Hi all! I've been reading through the forums for a while, and finally joined officially. This is such a useful and helpful site, thank you all for your input. I have already learned a lot. I live in MA and am looking forward to getting chickens next spring. I grew up with farm animals and chickens were among my favorites. My sister and I were tasked with a bunch of chicken-related chores (among other things) so I'm not completely new to chickens, but this will be my first time in charge 
I want to share some of my childhood joy with my own kids now.
My husband and I are in the process of building the chicken coop and run this summer, so it will be ready for next spring. I love building things, and am looking forward to the construction process almost as much as the chickens themselves! The plan is to build a 5x7 insulated coop with a 12x18 run to house 3-5 chickens. I don't want to free range them, so I want to at least give them a large safe space to run around in. The run will be under a giant maple tree that doesn't let a lot of water through, so hopefully they won't get soaked when it rains. I want to cover part of the run overhead to give them a dry place to hang out, but not the entire run, since I don't want to cut water supply to the trees and shrubs in it. In the winter, though, after the vegetation goes dormant, I want to cover the whole top and at least two sides of the run with plastic sheets or tarp to protect it from wind and snow (the run will have a slanted top, so hopefully snow will slide off more easily).
One thing I could use some advice on at this point is vents. I want two long vents under the eaves of the coop, one on each long side, 4 inches tall and 7 feet long, that will be permanently open (covered with hardware cloth, of course), and two windows that can be opened additionally in the summer to get some breeze in at roost level. We're in a bit of a disagreement over the vents though... he thinks that's too much open space. Also, he wants to open something near the floor to create suction and bring fresh air in after the stale air rises on its own. I've read that that's a bad idea though, because it creates drafts at chicken level. If the two long vents are on opposing walls at the top of the coop, and are always open, will that be enough? Advice would be appreciated!
I want to share some of my childhood joy with my own kids now. My husband and I are in the process of building the chicken coop and run this summer, so it will be ready for next spring. I love building things, and am looking forward to the construction process almost as much as the chickens themselves! The plan is to build a 5x7 insulated coop with a 12x18 run to house 3-5 chickens. I don't want to free range them, so I want to at least give them a large safe space to run around in. The run will be under a giant maple tree that doesn't let a lot of water through, so hopefully they won't get soaked when it rains. I want to cover part of the run overhead to give them a dry place to hang out, but not the entire run, since I don't want to cut water supply to the trees and shrubs in it. In the winter, though, after the vegetation goes dormant, I want to cover the whole top and at least two sides of the run with plastic sheets or tarp to protect it from wind and snow (the run will have a slanted top, so hopefully snow will slide off more easily).
One thing I could use some advice on at this point is vents. I want two long vents under the eaves of the coop, one on each long side, 4 inches tall and 7 feet long, that will be permanently open (covered with hardware cloth, of course), and two windows that can be opened additionally in the summer to get some breeze in at roost level. We're in a bit of a disagreement over the vents though... he thinks that's too much open space. Also, he wants to open something near the floor to create suction and bring fresh air in after the stale air rises on its own. I've read that that's a bad idea though, because it creates drafts at chicken level. If the two long vents are on opposing walls at the top of the coop, and are always open, will that be enough? Advice would be appreciated!
Glad you joined.
Best wishes and have lots of fun! 
