Coop & Run Location

If you have a permanent coop, you will need to decide where to put it on your property.  You want it close enough to your house to make it easy to care for your birds, but far enough away that don’t notice any of the sounds and smells from your birds and they don’t notice any of the noise and light from your house overnight when they are trying to sleep.  In this section, we will review the basic considerations when thinking about where to put your coop and run.

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Considerations

Every property has different a layout, landscape, and features that will determine where it is possible and practical to situate your coop. 

A good rule of thumb is to keep it at least 10 m from any residential dwelling and 2 m away from any boundary fence, but your local council may have other specific rules and regulations.

Here are some of the other common considerations:

Gardens

If you have a large vegetable garden or ornamental garden, you probably want to keep your flock out most of the time to prevent them from destroying your plants. However, some people choose to let their chickens roam for a few hours before they roost to keep on top of insect populations and to help promote turnover and aeration of the soil.

Just watch to make sure they don’t have access to any plants that are toxic to them including tomatoes, potatoes, and green peppers.  Chickens should also not be fed any grass clippings from your lawn since this material can become impacted in their crop.

Roads

Chickens can easily be distubed by noises and lights from cars so make sure they aren’t located next to a road. This is also an important safety issue to help stop them getting injured if they accidentally manage to escape.

Orchards

Orchards can make a good place for a coop and run since the flock will clean up any fallen fruit and help keep the grass in between the trees at a good length.

Shelter & Shade

If the run is not going to be covered, there should be trees or other objects that provide shade to give your birds a place to go when it gets too sunny or warm. Half in and half out of shade seems to be ideal.

However, if there are any trees close to the coop, make sure to remove low hanging branches, clear away fallen leaves, and prune any branches at least 1 m away from the rooftop to prevent predators from reaching the coop.

Terrain

If your property has any hills or slopes, you want to avoid locating your coop and run in the low-lying areas to prevent them from flooding and getting too muddy. This is especially important if you live in an area that gets a lot of rain.

Supplies & Utilities

It also important to consider where your water, electricity, and storage for all your supplies like feed and bedding are located. You may get tired of carting heavy objects to and from your coop everyday. Having electricity can also be useful if you need use fans, lighting, or heating pads to provide better control over the coop climate.

Coop Orientation

When people talk about facing a coop in a particular direction, they usually mean thinking about which way either the main door or the windows are pointing.

In the southern hemisphere, having a northern facing coop with high windows on the east and/or west sides and a big door or window on the north side can help keep the flock warmer during winter. 

However, you will also need to observe the proposed location to determine which way the wind and rain blows to make sure it’s not going to blow into any open or draughty entrances to the coop.  The two easiest ways to check wind direction are:

Check airport runway direction

If there is an airport near your town, the main runway will always be pointing in the same direction as the prevailing wind blows. Aircraft always take-off and land with the wind blowing against the direction the aircraft is facing.

Tie a flag or plastic strip at coop height

Just grab a simple stake with a small flag or piece of plastic tied at coop level and pop it into the ground at your proposed coop location. Next time you have a windy day, look to see which direction the plastic is facing.

Orient the coop so that solid walls face the prevailing winds and any open doors or windows are sheltered from them to prevent draughts.

Finally, whatever orientation you choose for your coop, don’t make your life difficult by having doors in locations that are difficult to access like being located against a wall, fence, or hedge.