adapting the coop for better heat control

[bj taylor]

i live in hot country. i have been whining about the temps in the 50s w/a cold wind. reality hit me today though (in 80s) that i need to adjust the coop for better heat ventilation.
the coop is built inside a hoop house in one corner. the human door into the coop is solid on the bottom. i'm going to remove that section & replace w/hardware cloth. the top nest boxes are too high for my girls & are never used. therefore, i'm going to remove the lid access (from the outside collecting eggs w/o going inside the coop) to these top nest boxes & replace w/ hardware cloth framed so it will allow more air to move through on hot nights. the exterior wall has a 1 ft square hole cut out for increased ventilation. i'm going to greatly increase that opening, cover w/hardware cloth. during winter i can put a piece of plywood over it to cut down on drafts.
hoping my girls & big boy will be better this summer, than last.

 

[Judy]

Sounds good!

These might interest you

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/163417/please-show-me-your-hot-weather-coops/0_20

 

[blueyezmt11]

How high is too hi to have your nest boxes?? Just curious. I just put mine in the coop and im worried they are too high. They are at 4 ft.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

That's about twice as high as they should be

 

[blueyezmt11]

Ok, thank you so much. I was really wondering about this. My nesting boxes are 5 wide and 3 deep. The bottom is up off of the ground about 18 inches which brings the top row of boxes up to about 4 feet. I was trying to create more floor space for them but it sounds like I need to lower the whole thing......to the floor?

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

If the lowest is 18", and you have perches across the front so they can climb up, it's fine just like it is.

They can't jump much more than 2 -3 ft without a lot of effort, and getting down is even worse for larger birds

If I'm understanding correctly, you have 15 nests, which is really enough for at least 45-60 birds.

Also, if the nests are higher than the roosts, they will want to sleep in them, making a big mess to keep clean

 

[aart]

i live in hot country. i have been whining about the temps in the 50s w/a cold wind. reality hit me today though (in 80s) that i need to adjust the coop for better heat ventilation.
the coop is built inside a hoop house in one corner. the human door into the coop is solid on the bottom. i'm going to remove that section & replace w/hardware cloth. the top nest boxes are too high for my girls & are never used. therefore, i'm going to remove the lid access (from the outside collecting eggs w/o going inside the coop) to these top nest boxes & replace w/ hardware cloth framed so it will allow more air to move through on hot nights. the exterior wall has a 1 ft square hole cut out for increased ventilation. i'm going to greatly increase that opening, cover w/hardware cloth. during winter i can put a piece of plywood over it to cut down on drafts.
hoping my girls & big boy will be better this summer, than last.

Would be good to put some ventilation up at the roof level above the roosts for the hot air to escape.