Best window size for a fan

[hayley3]

I don't want a full size window because then it will be too easy for a raccoon, but I am trying to pick out a window that I can put in a fan of some sort.
I was going to get a 36x36 window but that seems too small for a fan.
Just wondering if anyone had pointers on buying windows. One window will be on north and one on south side.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There is no limit to window size if the opening is covered with well attached 1/2" hardware cloth.

 

[CindyinSD]

I don't want a full size window because then it will be too easy for a raccoon, but I am trying to pick out a window that I can put in a fan of some sort.
I was going to get a 36x36 window but that seems too small for a fan.
Just wondering if anyone had pointers on buying windows. One window will be on north and one on south side.

Could you post pics of your coop? Why do you want a fan--what is its purpose in your case? I would do homemade windows, but if you want to buy windows, I would go with fairly inexpensive double-hung ones. As for the fan, I'd just put one in if it gets too hot, blowing air out of the window, not in. You want to fill the open portion of the window and have the fan well-secured if you have predator worries. Or, in the case of a homemade window, cover the opening with hardware cloth.

(Never create a draft across the roosting area.)

 

[hayley3]

I am building a fort knox lean to, I am more worried about the summer heat. Nothing will be able to get to the window. Interesting though, I never thought about covering the window before although I've heard it discussed many times, covering windows with hardware cloth....but the raccoons never attempted to get into the window of my metal pole barn. I'm guessing they could not reach it cause they can't climb metal siding.
So I just need to make sure the window is up high enough in case Fort Knox is breached.

I had windows in my last place and they were too small for a window fan, which bugged me so that is why I asked the question.

 

[hayley3]

Could you post pics of your coop? Why do you want a fan--what is its purpose in your case? I would do homemade windows, but if you want to buy windows, I would go with fairly inexpensive double-hung ones. As for the fan, I'd just put one in if it gets too hot, blowing air out of the window, not in. You want to fill the open portion of the window and have the fan well-secured if you have predator worries. Or, in the case of a homemade window, cover the opening with hardware cloth.

(Never create a draft across the roosting area.)

It's a garage with no windows at the moment.
I have a carpenter who is going to put them in but I need to buy them and didn't want to buy 36 inch long windows if 48 long would be better. I had sliding windows before and hated them when I watched my chickens panting on their roost and I could not offer them a breeze.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

On my first coop which is a repurposed storage shed with only one window and ridge vents, I have a large box fan on the window sill blowing in year round regardless of temperature. Otherwise, it wouldn't have enough ventilation.
Some chickens sleep right in front of the fan even in the dead of winter.

 

[hayley3]

I know nothing about ventilation because I never had to worry about it before. Right now I lock 6 chickens in at night in a box (garage) without windows, although the garage is not air tight and it's 24x24 in size, but not sure if size matters where ventilation is concerned.

 

[CindyinSD]

I believe the commonly-cited formula is 1 sq ft of ventilation per bird. I haven't found that I need that much, but a lot depends on the size of the coop relative to # of birds, your climate--heat/humidity. Chickens put off a lot of moisture and that is the last thing you need in winter, as it exacerbates frostbite.

I popped all of mine into a hastily-converted tool shed just ahead of an oncoming blizzard. (I had believed the claims of how many chickens the coop plans I built would accommodate--maybe in TX. Not in SD. Next day the girls were having fun pecking at something on the walls... drips of water running down! I had to hurry and cut some holes in the gable ends. A little hardware cloth... problem solved. Two openings about 3x6". It was enough as it turned out, even in the midst of a soppy-wet blizzard. But typically SD is dry--not lately. All the same, it continues to work fine. It's got lots of pre-existing air leaks, I suppose.

 

[hayley3]

Mine is a hastily converted garage...I am using my saw horses as their roost with a 2x4. We've been in this emergency state since Thanksgiving.
Half of the garage is filled with ladders and boxes of stuff and they live right in the front...
Coronavirus has now pushed back the building of my garage more than it was, but at least I found someone to build me a lean to for their run and windows when I pick them out.

 

[aart]

Here's how I did my window fan:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/window-fan-mount.75608/