely are.

 

[patandchickens]

For those concerned about run not drying out well, I would suggest seeing if you can afford a roofed run and roof it with clear polycarbonate (NOT pvc) corrugated panels. Best of both worlds that way. Also, if it's possible you might see how much of the run you can extend into a sunny area, so the chickens can sunbathe sometimes.

Pat