Chicken coop location

[TrappingNY13]

So I've decided to get 6 hen chicks and start from there. I've done a ton of reading on these forums and google. I am somewhat prepared knowledge wise. At least more than I was a few months ago. I post3d a picture of our property surrounding our house. I marked s few locations and not sure if you guys could suggest best coop location or give some pros and cons to each. May be difficult to do by pic but any info helps.

Yellow is behind the house. Would probably be about 75 feet from house. It is now at dense tree wise as it looks on pic.
Orange is out by a little shed. Again about 75 feet from house. One issue here is the drainage. Is gets very wet.
Red is by another building we have and use as storage currently. One concern here would be the big blue circle which is a newly built playground. If I can avoid chicken poop there it would be best. And purple is out by our barn. Approximately 100 yards from the house. Downfall here I believe would be close to neighbor and close to our woods which border the property.

Any advice from what little info I have given you is greatly appreciated.

 

[squadleader]

Hello Trapping!
You should go in your profile and put your location, it helps us understand your climate. I'm assuming New York since it's part of your user name.

That implies cold winters.

First, wet natured ground, is a definite no, bad news in a million different ways.

Second, putting them on a property line is potentially, kind of a jerk move to your neighbor, unless they're a thousand feet from the line and don't care. A lot of potential problems that will be obvious, or maybe just quiet resentment from them, not good. Especially since from the photo, it looks like you have plenty of land.

If your chickens are like mine, they're going to gravitate back to your family and house, I think they like us, as much as we like them.

So candy fairies are going to be leaving fresh gum drops and Hershey Kisses for your kids on their playground every day. I have a little physic ability, not much, you know a little palm reading on the weekends, but I think I see some kind of fence around a playground in your future!

My 12 hens and their rooster, make a lazy circle around my house several times a day free ranging, hang out under my front porch (I'm starting to wonder if I should block that off, if it's going to start stinking, and it's real hard for me to get under there), then head over to the fence line and woods for awhile, then out to the woodshed, let's just say they're going to be everywhere!

I make a very big fuss if they dare to get on any porches with a broom, and while they still test me, they seem to realize the porch is off limits.

Again, I'm impressed with how much room you have that's such a great thing.

With that in mind, look at the Woods House, or at least a coop or chicken tractor that uses his principles. Big advantages in light, ventilation, and much healthier birds.

The advantages of the tractor using his principles, is it's the easiest type system, you leave the poop behind every week, you don't need a coop in the tractor, and the chickens have a fresh new carpet of grass every week.

Again I free-range out of my tractor, but it's true design and purpose, is to give you the ability to pasture raise birds, with no predator risk, or in your case, no gum drop gifts on your new playground.

The addition cost of a good tractor will probably be more than offset by the cost of the new playground fence. Because of the tractor, I can pasture raise the chickens, with zero poop management, but I enjoy seeing and having the birds in the yard. For them, I can tell how much they love to get out of the tractor and free range, so I wouldn't do it any other way.

Take a look at reply number 16 on this page, it'll give you a rough thumbnail of the Woods Open Air principles.

A good good open southern exposure is ideally what you want. The high summer sun, keeps the sun and its heat loads concentrated on the east and west walls. The very low angle of the winter sun, concentrates the sunshine and warmth on the southern wall, which in the Woods system is open wire. This keeps orientation, keeps your coop cool in summer, and warm in winter. Reply 16 on the page linked, gives more details.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ods-semi-monitor-10-x-16-house.1220460/page-2

This what my tractor looks like, I pull it with my truck. It takes less than 5 minutes a week to pull it the eight feet of its width, to give it a new bed of grass as the floor.

Interior view.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Orange is definitely out due to drainage... the worst possible thing is to start with a location that's always going to have drainage issues.

Purple (or any color really) may be an issue with setback restrictions. Make sure to check those before you settle on a location!

The other two locations could both work. A spot with some shade is preferable if temperature becomes an issue, i.e. multiple days in mid-90s or higher. Assuming you're in NY somewhere (?) you may also want to take in consideration the location of electricity outlets, as you'd likely have to heat the chicken's water source during winter.

 

[4 ever Orpington]

So I've decided to get 6 hen chicks and start from there. I've done a ton of reading on these forums and google. I am somewhat prepared knowledge wise. At least more than I was a few months ago. I post3d a picture of our property surrounding our house. I marked s few locations and not sure if you guys could suggest best coop location or give some pros and cons to each. May be difficult to do by pic but any info helps.

Yellow is behind the house. Would probably be about 75 feet from house. It is now at dense tree wise as it looks on pic.
Orange is out by a little shed. Again about 75 feet from house. One issue here is the drainage. Is gets very wet.
Red is by another building we have and use as storage currently. One concern here would be the big blue circle which is a newly built playground. If I can avoid chicken poop there it would be best. And purple is out by our barn. Approximately 100 yards from the house. Downfall here I believe would be close to neighbor and close to our woods which border the property.

Any advice from what little info I have given you is greatly appreciated.

 

[TrappingNY13]

Orange is definitely out due to drainage... the worst possible thing is to start with a location that's always going to have drainage issues.

Purple (or any color really) may be an issue with setback restrictions. Make sure to check those before you settle on a location!

The other two locations could both work. A spot with some shade is preferable if temperature becomes an issue, i.e. multiple days in mid-90s or higher. Assuming you're in NY somewhere (?) you may also want to take in consideration the location of electricity outlets, as you'd likely have to heat the chicken's water source during winter.

The electric is a great point. I am home almost all the time but better safe than sorry.

 

[TrappingNY13]

Hello Trapping!
You should go in your profile and put your location, it helps us understand your climate. I'm assuming New York since it's part of your user name.

That implies cold winters.

First, wet natured ground, is a definite no, bad news in a million different ways.

Second, putting them on a property line is potentially, kind of a jerk move to your neighbor, unless they're a thousand feet from the line and don't care. A lot of potential problems that will be obvious, or maybe just quiet resentment from them, not good. Especially since from the photo, it looks like you have plenty of land.

If your chickens are like mine, they're going to gravitate back to your family and house, I think they like us, as much as we like them.

So candy fairies are going to be leaving fresh gum drops and Hershey Kisses for your kids on their playground every day. I have a little physic ability, not much, you know a little palm reading on the weekends, but I think I see some kind of fence around a playground in your future!

My 12 hens and their rooster, make a lazy circle around my house several times a day free ranging, hang out under my front porch (I'm starting to wonder if I should block that off, if it's going to start stinking, and it's real hard for me to get under there), then head over to the fence line and woods for awhile, then out to the woodshed, let's just say they're going to be everywhere!

I make a very big fuss if they dare to get on any porches with a broom, and while they still test me, they seem to realize the porch is off limits.

Again, I'm impressed with how much room you have that's such a great thing.

With that in mind, look at the Woods House, or at least a coop or chicken tractor that uses his principles. Big advantages in light, ventilation, and much healthier birds.

The advantages of the tractor using his principles, is it's the easiest type system, you leave the poop behind every week, you don't need a coop in the tractor, and the chickens have a fresh new carpet of grass every week.

Again I free-range out of my tractor, but it's true design and purpose, is to give you the ability to pasture raise birds, with no predator risk, or in your case, no gum drop gifts on your new playground.

The addition cost of a good tractor will probably be more than offset by the cost of the new playground fence. Because of the tractor, I can pasture raise the chickens, with zero poop management, but I enjoy seeing and having the birds in the yard. For them, I can tell how much they love to get out of the tractor and free range, so I wouldn't do it any other way.

Take a look at reply number 16 on this page, it'll give you a rough thumbnail of the Woods Open Air principles.

A good good open southern exposure is ideally what you want. The high summer sun, keeps the sun and its heat loads concentrated on the east and west walls. The very low angle of the winter sun, concentrates the sunshine and warmth on the southern wall, which in the Woods system is open wire. This keeps orientation, keeps your coop cool in summer, and warm in winter. Reply 16 on the page linked, gives more details.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ods-semi-monitor-10-x-16-house.1220460/page-2

This what my tractor looks like, I pull it with my truck. It takes less than 5 minutes a week to pull it the eight feet of its width, to give it a new bed of grass as the floor.

View attachment 1261755

View attachment 1261761
Interior view.

Great info thanks. That thing looks like it could be quite heavy! I think you're probably right about the fence around the playground I'm the future. Is there a coop attached to it? From what I read it said a coop is not needed then went on to describe what is like a coop. I like the tractor idea but I also like the idea of true free range. With my abilities I'm not sure I could pull off the what functional tractor

 

[squadleader]

You're right. The entire tractor is so fortified (that's why it's called the Flying Fortress), that there's no typical coop structure in the tractor, they don't have to be locked in a small coop to be safe at night especially, when there's the most predator risk.

I like how healthy it is, with no risk of poop or ventilation issues, that must be understood and dealt with in a fixed coop. It's not a big deal if you know what you're doing, and do it, but it requires more work, which means there's more risk because unpleasant stuff is more likely to be put off or neglected.

My personality is I'd rather have the easiest and simplest system long term, even if it's more trouble and cost up front, because I know myself well enough to realize, I could get busy or distracted, and poop management might suffer, and I don't want the birds suffering because of me.

As far as carpentry skill, I have very, very little. The hoop tractor is the simplest type of structure to build.

I can measure stuff, cut boards, bolt and screw stuff, and know what a speed square is, and that for a frame to be square the diagonal measurements must match each other. That's the extent of my skill and knowledge, it isn't much.

If you're really just going to have six birds that's many. That's a good way to start, learn about them, and get the hang of it. You'll figure out what you like and don't like in a few months.

My tractor is way more than most people would build jumping into something new, but that's my nature.

You could build a very simple hoop coop, not a tractor, to lower costs, and try that. JT had a great link today to a simple hoop coop. Here's the link:

http://www.valhalla-project.com/2013/09/valhallas-quick-and-easy-arched-cattle.html?m=1

IMHO the cheapest really useful (stand up ability) space you can create is a cattle panel hoop structure. Say you did a 8x16 hoop coop, that's a ton of space and could easily support 13 chickens, especially free ranging.

If you cover it in half inch hardware cloth (amazon or Walmart delivered 4 foot by 50 foot each roll $61, and put an anti-dig mat around, your birds would be safe at night. Cover it with a good tarp, and you're in business.

Face one end (always open to the south), then make it so the other sides are covered in winter, and fully Woods principles compliant.

You're doing the right thing, research is the best investment, that way you won't waste your money building something that doesn't work.

 

[TrappingNY13]

You're right. The entire tractor is so fortified (that's why it's called the Flying Fortress), that there's no typical coop structure in the tractor, they don't have to be locked in a small coop to be safe at night especially, when there's the most predator risk.

I like how healthy it is, with no risk of poop or ventilation issues, that must be understood and dealt with in a fixed coop. It's not a big deal if you know what you're doing, and do it, but it requires more work, which means there's more risk because unpleasant stuff is more likely to be put off or neglected.

My personality is I'd rather have the easiest and simplest system long term, even if it's more trouble and cost up front, because I know myself well enough to realize, I could get busy or distracted, and poop management might suffer, and I don't want the birds suffering because of me.

As far as carpentry skill, I have very, very little. The hoop tractor is the simplest type of structure to build.

I can measure stuff, cut boards, bolt and screw stuff, and know what a speed square is, and that for a frame to be square the diagonal measurements must match each other. That's the extent of my skill and knowledge, it isn't much.

If you're really just going to have six birds that's many. That's a good way to start, learn about them, and get the hang of it. You'll figure out what you like and don't like in a few months.

My tractor is way more than most people would build jumping into something new, but that's my nature.

You could build a very simple hoop coop, not a tractor, to lower costs, and try that. JT had a great link today to a simple hoop coop. Here's the link:

http://www.valhalla-project.com/2013/09/valhallas-quick-and-easy-arched-cattle.html?m=1

IMHO the cheapest really useful (stand up ability) space you can create is a cattle panel hoop structure. Say you did a 8x16 hoop coop, that's a ton of space and could easily support 13 chickens, especially free ranging.

If you cover it in half inch hardware cloth (amazon or Walmart delivered 4 foot by 50 foot each roll $61, and put an anti-dig mat around, your birds would be safe at night. Cover it with a good tarp, and you're in business.

Face one end (always open to the south), then make it so the other sides are covered in winter, and fully Woods principles compliant.

You're doing the right thing, research is the best investment, that way you won't waste your money building something that doesn't work.

I read the arch article. That is a nice idea. My question is what about winter? Being in NY what do I add to make it warm? Do you still add living space or just roosts?

 

[squadleader]

Temperature isn't an issue with chickens, provided you keep them dry and out of the wind.

That's why your hoop is closed on the east, West, and North sides in the winter. South side is always open. That allows ventilation, and warming sunshine into the coop.

This design does mean you have to use good tarps to insure you're keeping them dry, and you must be able to seal those other three sides to preserve the air cushion at the back of the hoop, that air cushion is why there's no drafts, and the air at the back of the hoop is still.

Look at the photo of the interior my tractor, you see that 2x6 supported deck board down the entire left side, all you have to do is secure it at both ends of the hoop, and use a board to take its weight straight down to the bottom frame, now you've got a 16 foot roosting bar, that's easy. Water and food can just be on the ground, they're details, get the fortified space, the rest is easy.

The part that really matters is the orientation, proper fortification (it's mostly proper use of wire), ability to keep it frt3, ability to seal three sides in winter. Now you've got proper shelter for your birds. You'll also be able to easily have a rooster and 12 hens.

You definitely want a rooster, but only one, he'll protect his hens, and mine is almost twice as big as the hens. The best ratio is 12 hens for one rooster. Too few hens can get too much attention from the rooster, possibly pulled feathers, that sort of thing.

Because I free range, even in the dead of winter, my 12 hens are consistently laying 8 to 11 eggs every single day.

 

[TrappingNY13]

Thanks for the info squad leader. Opens many new options. Sorry for the repetitive questions. So you use your tractor as shelter.and let your chickens out ? Do you still move a tractor during the winter and snow? Also does just putting hay in keep it dry on the ground if it's raining? I know the tarps will help in that aspect but I'm sure it is not 100%?