Better to have the chicken run on the East or West side of coop?

[whitenack]

I live in central KY, so our summers can be very hot and humid and our winters can be very cold and icy. What side of my chicken coop should I place the chicken run? In the summers, it would be good to place the run on the west side, so it gets shade from the coop, but that means that there would be no sun to help warm the run (which will be where their water is) in the winter. If I put the run on the East side, they would be exposed to the warm sun in the winter but also the hot sun in the summer. They would have to go to the coop for shade. There is currently no natural shade in this area.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Which is the prevailing wind in your wettest months? (as in, how best to use the coop to shelter the run from windblown rains?

https://weatherspark.com/ - good place to find out.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Personally I'd go for the drier side, if there is one. So look at your drainage. Drainage is always my first thought as to location. If water drains to or stands in your run you are going to have problems. If water drains away from it everything else can be managed.

With drainage being equal I'd go for the shade. In Kentucky you will have hot summers. Heat is more dangerous than cold. I think you'll find shade from the sun in midafternoon to be valuable.

Cold should not be an issue for you. If given a choice your chickens will probably be outside when the temperature is around zero Fahrenheit as long as a cold wind isn't hitting them. Mine don't like a cold wind but in a cold calm day they are outside.

I appreciate the thoughts of a windblown rain. I put a wet run at the top of my concerns. But I think shade in summer is more important than wind blown rain. If that is a problem put some plastic film on the run fencing to block rain.

 

[whitenack]

Thanks for the replies. The wind/storms come in from the west-southwest, so a run on the east side would protect from storms and from the hot summer sun. The ground slopes from southwest to northeast, so that would be good for an east run too.

 

[Huntmaster]

Thanks for the replies. The wind/storms come in from the west-southwest, so a run on the east side would protect from storms and from the hot summer sun. The ground slopes from southwest to northeast, so that would be good for an east run too.

Looks like you have gotten some good info and have come to the conclusion that the east side would work out best and I would have to agree with that. Good luck.

 

[3KillerBs]

Which is the prevailing wind in your wettest months? (as in, how best to use the coop to shelter the run from windblown rains?

https://weatherspark.com/ - good place to find out.

Wind protection and shade would be at the top of my list.

The layout of putting my coop in the driest area meant that I had to put my run mainly on the west and my birds don't go out into the afternoon sun.