When building a coop - should the coop face a certain direction?

[JenDal]

We're going to building our coop. We live in Northern California (Sacramento County) - should the coop face a certain direction for the hens?

 

[Alaskan]

If you are super hot there, (and I guess you must be) you might want a wall that lets filtered light through on the sunniest side, and then have two totally open (only wire) sides on the less sunny sides.

You want to try to keep your chickens from roasting.

So, an almost completely open, think wire aviary, would be wonderful. You want enough cover to keep the perches and nest boxes dry. But other than that, the more open it is, the more air flow you will have, and so it will not be as hot.

I really like the coops on this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/163417/please-show-me-your-hot-weather-coops

@bonebrake has what I think is a perfect design:

 

[RockyComfort]

Not necessarily the coop itself, but certain features of the coop might be best facing specific directions. Take into consideration, prevailing winds, sunlight, human access and rain.

 

[chfite]

Except for sleeping, the chickens won't spend much time inside the coop.

Chris

 

[bluebirdnanny]

I have a woods style coop and it is best to face south but I did mine more east as the winds come from the north west but the snow blowing in from across the field circles and hits the south side very hard. So windows on my south and west sides open front with hardware wire and an upper section with wire behind a window to tilt out at bottom to regulate the heat/air in the coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sacramento: record high 115. Record low 18 above zero Fahrenheit

Cold is certainly not your enemy, heat is. Even in climates a lot colder than yours heat kills more chickens than cold.

RockyComfort has the right idea. It’s the features of the coop that matter and that is going to depend on your climate. In yours beware of heat.

Some things I’d consider:

Don’t put your nests on a southern or western wall. Those can become ovens. Some ventilation up high in the nests (depending on what style you go with) can allow them to cool off.

If you go with an open coop, block off direct wind from storms from your roosts. In your climate you don’t even need to take that protection all the way to the ground or to the roof. Just try to do enough to block off strong winds hitting them directly. Keep your nests dry too.

Slope your roof so the rainwater runs way from your coop and run, and don’t put the people door where that will drip on you when you are going in or out.

Position your coop and run so rainwater runoff does not stand in a low spot but instead drains away. You might need to build a berm or swale to keep rainwater runoff out.

Unless you are in heavy shade, I suggest your windows should be on the north or east side to avoid a greenhouse effect. If you build an open coop like Alaskan suggested that’s not important. You need lots of ventilation no matter what. Heat kills.

Make sure they have plenty of shade. A roof on a run often provides little shade. You need something on the south and west sides too.

Don’t crowd your chickens. Give them plenty of room on the roosts so they can spread out.

Aside to Alaskan. The only flaw I see in that coop is the roost is lower than the nest. Change that and I agree, it’s about perfect for a hot climate.

 

[aart]

Except for sleeping, the chickens won't spend much time inside the coop.

Chris

Weeeellllll, that really depends on information not given here.