Best way to keep coop cool

[besjoux]

I could post picture of the inside of the coop if that helps....just need to wait to charge camera battery. I am wondering if it would be best to insulate the ceiling and cover with OSB or something. Or would it be better to install a screen door (backed with hardware cloth) and leave the main door open during the day? Both options are not financially feasible as we have already spent $1200 on this coop (and that was with some recycled wood too?).

A couple of things. We live in Michigan so the screen door would only be useful in the summer. The door is also across the nesting boxes so a lot of light would enter the nesting boxes.

We have a shingled roof right now but it's an open design. No insulation right now (was worried about hens and added cost). Yesterday the coop did get hotter than the outside temps though (by 2 degrees). So that has me concerned. Right now the chicks are in the coop for a week. Once we acclimate to the coop we will open up the pop door and let them explore. They can get under the raised coop outside for lots of shade. We are also going to plant trees on the south side of the coop but we are in a severe drought and all of our 1 year trees are dying.....so not planting a thing until the fall.

Anything you can think of?

 

[chicmom]

A fan in the coop.

 

[Stang65fst]

As strange as this sounds. I have 8 solar panels on my coop and I have them running to DC current items. Like a sealed beam headlight to provide heat when needed. To cool it down I put a radiator fan in the window as it sucks air into the coop and is on a switch.

 

[crchickens]

Can you add more vents to the top of the coop? We have been as high as 110 degrees outside here in the midwest, and our coop is always cooler then outside. We have the pop door opened, and two huge windows, along with venting on all four sides near the roof. The front and back have ridge vents, and we have long vents cut in the sides with vent covers on them. In the winter, we will block to side vents off to keep the coop warmer.

 

[besjoux]

The fan is a short term solution but it goes from the horse barn to the coop. Long term this is not a solution mostly because the horses can step on the cord and you can guess the results...not to mention the farm equipment.

I just don't get it...we built it and thought of everything but it's not working. I'm a little bummed. I really wanted it self sufficient without the use of energy. Trying to reduce our energy costs....not to mention that I don't trust fans, etc in the coop in the event they overheat and cause a fire. I've had too many fans do this in the past.

Here is 1 of the 2 windows. Closed because it was nighttime and cool. But they open from the top or bottom and there are 2 directly across from each other (east and west for apparent wind).

 

[JackE]

Put the screen door in. I built one with 1X4s and 1X6s, sandwiching hardware cloth in between. (You can see a pic of it on pg 4 of the link below) You will also notice that the door is across from the nest boxes, my birds don't have any problems with it. Also, open up the windows and keep them open in the warmer months. Put hardware cloth screens over them, if you don't have them already. I can't tell from the pics, but you may have to add MORE windows/ventilation to the coop. Chickens love fresh air. I've heard that insulating the roof helps with the heat. You could install 2" styrofoam sheets in between the rafters with liquid nails, or wire it up there. I would also enlarge the gable vents to help get out the heat.
Jack

 

[besjoux]

Well, we did put in the insulation and it's 4 PM and 95. It seems warmer today and the coop does feel cooler so I guess it is working some. It was cooler earlier too so it's taken awhile to get this hot but still a few a bit hotter than outside with a fan going too.

Additionally, my husband said that the temp guage is too close to the wall so it's reading a different temp. We put it in the middle to see where the temp is at. Guess I'm overthinking all of this. I just don't want to stress or kill my first chickies.

 

[crchickens]

Okay, our front window is about the size of one of your windows, but our back window is the entire length of the coop, and is about 2 1/2 feet tall. We have ridge vents across the entire front and back of the coop, and our sides of the coop each have a vent like yours that is double the length of yours. Can you make the hole bigger, and add a whole second vent cover to the front and back? I think you need more venting up high. And even if it cools off at night, I would keep the windows opened to bring the temp down to start the day. We have not closed our windows since early spring.