10 Tips for a Cooler Coop

[dragbikepilot]

I agree with the idea that a ceiling fan may hurt them when they fly from the roost or fly to avoid getting harrassed by the alpha chicken......
a small oscillating fan on a telescoping stand helps move air all over the coop....and then a small squirrel cage fan ducted to a dryer vent on the exhaust side helps to draw the hot air out.....I used an old fan from a downdraft oven/stove and mounted it in the rafters....then ducted the intake to the very peak of the roofline inside the coop....this way it pulls the hottest air from inside.....wired it up to a thermostat that will turn the exhaust fan on when the coop hits 85degrees......seems to work very well...and the chickens go back to the coop during the heat of the day.....so THEY obviously like it....plus they usually don't pant when indoors....

I should mention that my coop is half of a room in a stone barn......a wood framed and hardward cloth wall divides the room into the coop (about 8'x8') and an open area where I keep the brooder, a small seperation pen, and the feed and supplies.....
I put the oscillating fan in this area and have it blowing through the hardware cloth into the coop.....the chickens don't have access to it so they can't try to roost on it or ????......

 

[greenmulberry]

Quote:
Dry ice sublimes into gaseous CO2, and the CO2 gas tends to sink as well. If you do not have adequate ventilation, it can push the oxygenated air out and suffocate a person, (or bird). I assume your coop is nice and well ventilated, but it is not something I would want to mess with this birds, they are so sensitive.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Chicken Mama-
I spent a summer in Phoenix and all we had was a swamp cooler. With the advent of A/C, couldn't you find a used swamp cooler for your hens?

Also, I have found a WONDERFUL new shadecloth; the temp on my back porch went 5 degrees cooler in less than an hour after we put this on. I'm guessing it's the radiant-barrier effect it has.

We used 70% shade for the back porch; I am going to buy some different kinds and experiment with it. The color is hideous; our neighbor says the back porch looks like some sort of alien space station, but then he came and sat under it, and thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread!

http://www.cloudtops.com/greenhouse_shade_cloth_aluminet.htm

I would think with a combination of good shade and swamp-cooled air, your chickens would be in 7th heaven.

 

[65browneyes]

Thanks for the info on dry ice. I honestly didn't know and am now glad I sought information here before I dove in.

The shade cloth is also a great idea I hadn't thought of. They have some shade from the ooooold trees next to the coop, but the trees aren't large enough to shade enough of the area to keep it cool.

We don't have electricity down there, so the swamp cooler idea isn't doable for this summer.

I did buy another freezer and have been keeping it FULL of gallon jugs and 2 liter bottles for the hen house (they stay in there during the heat of the day). I also keep small water bottles frozen for the girls' waterers, too.

The summer monsoons, such as they are, have finally come. We went some 80 days with no rain, so even the few clouds and 14 drops of rain we have every couple days have made a huge difference in our temperatures.

We're still around 100 most days, and the humidity levels have been at 70 % or higher. It's horribly uncomfortable, but at least their house and run seem cooler with the cloud cover.

It always gets warm here, but it seems like it's been especially so this summer. We're in our 13th drought year, too.

Thanks again for your advice. Can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

 

[plfreitag]

Quote:
Okay I know what this is but the name escapes me...can someone help me out? Please?

Trisha in MO

 

[Buckguy20]

Quote:
This doesn't sound right. Record heat/low 90's/ Texas?

 

[allen wranch]

Trisha,
It is a wind turbine.

 

[taisamarie]

As a way to fix the ceiling fan issue (I was worried my girls would get too interested in it and well, the worst... they are cute and wonderful but I swear I have some of the dumbest hens out there, lmao!), our coop is tall enough that I created a chicken wire 'box' if you will, that surrounds the fan but gives it enough room to blow.

I've had to use iced water bottles heavily though, California's central valley gets even my Minorcas stressed out in mid summer. I keep thinking I should buy a cheap window AC unit and hook it up to their coop, but my hubby thinks that is way too overboard, lol.

 

[Lonewolf2421]

I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and it stays hot here. We have very little winter. So I designed my coop very open I built a 7x14 coop with only the lower 3 feet on 3 sides covered the rest is open covered with chicken wire. The front faces south. Above the covered 3 feet I instaled rubber roofing like put on flat roofs. I attached a wood 1x2 on the bottom to roll it up with. It stays rolled up. If you are haveing cold weather or heavy rains simply drop the sides down!

 

[rooster-red]

If you can combine the turbine vent with a fan to force hot air out of the roof while drawing cool air up from floor level I think it might make it quite bareable.