3 windows

[jesskelweb]

I am in the process of building our chicken coop. We are planning to put 3 windows in. One on the South, one on the West, and one on the north side. For any reason is this too many? I am wondering about too much light for the chickens...they are not double paned windows so the north one will probably get covered in the winter months.

 

[Anny]

you can never have to many window in the summer time.

 

[Country4ever]

How big is your coop? I agree......you can't have too many windows. Just make sure they are high enough that an animal can't jump in them, and they are covered securely with hardware cloth.
How do they open? I have slider windows, so I could put the hardware cloth flat on the outside. Also, I can take them out completely in the summer, so the girls get more air.

 

[Chirpy]

First ...

I don't know where you live but I live where we have pretty bad storms in the winter so we chose not to have a north facing window. I'm glad we made that decision as I believe the coop stays warmer with a solid north wall.

I do have a large window on the west wall and it lets a lot of hot sun into the coop in the summer time. I'm happy with the window though as I can open it up (it's covered with hardware cloth) to let in cross air/wind. I do want to add an awning over that window to keep the sun from shining directly in though.

I have have windows on the south and east side... I agree with Anny - you can't have too many windows. You may want to think about your weather conditions though.

 

[Country4ever]

Chirpy,
What kind of awning are you going to get? Or are you going to make your own?
I need to figure out how to make a couple awnings, to keep rain out when the windows are open. I had a tarp attached to the coop, over a window and then attached it about 5' out with some posts. However, the coons were using it to climb up onto the roof, so I removed it.
Just curious if you were going to buy your's ready made, or make it yourself.
When the weather is cold, I cover the outsides of the windows with plastic.

 

[kcfuerst]

My coop has three dual paned windows. Just turned out they're on the East, South and North. Fortunately, where I live the coop is pretty much protected from fierce winter winds and rain. We rarely freeze, so protection from snow and such is not an issue.

Here's a picture. The covering over the window is shadecloth set into a frame to keep the sun from shining directly inside making it hotter than it would be. It comes off in winter. There is also a mister set up in the run for days when it's more than 100°. One little mister is over the window so the breeze can carry cooler air inside.






I agree... you can't have too much air. When the night temps are over 60°, I usually leave the windows open.

 

[Hypnotist_Collectr]

Quote:
I doubt it. I have "windows" on all sides of my coop. I plan on putting in plexi-glass frames for the winter... but, right now it is summer, and HOT! (109 has been the hottest day, so far!)
Some people have open coops, where the 4th side is only mesh. It depends on where you live.
We have hot summers, and mildly cold winters, so my plan is to make shutters for the windows we have, and shut them, if we need to.

 

[CityChook]

I wish I had MORE windows. Actually, since my run is covered, I wish I had put in a window on the run side. It wouldn't need to be closed when we get bad weather.

 

[jesskelweb]

Thanks for all of your comments....I think we will stick with our plan for 3 windows. I like the plexiglass idea for winter and the plastic covering on the outside is a good option too. Happy chickens, happy chicken owner

 

[Chirpy]

country4ever asked:

What kind of awning are you going to get? Or are you going to make your own?

We will most likely make one from wood and/or heavy tarping material. We try to use what we have laying around here... I don't have money for premade stuff.

The window on our East side is cut out and covered with hardware cloth. I then have a wood cover that I can open or close according to the weather. Here's a picture. It's not great as it's from a distance but you can kinda get the idea of the window with no glass.

You asked about having to much light? You can see that we are using plexi glass on the top of the coop to let in even more light than just the windows.​