New Chicken Coop placement questions

[WallerBlake]

Recently moved to Oregon and have chicks on the way in 4 weeks. So I gotta get moving on the new coop.

I am seriously considering putting the coop and run below my outdoor deck below the front door. The space is all just dirt floor currently and some excellent beams I can attach the coop to. I have a space big enough for the coop to be 8' wide x 6' tall and up to 11' wide. Leaving lots of room (16x8x11) for a permanent run. I do plan on free ranging with electric fencing and top netting, that will be attached to the side of the run with a gate.

It seems like a perfect place, especially if the avian flu goes in a horrible direction. I can just limit the girls (18 to start) to only the run and no way any other bird can fly into the run due to hardware cloth on all sides.

But my worries are: Will the smell be too bad that it will be noticeable on the deck? Not a lot of sunlight in the run. This is SWW facing so its not shaded all day. Will the girls be making a lot of noise that can be heard in the house?

What are your thoughts? What am I missing and does this sound like a good idea for location?

Looking forward to the feedback and I am thick skinned, so please be blunt.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Any ordinances that say you can't have an animal enclosure right up against the house? I might as well ask that first.

You mention 18 birds to start... what would be the max you're looking to have? Build for the maximum, unless you don't mind renovating the space again in the near future. Because your proposed max sized coop would hold roughly 22 standard birds.

As far as odor, it depends - you will need a good litter and poop management system to handle that, but it can be done. Like with a deep litter system the main things that would help would be to maintain a high litter ratio vs poop, and maximizing aeration.

As far as noise, again, it depends. My set up is about... 15-20' from the house, but I can still take a nap in the nearest room. We do have good quality double paned windows throughout, which helps. But yes I can hear the flock outside, enough that I can check on them if something's wrong.

 

[WallerBlake]

Any ordinances that say you can't have an animal enclosure right up against the house? I might as well ask that first.

You mention 18 birds to start... what would be the max you're looking to have? Build for the maximum, unless you don't mind renovating the space again in the near future. Because your proposed max sized coop would hold roughly 22 standard birds.

As far as odor, it depends - you will need a good litter and poop management system to handle that, but it can be done. Like with a deep litter system the main things that would help would be to maintain a high litter ratio vs poop, and maximizing aeration.

As far as noise, again, it depends. My set up is about... 15-20' from the house, but I can still take a nap in the nearest room. We do have good quality double paned windows throughout, which helps. But yes I can hear the flock outside, enough that I can check on them if something's wrong.

Thank you for the detailed reply!

No local ordinances to worry about. I have checked county and they saw nothing wrong with it.

Right around 18 is where I'd like to be. Hope all 18 make it to adulthood, but realty says otherwise.

My last group of birds (back in TX) I used the deep litter system. But sense our coop was 90-100' away, I never really noticed it and if so, another layer and some PZ always worked.

BIG thanks for sharing.

 

[KyCoop]

Flies flies flies as said you will have to stay on top of your cleaning to keep the flies at bay. They won't just stay down there with the chickens. They are gonna come up and see what your eating and drinking.

 

[aart]

Will the girls be making a lot of noise that can be heard in the house?

That could definitely be an issue, they can get noisy for sure.

My first thought is will you put a roof on the coop, because decks usually aren't water tight and too much wet will make stinks stinkier.

 

[WallerBlake]

That could definitely be an issue, they can get noisy for sure.

My first thought is will you put a roof on the coop, because decks usually aren't water tight and too much wet will make stinks stinkier.

100% the coop will have a roof as the deck does have gaps where the rain water runs through. Making sense to also roof the run part for noise/smell and keeping the run dry in the rain.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Sally PB]

6' tall

Good, unless you're taller than that. The top of your head and your back will thank you for a walk in, stand up in, coop and run.

Noise: Only 3 of my 10 hens make much noise on a regular basis. The rest rarely make much sound at all. I find their noises pleasant to listen to, but every bird and every flock is different.

Smell: I scoop poop off the poop boards every morning. I use sweet PDZ. Unless someone has just dropped a cecal poop, or I have the lid off the poop bucket, I don't smell much at all. I attribute that to scooping, PDZ, and good air flow.

Flies:
I put two of these away from the coop/run, and away from our house and front porch. I rarely saw flies anywhere nearby. Be sure they are downwind and away from your house/deck, because they STINK!! like rotting meat.

 

[rosemarythyme]

100% the coop will have a roof as the deck does have gaps where the rain water runs through. Making sense to also roof the run part for noise/smell and keeping the run dry in the rain.

Coop section that makes sense, run you possibly could skip it. If using deep litter you would actually want some moisture in the mix. But mostly I'm thinking about how you'd "roof" under the deck (which would take away from head clearance space) and be able to maintain it and the deck as well.

 

[andreefs]

It seems like it would be a pain to clean, you would have to crawl a lot to clean it. Would they be getting any sunlight?

 

[Loving my girls]

Flies
Smell
Noise
Rats /Mice ?