Where to place coop, please advise!

[rehsanipoor]

So we are going to begin construction of our coop and run this Sunday but still haven't decided definitely where we want the coop. I'll describe the two spots we are choosing between and the benefits/drawbacks to each and hopefully the more experienced of you can guide me!

Location #1: Right next to house and patio
Pluses:
I like the convenience of having them right near the house. We live in Baltimore and the weather can get nasty so less trudging around the better. We will have easy access to water and electric.
Minuses:
The coop itself will get next to no direct sun. The house will shade it, and it gets pretty cool (I could provide a safe heater). The run will have a shady and sunny area and they will have access to the run every day. Perhaps the coop staying out of the sun will help with the smell(?), which is my next concern.
It will be close to patio. We spend a good amount of time out there and I don't want it to stink!

Location #2: Roughly 50 to 60 feet from the house (next to a shed).
Pluses:
The ground is more level. The coop will get full sun as will the run (which will have a covered area for shade). Less worried about the smell issue.
Minuses:
It's further from the house. I know that once the novelty of having chickens wears off it might be harder to get the family to do the "chicken chores" if they have to slog through rain/snow/dark. There's not electricity and I'm not planning to run any out there. So it will be dark at night.
We can run a hose there, but not very convenient.

Please let me know what you think. Can I put the coop where it will not get sun as long as they can get sun in the run? Will this effect egg production?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If those are your choices I would go with #1.
Always choose shade and either high ground or a slope.
Level or low ground can soon become a mud pit.
A sunny coop is worthless at 4 AM on January 2nd but will be a heat hell hole at 4 PM on August 2nd.
It won't smell if you manage it properly.
I was fighting city hall and had news crews come out. They were filming when I opened one of the coops and the reporter got a strange look on his face. I asked, "what's wrong?"
He said, "there's no smell." I said, "there won't be a smell if they are properly manage."
Proper management means low stocking density among other things.
Access to water and electricity is a definite plus.

 

[rehsanipoor]

Good advice. As long as they have access to sun will egg production be alright? What would you consider an appropriate temperature range for the inside of the coop to be? I'm worried it will be cold. Also, what is stocking density?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Don't worry about cold. Chickens die from heat, not cold. Ambient temperature is fine in the coop. Healthy chickens do well from about 10F to 85F. They can handle much colder temps. They start panting at 85, start suffering at 95 and start dying at 105 if not given plenty of shade and a cool foot bath.
It ranges from -19F to 110+F here. I've had chickens die from heat but not cold.
Stocking density is number of birds per sq. ft.. The more birds, in a space, the more frequent cleaning needed. Chickens are not naturally dirty or smelly animals. The conditions we keep them in make them smelly and dirty.
In the wild they forage all day and live in trees. Their feces is spread far and wide fertilizing the flora.
A minimum of 4 sq. ft. per bird is needed in the coop if they have outside access. 10 sq. ft. per bird without. Imagine people without bathroom facilities living that closely confined. It would be said that humans are dirty, smelly creatures.

 

[jthornton]

This is a very informative link on chickens in the winter.

JT

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good advice. As long as they have access to sun will egg production be alright? What would you consider an appropriate temperature range for the inside of the coop to be? I'm worried it will be cold. Also, what is stocking density?

You should have big windows in your coop and outdoor access so they'll have sufficient natural light for egg production

 

[Savedbygrace]

Personally I would say close to the house (spot 1) winter shoveling gets to be a real chore about halfway through winter and we often regret having our coop so far from the house.

 

[rehsanipoor]

Okay. Sounds good. I feel much better about putting it next to the house. They should have plenty of space and windows/ventilation. Plus I hope to let them free range when we're around to "chicken-sit". Unfortunately we have predators around so this will be more of an occasional field trip, but the run has plenty of space.

I'll check out the link. Thanks so much for all your advice. Keep it coming.. I need all the help I can get!

 

[rehsanipoor]

informative link. thank you jthronton.

 

[jthornton]

informative link. thank you jthornton.

If you put the at symbol and start typing the first few characters of a persons name they get an alert. Like this @rehsanipoor

JT