another ventilation question

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Sorry, no pics...my hard drive went kaput, ordered a new one. The coop my brother is building at my request is , well, huge. Kind of got out of control...kind of typical with my big bro.

It is 10 x 14, 7 1/2 ft. in the back and 9 1/2 ft. in the front. Two 3 x 4 windows in the front, one 2 x 4 on the west, one 2 x 30 in. on the east, nothing on the north (where their roosts will go).

Since this coop has a lot of air space for the 18 chickens I have (don't plan on ever having more than 20 at a time due to the run size) I wonder if I need to add the vents at the roof line.

We have a lot of wind...A LOT!! I could put vents up on the south side but my problem is no way to close them off...hinged covers with a pulley in sometimes 75+ mph gusts won't hold up.

Thought about putting vents on the north above their roosting...but now I'm wondering with all the added airspace if I need vents or if I can just open the windows part or all the way on the
south side for releasing heat and humidity in the winter. This coop will be completely insulated and draft free.

Should I put four 8 x 16" vents under the eaves of the south side and not have any way to close them off? That's kind of what I'm thinking of doing.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Well we built ours just like a house and we didn't add vents anywhere (we told FIL to put some in but he didn't listen) we thought for sure we were going to have problems and so far none. It's been totally dry in there even in the winter. What we do have for vents is the pop door is screen and we have a small screen window that opens about 5 foot up from the floor. That's it. Good luck and I hope we get to see pics of your finished coop

 

[patandchickens]

18 chickens in 10x14 is, what, maybe 9 sq ft per chicken?

You *might possibly* get away with no ventilation in wintertime other than those windows, but you might well not. No way to know for sure other than to try it. Those windows will not get rid of as much humidity, for a given amount of cold air coming into the coop, as vents up at the top of the wall would.

There needn't be any conflict between wind and closeable ventilation, though. As you say, put it on the south side, up under the roof overhang, and either make your flaps *rigidly* adjustable, or instead of hinged flaps make a little plywood slider. Wind doesnt' bother sliding windows. Or even, if you want a REALLY quick and dirty solution, just make a hinged panel (on the inside of the wall) that would be either 100% open or latched 100% closed... that is still a lot better than nothing.

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Nostalchic]

Hi Knock Kneed Hen, (I like that!) we built our coop almost exactly like yours, though it is 8X14, shed roof, three big windows on the south, sloping back to the north. We left the south (high side) eave, which is under a substantial overhang, open, covered with hardware cloth only, and that supplies a substantial amount of ventilation, without a draft. I have cut long narrow vertical openings above the roosts (mine are also on the north side of the coop) but covered them with bubble wrap for the winter. Our coop is insulated, and stayed pretty comfortable during this cold winter. These north side openings do contribute significantly to cooling and cross ventilation in the summer. I intend to make some sliding panels for them at some point, but the bubble wrap worked well for this cold winter, and we also have a lot of wind around here. Your coop certainly sounds big enough for 20 hens, but you're living dangerously if you make statements like "don't ever plan on more chickens"...