Need help reworking my coop to be cooler

[Kathy Golla]

Hi All,
I have an Amish coop, its nice because I can walk in it to clean it, but it does not keep cool inside in the summertime at all. I find that during the day if the temp reaches more than 90 degrees outside, the coop does not cool off well at all at night. I'm looking for a better solution.
I dont have the coop in a very good place in the yard, in that the corner I have it in is surrounded by a tall fence, so it doesnt get hardly any cross breeze.
Here are pics of my coop.
Where can I add ventilation in this coop where it is effective in helping it cool off at night? And how do I do that without compromising the wood (causing wood rot) during the winter? The sides are plywood and not insulated. I dont have any gutters on the coop roof.
The coop has a clean out door I dont use, but I dont know if opening that and covering it with hardware cloth will give the hens any relief, its right under where they roost.
Any help would be much appreciated! Included a pic of my lazy hens for good measure!

 

[Ponte]

I would knock out the plywood on two sides and replace it with hardware cloth.

Keep the plywood and put it back for the winter.

 

[Phoenixxx]

You could also add large windows that open on either side for airflow.

 

[Alaskan]

I would add on a lovely, stout, predator proof, roofed run that connected to the side with the pop door.

With a roof over that pop door side to shelter it from rain and weather, I would remove the plywood on that wall and replace it with hardware cloth.

The coop could have constant access to the new very stout, roofed, fully predator proof run. That would let you sleep in when you want, and you could move feed and water into the super safe run area if you want more space in the coop.

That very safe run could then have a pop door to a much larger, not quite as safe run, that you open during the day when you are home.

 

[aart]

Open it up here:

Maybe with top hinged covers for winter.

 

[Kathy Golla]

Thanks so much everyone...
@aart could I use the clean out door also as a vent?
Is it bad for the hens during the summer to have a vent beneath where they are roosting?

 

[aart]

@aart could I use the clean out door also as a vent?
Is it bad for the hens during the summer to have a vent beneath where they are roosting?

You could try it, might give some flow thru.
Shouldn't be a problem in summer.

I'd make the clean out door operable as a vent and add venting up high all the way across where I showed.

 

[jthornton]

Is it bad for the hens during the summer to have a vent beneath where they are roosting?

In the summer I don't think you can have too much ventilation, the more the better.

JT