Air flow, rain, heat, help?

[Lillycat918]

Alright everyone, This is my first ever experience with having chickens. My girls are about 13 weeks old and after countless hours of building our coop, its pretty much done! (yay!). I am however super nervous about the heat, ventilation, rain, etc.

I have vents above the coop (at the top) and two decent sized windows on the side (see picture). I am wondering if that is enough or if I should put two more on the front of the doors. Also concerned about heavy rain coming in through the windows if it is a really heavy wind storm. how can I even prevent that?

Also (this is going to sounds silly) but do I need to put a fan in the coop to keep them cool? lol. It can be 90 degrees here in Pittsburgh on most days (when its not raining 90% of the time) and I obviously do not want them to overheat.

Thanks in advance! sorry for the picture, not the best *sigh*

 

[IamRainey]

What kind of run do you plan?

I'd feel better about a good bit more ventilation. That can be accomplished by lifting your roof above a void IF your coop will be enclosed in a secure run. If you don't plan for your coop to be surrounded by run or to free range you won't want any void that could admit vermin or potential predators. Raccoons can squeeze through much smaller spaces than you'd imagine!

I'd also make sure your roof has a generous overhang. This will help with both rain and providing shade to minimize heat. I'm in a very hot area. I have to provide fans during stretches of triple-digit weather (coming soon!). I put box fans on 2 sides of my run to create air circulation. But my chickens do fine at night in the coop with only passive ventilation. That may or may not work for you depending on whether temps drop with the sun as they do here or persist in the dark hours.

Good luck. I hope you'll have a ton of fun with your chickens. And it looks like you have some great building skills!

 

[aart]

How big is that coop, the floor, in feet by feet?
Top hinged windows should help with rain,
even if you don't increase the roof overhangs on the sides.