Another ventilating question

[wwdubose]

Had a question about ventilation. My coop size will be 6' x 9'. An overhead decked area will serve as the roof of my coop and the boards have about 3/16" space/opening between each. I am putting two small windows on either side of the walk-in door (north end) and a larger window on the back (south) and side (east). All windows will hinge open from the bottom. Do I also need to put an additional vent above the window on the south side, or will these windows along with the spacing between the deck boards above be adequate ventilation? Also, would there be any benefits to adding ventilation slots along the bottom of the coop, just above the litter level?

 

[TwoCrows]

My first coop had a lot of ventilation problems and I was constantly working and learning about proper ventilation. We just finished a new chicken coop and I put all that I learned about ventilation to work and I can say that it has made a HUGE difference in the health of my chickens.

If I were you, I would not rely on the windows for ventilation all the time, as there may be times when you want to keep them closed all the time. So that is going to only leave you with all those spaces in the roof. Those spaces are a great idea to incorporate into the venting system, however the air and moisture put off by the birds will move better if you have another vent area for drawing in air. The air will then be sucked in and draw all the moisture up and out. So if I were you, I would add some small, long cut vents about half way up the sides of the walls, opposite each other.

Putting in venting near the floor is not a good idea as it will create a draft low on the ground. Chickens like to sleep in a relatively dead or low air moving space.

 

[wwdubose]

So, the vents you suggested adding halfway up the sides, should they be higher than the highest roosting spot? Would just above the windows be good or would that be too high?

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, you would want these vents well above the roost bars. I am not sure where your windows are going to be, but I would think just above them would work well. As long as you have a draw and an exit, the air will do it's thing. With out these extra vents, the air might not flow easily out the roof.

 

[kynewbchickie]

The little lofted barn storage shed we bought to turn into a coop has two small vents in the eaves - I'm probably going to enlarge these now that I've read these and other threads about ventilation. There's two screened windows on the front of the barn, either side of the door, but like was mentioned there will be times those windows need to be closed to mostly-closed (rainstorms, winter). The vents are above two small lofted areas on either side - I'm hoping the lofts won't impede the air flow. I had the windows open in there today while working on installing the last of the roosts and measuring for the nesting boxes - it got great air flow as is, but that was with the windows open. Thank you both for the input!