10 Tips for a Cooler Coop

[Elite Silkies]

Quote:
I get a site error and can not see what it is. I put fans in my coops, but they do not last long at all. I try to blow them clean, but they just stop working! I need a better idea.

 

[Mayberry Chicken Shack]

Has anyone tried using a solar powered attic fan to keep their coops cooler, I am thinking about using one in the new coop that i am building.

 

[Skye_k23]

to help maintain consistent temp in our coop we actually dug the coop down into the dirt a few feet then laid a cinderblock foundation before building. Helps keep the coop cool in summer and warm in winter and keeps out digging predators.
Brook

 

[enjoyin' my chickens]

i messed up when I built my roof for my coop in that I did not allow for an eve on the front side which faces west. I did put vents on that side. My problem with this is that most of the rain that I receive comes in from the west and well you can see the problem. My wife and I are going to add an awning over the west side to stop the rain but still allow for ventilation. I was wondering about putting a fan or two in the awning to pull the air through the coop, whether or not this would work. I do have vents on the east side of the coop near the floor.

 

[AuntGoose]

These are great! Thanks for sharing. Really has me thinking.

 

[MaPa26]

Here we are in an Artic Freeze and I am researching how to deal with chickens and extreme heat! I guess it makes me feel warmer. I've seen some really great ideas on this thread! We do have our coop wired so all we have to do is run an extension cord from our shop. I can plug in a fan this summer. We also will make removable frames with wire so we can leave the access doors open. The only problem is rain. If a storm were to hit, we will be mopping out our coop in the morning! But that's not too big a deal. Since we put plastic corregated panels on top of their pen, they would be drier and maybe cooler out there. I did have a light bulb idea after reading about two liter bottles and milk jugs with ice. Like everyone else whose chicken's free range, we keep water in a few places for our six girls. They have to be cleaned out and refilled a few times a day. I have observed how much they like to sip from our storm downspouts after a rain, while the water is still dripping. I think I will save some milk jugs (we currently recycle them) and hang them from trees, around the yard in their favorite places, and put tiny holes in the bottom of the jugs so they can drip. I've done that in the past over my bird bath, to attract birds with the sound of dripping water. I think the girls would enjoy the sipping and I can refill them several times a day without having to rinse them every time. I am sure they will not stay "clean" forever and will eventually have to be replaced. Also, milk jugs start to decompose and become brittle after outside exposure. Freezing water in a jug, when I know I have to be gone all day, might make the water last a little longer. That can be accomplished over and over if I don't fill the jug all the way and lay it on its side in the freezer so it won't leak.

 

[allen wranch]

You might try a hanging five gallon bucket with nipple waterers for your flock. The girls can drink when they need, without losing water onto the ground. Throw an open frozen milk carton inside to keep the water cool.

Plastic corrugated panels are good as long as they are NOT transparent. You want shade and protection. Not a greenhouse.

 

[MaPa26]

You might try a hanging five gallon bucket with nipple waterers for your flock. The girls can drink when they need, without losing water onto the ground. Throw an open frozen milk carton inside to keep the water cool.

Plastic corrugated panels are good as long as they are NOT transparent. You want shade and protection. Not a greenhouse.

I like that idea. Having at least one like that would be great. Otherwise, I don't mind the milk jugs leaking. Our ground gets so dry that I worry about the chickens falling into the cracks. lol. Our trees would benefit from dripping jugs.

The panels are opaque and don't let light through. I'll have to wait and see how well they reflect the sun and how hot it gets in the pen. We had a sun shade cloth over it this year, but the wind has beaten it to death. We have many days where the wind blows twenty to thirty miles per hour, non-stop. On the north and west sides of the pen, my husband made removable cedar panels for wind block, for the winter. The have been roosting out there and only go in the coop when they get too cold or need a drink. I'm keeping it just warm enough in there to keep the water from freezing. Hard to believe it will ever get hot again when it is this cold, but I know it is inevitable. The cedar panels will have to come off when Spring comes. I am pretty sure they will collect and hold too much heat.

I had a heavy duty fan on my deck, blowing down to an area where they like to hang out, last summer. A storm front started to come in and blew it over (it wasn't a box fan). It was a really sturdy one but the wind blew it over and damaged the motor. I've gotta get a replacement because they really seemed to enjoy the fan. I tried a soaker hose and they didn't care for that, so I don't think they'll like a mister. I wet down a grassy area for them and they love that. I worry when I see my RIRs walking around with their wings held out. THey look so miserabley hot.

 

[Tee-Walk-Chik]

we are putting one in, Ill lett you know if it helps.

 

[jcinadr]

Seriously worrying about cooling on my next coop build. Current coop has no real problems - but is nearly 100% shaded from evening sun.

Current coop is at least 50 years old - but had been re-purposed several times before becoming a coop again (it was originally a coop). I never saw it used as a coop (parents re-purposed it when they built our house around 1965- it was from the former owners). Front wall is over 1/2 screen - most roosts are above screen level. It has a lean too shed style roof - on the back (low) side, I have a 6" roof vent across the entire back.

The roof itself is wood, covered with cedar shingles covered with either tin or shingles (I forget) - but the 2 layers of wood do help insulate - plus being shed style - it does not get direct evening sun - it partially shades itself. Bare tin on pearlings is blistering hot.
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Next coop will be a mobile A-Frame. Rabbit mesh on ends - with a corrugated tin roof. I will put some sort of decking under the tin (even if it is only cardboard). The decking should create a strong convection flow from the base of the roof to the roof vent-hopefully keeping the tin from making the coop a solar oven. Currently not expecting this to be a 4 season coop - but may end up winterizing it latter. Had considered using a shade fabric tarp - but fear coons too much. Only real question left on the design is that should I make the roof extend all the way down - cut it short, or elevate the whole roof system on short walls (making it a fully house). Raising it 24" might really help with air flow.