Chicken coop too close to the front door? ;)

[Maton1]

Hi again. Because of restricted space about the only place for us to build a chicken coup and run would be...

1. on the south side of our house (ie all day full sun). and

2. It would only be about 7 ft. away from the side of the house and only about approx 15 ft. FROM THE FRONT DOOR.

Is that just not a good idea?

One of my main concerns is the smell,(looking into a oder free coop design), and also the fact that chickens attract mice, rats and predators. We have a lot of fox, badgers and ferrels.

I really don't want to attrack mice or rats to my front door.



I just watched a YT video I think from King Roost. They said (at least in their area), that the coop should be at least 25 ft. away

from the house and 30 ft. away from your neighbor's house.

I think the neighbor's house wouldn't be a problem. The coop would be right against 2 neighbors' fences but far enough away

from their houses.

So what do you think? Forget the location? It really is about our only possible place to put it...ie south side, full sun and just a few

ft. from the house and the front door.

We were considering only getting a few chickens, max 4.

Is it worth it? Thanks!

 

[N F C]

As long as you keep the coop clean, odor should not be a problem, especially with only 4 chickens. The full sun during warm weather could cause them to get too hot, so some sort of real or artificial shade would be important. Keeping the coop and run clean of spilled food and picking up the eggs every day will help keep the other critters away. And of course, building the coop to be as predator proof as possible will help keep the chickens safe.

As for how far to set a coop from your neighbor's houses, I believe that can be governed by local laws so you might be wise to check your local ordinances.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. Great advice from NFC, so I'll just say hi and wish you best of luck.

CT

 

[whoop whoop]

Welcome to BYC x3

 

[Maton1]

Thanks for the advice and welcome!

I also forgot to mention that our kitchen window would only be about 7-10 ft away from the coop and run.

I also considered these oderless coop designs. I don't know how they're called but the coops that just have a grig on the bottom for flooring so that the poop can fall below.

I don't know how that would work in our freezing winters but I saw an easy design for it on yt? Good idea? We might just go with 3 chickens.. thnx

 

[redsoxs]

Hello again from Kansas - hope the advice you received above works out for you! Best wishes!

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[Teila]

Hello again Maton1

I think I may have mentioned this on your previous thread but we have our coop close to the house in that it is only 5ft away from the side of the house and probably 12ft from the bedroom window, which in our climate is always open.

Just this week that turned out to be a godsend in that I heard one of our gals fall from the roost and we think, knock the wind out of herself. Long story, but we nearly lost her and it was probably really only the closeness of the coop and the fact the we heard her that saved her life. Had it been further away, I believe we would have gone out in the morning to a much sadder situation.

We are moving later this year and at our new home the coop will be further away from the house and I am definitely investing in a baby monitor or similar.

Anyways, living in Aus, we have a hot climate, torrential rain and lots of flies but using the deep litter method in the covered run, we have not had an issue with flies or smell, unless we are actually flooded which has happened a couple of times and of course, only temporary.

The coop floor is slatted timber and overnight poops get scooped up every morning and the floor cleaned. The floor also slides out for a thorough clean once a week with hot soapy water and a dry in the sun. Obviously not suitable for all climates but it might give you some ideas. May be in your hotter months leave it slatted and in winter, either cover the slats or have a replacement slide in solid floor?



Anyways, just wanted to say that we have not had an issue with closeness to the house, smell or flies with the deep litter, covered run and keeping the coop floor clean; except may be getting up at dawn when the girls want out for free range but then we used to get up at dawn before chickens

 

[Maton1]

Thanks much! I think I'll try a the deep litter method!

I was thinking also about letting the chickens semi 'free range' along the side of the house which is a long narrow path, maybe 25-30 ft long.

I'm just concerned about tons of neighbor cats we have. 3 of the 4 neighbors we have all have cats.

Would it be better then that I don't let them out of their cage/run?