The more I read, the more confused I get..... Placement of coop

[Sammimom]

We thought our rabbit-and-squirrel-killing dog would be a problem with our three hens...she is terrified of them! No clue why, as they never were allowed to interact with her. Personally, we love our chickens, but I think they are too dumb to be properly afraid of a preditor. We are on an acre but surrounded by housing developments, so our coop is only about 30 feet from my kitchen window, and we love it there. No odor (with only three hens and a covered run to stop the rain from wetting the feed) and the kids get to interact with the chickens often (several times a day) that way. We can also let them out (into our fenced yard) and I can keep an eye on them from the kitchen. It lets them get more exercise, and if they know I'm in the house, they stay near it.

I really, really like being able to zip a hose or an extention cord out to the coop whenever necessary...I just ordered a "patio misting set" to set up for when the temps get too high (as they did this week in the NW!!) so the hose access will be very important for that.

Did you think about incorporating the chicken coop with the barn, for added security? I don't know how big your barn is, but there are a few coops on the site either built in the barn or in a garage, with the run extending externally.

Have fun planning!

 

[KaySerRa]

Sammimom - Hmmmmm, how funny that your "rabbit-squirrel killing dog" is afraid of the hens!

Sounds like your set-up is perfect for you, and makes it easy for the kids to interact with the hens!

I suggested a place close to the house to my hubby, but he adamantly said, NO (and he doesn't do that often). Thinking that if the coop was in that spot, that I might let them free range. Course, we've got a lot of hawks too, so that was a big concern.

We'll be starting out with 8-10 chicks and the design I'm leaning towards is the playhouse design with a covered run. Sooooo, it's back to trying to decide where to put it. Yes, I thought about incorporating it in the barn, but it's not that big and all the space is already used up. It has 3 stalls (one for each horse, and one for the goats), with a tack/feed room and the area in front of the stalls is an open area for them all to gather under-cover. The stalls are always open, so they come and go as they please. It's "nestled" in the woods and it's about 500' from the house. When we built the barn, at that time the idea of having chickens never was considered!

Shame on me! It sure would've been easier!

I believe that the coop will be placed close to the barn, thanks to all the input on here. Course, I've "flip-flopped" so many times, for it's final destination; but currently it's back to the orignial spot. There's an area behind the barn or to the one side that is fairly flat.
Of course, it'll be close to the feed/tack room, to store supplies. Plus, cleaning the coop will be more convienent. As I've got to clean the stalls out anyway. So all the poo can go to the compost bin, which is located about 100', from the barn. The area is heavily shaded since we've got soooo many trees out there. So hopefully, the hot humid summers down here in Georgia won't be a problem. Although we don't have a water or electric line down at the barn (yet), whenever necessary we do run a hose or an extension cord to the barn. Course, we can't leave it out unsupervised, because of safety reasons for the horses and goats.

I really appreciate your in-put and thanks to you and all that has responded on BYC! My concern of our dogs stressing out the chickens is being "laid to rest."