Hi! We have a wide rectangular backyard. All the way to the right is a nice sized garden area. In the middle is open grass. To the left is a huge corkscrew willow. We have a playset for the kids. Trying to figure out the best placement for the playset and coop. Both need shade, but does the coop need all day shade? morning sun? afternoon sun? Also, the ground tends to be wetter around the tree. Hubby want to leave some open grass available for playing ball and such. Any thoughts/ideas? Thanks.
Somewhat depends on your climate. For the coop and run, go for shade - especially afternoon. At the same time, avoid wet areas like the plague.
Why are moist areas not suitable fir coops? I live in an area with a lot of clay soil and it does not drain as fast as regular soil. It diesnt stay wet for too long if its sunny.
The operative phrase is "if it's sunny". If one lives in an arid climate that may be ok. We can go a long time(a month or two) between rains but it can rain for days. The chickens will quickly denude their territory of all vegetation. If the area is already damp, you will end up with a mud pit. The chickens won't be able to dust bathe and it will have a tendency to cause odor regardless of how clean you are.
I would place it no further away from the driveway than I would be willing to carry a 50lb bag of feed or 5 gal pail of water in the winter time. Door to the coop facing east.
