Air Conditioned coop?

[TheCluckandStrut]

I thought I had a finished image in here. The run is covered. It also faces NNW, and the morning and afternoon sun is shaded by trees. It is the late afternoon sun that enters those windows, making the coop hot.

I put a shade cloth (vertically) on the run hardware cloth to block the sun from entering the the windows in the front of the coop. There is still plenty of non- covered area on the West side of the run for airflow throughout the run, but your statement is making me rethink the vertical placement anyway. More airflow is always better, especially with the heat indices we've been seeing between 100° -110°. I have temporarily blocked the side window altogether. I'm going to build an awning for that once I get the time to do so.

Thanks for your input.

 

[2 Acres]

I tried to get a ridge vent installed when it was built, but they wouldn't do it. I did install eave vents so taht air flows up from the eaves to the top allowing air to flow outward throught the gable vents as it is intended to work. I fdo have a powered fan at one end of the gable that stays on 24/7 pulling air out as well.

The tree idea is out of the question as the coop sits on the property line, but the other ideas may be fruitful.
In particular the UV blocking film and insulating the interior.

Thanks for your input.

Home Depot has solar powered attic vents. Last i checked they were roughly $80. IIRC

 

[5Australorpasaures]

The only time I have heard of AC/heat for chickens came from a breeder and others of Seramas because of their fragile nature. But the bottom line is that if you feel more at ease ACing your birds you just do it. The most I have done was put a box fan in a window to pull heat out. The dander/dust I just blow out of the fan with a compressor and air nozzle.

 

[Debbie292d]

The tree idea is out of the question as the coop sits on the property line, but the other ideas may be fruitful.

This is the 5th year of a wisteria root I bought from an online seed company. We're in Wisconsin, where it freezes for several months, then comes back. We got it for the south wall of the coop, and it's already doing about 1/4 of what it will, in a couple of more years, to shield the coop from the sun. It's planted less than 1' from the building.

Hubby puts up wires from side to side about 18" apart for it to climb on. It needs another one. When it gets to the top or too wide, we'll just trim it a couple of times a year.

 

[2 Acres]

A ridge vent may help. Hot air rises, even if you have open windows on the sides, there's no way for the hot air trapped up by the ceiling to get out. The gable-end vents don't look large enough for ample cross air flow at the roofline. If you can't put in a passive flow ridge vent, maybe a powered gable-end fan could help pull the hot air out.

Also, reducing the solar gain of the building would help. Paint it a lighter/reflective color. Hang up shade cloth that will block the afternoon sun from hitting the building. Plant a large tree that would provide shade in the afternoon. Insulate the interior side that gets hit with the sun. Add UV blocking film to the windows. etc. Good luck!

Home Depot sells a solar powered attic vent fan for roughly $80. Roof Mount. I also installed automatic crawl space vents and mounted them high near the roof peak for cross through ventilation.