Coop Ventilation

[Crazyoop]

I am new to keeping chickens and have read that alot of disease and sickness can be prevented with good hygiene and good ventilation.
Can anyone give me some idea of how much ventilation I need in my coop?
My Coop is 3ft x 2ft x 3ft with a 'pop hole' 12"x 7". The roof is raised on each corner with a small square of 1"x 1" timber, ineffect creating a 1" gap all the way round the top of the coop between the top of the coop and the roof. This is fronted by Facia as th prevent direct draft, so the air flows onder the facia and into the coop( I hope this is making sense) Is this sufficient or do i need more ventilation? I only have 2 Birds in the coop?

 

[SoJoChickens]

Is there a way for the air to come in near the bottom of the coop? In order for ventilation to work properly there needs to be air circulation. Check out the article below. It is my favorite article on ventilation because it has pictures!

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_Poultry_2008-01pr.pdf

Anyway, I think the 1" gap will be enough if there is a way for the air to circulate.

 

[patandchickens]

I'm not sure if the 2' is height or length, but if it is length (i.e. the coop footprint is 2x3) and your 1" airspace goes pretty much all the way around the top of all walls, subtracting a little for studs, then that would be about 0.8 sq ft of total ventilation area. Assuming the chicken door is always open during the day, this might be just about sufficient ventilation for your 2 hens; adding another (predator-screened, closeable) vent opening would for SURE give you enough, IMO.

A good test is, when you open the chicken door in the morning, stick your nose into the coop and sniff. If it smells ammonia-y (not just 'animals live here', but really zooey or nose-hair-singeing) then you needed more ventilation.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[mightieskeeper]

Pat that is a "good test is, when you open the chicken door in the morning, stick your nose into the coop and sniff. If it smells ammonia-y (not just 'animals live here', but really zooey or nose-hair-singeing) then you needed more ventilation." This is the best explanation of ventilation. I have read 5 different books on chickens. All five books miss ventilation. Pat has it! Pat is the chicken master!

 

[Crazyoop]

Thanks Pat, the 'pop hole' is open all the time as they have a run that i shut at night, the foot print is 3'x2' & 3' tall, the sniff test seems like a good idea, if it smells bad it usually is .

Thanks Al