Another ventilation question

[LightedPrism]

Hey All,

Sorry to be another one to ask the ventilation questions but its so important! I want to make sure my chickens have enough but also not get cold when the stupid wind gets going.

Its a mockup, so a lot isn't right. will be made with 2x4, pallet wood, and leftover metal roofing.

the 1'6" space is actually going to be a door that I can open during summer and close during winter. I'm also thinking of adding screened windows in the doors but I don't want to overdo it. but I'm really worried in the winter. it supposedly doesn't snow, but the wind is pretty bad do you think the two triangles would not be enough ventiltion, to much, or just right?

 

[wamtazlady]

You'll need about 1 square foot of vent for every chicken. Keep the vents up high and the roosts down low. A dry chicken is a warm chicken. Chickens make a lot of moisture in a coop when they breathe and poop. You need to get that moisture out.

For example, my vents are tucked under the eaves at about 5 feet above the coop floor. The roosts are only 20 inches above the floor. It gets into the -20s here in NW Montana. I have never lost a chicken to cold weather.

 

[3KillerBs]

You can put top-hinged covers on your vents so that you can adjust them to the wind conditions.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Pitch of roof is important. Your roof looks to be too steep. You can get rid of the side vents and have a front vent you'd open up for summer if you changed the slope of roof. Big openings are a passive means of air exchange and better suited for warmer climates.

With convection air flow is accelerated. You can create this with a 3/12 pitch and use the 2X4 dimension of roof as vent channels. With very steep roofs the air flow is so fast it doesn't mix well with air inside the coop. Less that 3/12 pitch and the flow of air is too slow to change out enough air in coop- dependent on number and size of animals in structure. Being a narrow structure the physics of convection to increase air flow with 3/12 pitch roof is all you'll need to exchange air in coop without creating a breeze.

What I'm saying is use the depth of 2x4 roof lumber as vent inlet and outlet. Use hardware cloth to secure those openings. Air will be naturally vacuumed in the low end of roof and run along roof line mixing with the hot stagnant air in coop then pushing it out top side of roof line. If your coop is 4 foot then 9 inch rise along front of coop would be 3/12 pitch. That is more ventilation than you will ever need. If you wanted you can have that 9 inch rise along front be removable for summers.

As an example one of my coops that's 4X7 foot uses the high hat channel metal roof as the ventilation. That means 1.5 inch channels of air along the roof line top and bottom. I live near Canadian border and keep single comb birds that don't get frost bite. No other venting other than the 12 inch coop door during days.