Anyone use a fan in their coop?

[JoanneNC]

I have been considering a hanging fan but wondered if any of you use one and if so where the best place to hang it would be, realizing that everyone's coop is different. I have a 10x8 shed style with double doors and a window on the front and vents on the ends. Any ideas!

Thanks
Joanne

 

[Frosty]

Unless you have a high ceiling, I don't think I would go with a hanging fan (if for no other reason than they may try to perch on it).

 

[raeeldri]

I do not use a fan I just open the windows for ventilation. I do not think you need a fan unless you have a lot of chickens.

 

[meriruka]

I use one. Sounds like I have the same style coop as you. I built a little shelf across from the roost and tied the fan to the wall in case the girls get rambunctious.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I use a big box fan secured on beams in the summer to keep the hens cool on hot days...

 

[Wooden_Pony]

I use a box fan for my girls during our heat waves. I attach it to the outside of the coop so that it blows in one window and leave the window on the other side open for the cross breeze. This summer DH is talking about adding a solar powered attic fan into the coop for them.

 

[speckledhen]

Just hung my box fan to the rafters today. Works great and it hangs from hooks so that I can shift it to different hooks to turn it toward the nests during the day or toward a back wall or even toward the roosts on a really steamy night.

 

[patandchickens]

Do you mean a ceiling fan? They are not the most efficient way of ventilating the coop if that's what you're after, although they will stir the air inside the coop which may be somewhat beneificial in a few circumstances.

If you use a ceiling fan (or really any other fan) you ought to make sure to spend extra to get one designed for agricultural or workshop use, because coops are dusty and you can a) seriously shorten a fan's lifespan if it isn't designed for that, and more serously b) set things on fire if dust gets into the wrong part of the works.


Pat, with ceiling fans in the building the chickens are in because it started as someone's dog boarding kennel with ceiling fans to keep dogs cool in summer... but if I ever needed active ventilation I would get an agricultural through-the-wall fan with a hood.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Cyn, make really sure it's hung from heavy-gauge wires that are run through the frame of the fan, and suspended from more than one part of the fan in case something breaks. Same as you'd do for a heat lamp. I've seen unpleasant accidents in horse barns from casually-hung fans falling down when a piece of plastic or flimsy wire breaks, and in the coop there's the additional concern of it landing on a chicken.

Apologies if you've already done that, but at least it's out there for anyone ELSE contemplating hanging a fan that way to think about

,

Pat

 

[Gindee77]

Well, I have a small metal shed with our small (4'X8') coop inside. I got a very small 4" fan that will sit on top of my coop and blow the air around within the shed, because it will probably get pretty hot in there this summer. But I don't want a draft on my chicks, even this summer when it's hot.

We're also trying to figure out a way to put a couple windows on either side of the shed for ventilation, but windows that are coon-proof! I think we have it figured out, tho!