Built this16x8ft coop and run out of steel tubing and cement boards.

[MrIgmo]

 

[Kiki]

Looks neat! Check these out:

Chicken Coop Ventilation - Go Out There And Cut More Holes In Your Coop!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

 

[TeresaW]

Great idea! Less wood means less rot later on.

 

[MrIgmo]

Looks neat! Check these out:

Chicken Coop Ventilation - Go Out There And Cut More Holes In Your Coop!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

You can't see it in this photo but it has a 2 inch mesh covered vent strip that goes all the way around the roof and in the floor there is a 16X8 inch vent with a fan forcing cool air in from underneath. Plus the door the chickens use is a repurposed gas grill grate that raises when I lower the drawbridge plank. The entire floor of the Hen House slides out for easy cleaning. Although it's a pain in the butt, so more like for easily replacing when it eventually rots. The whole thing is technically moveable too. I could drag it around the yard with a come along wherever I want it, or up onto a flat bed trailer if I move. I blocked off most of the vents in the coldest part of the winter, nobody got frostbite so I consider that successful. But yea they do get hot in there during the summer, I leave those two big main doors open during the day lately even though some of the hens don't like laying when they are open and follow me around complaining about it until I shut them.

 

[MrIgmo]

Great idea! Less wood means less rot later on.

I didn't originally intend on using it, but it was on sale. I didn't realize how heavy it was going to make it though. The whole coop easily weighs an extra 500lbs more than I intended it to weigh. But on the positive side it won't get blown away in a storm.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can't see it in this photo but it has a 2 inch mesh covered vent strip that goes all the way around the roof and in the floor there is a 16X8 inch vent with a fan forcing cool air in from underneath. Plus the door the chickens use is a repurposed gas grill grate that raises when I lower the drawbridge plank.

I blocked off most of the vents in the coldest part of the winter, nobody got frostbite so I consider that successful. But yea they do get hot in there during the summer

A 2" gap isn't much especially if you're in a hot climate (you didn't specify, so I'm assuming it gets hot in your area). Since you've mentioned it does get hot in there, it may not be sufficient even with a fan forcing cooler air in.

Glad you didn't get frostbite during winter but unless you get extended or extreme cold I don't see a reason why you'd need to block the vents you do have.

 

[MrIgmo]

A 2" gap isn't much especially if you're in a hot climate (you didn't specify, so I'm assuming it gets hot in your area). Since you've mentioned it does get hot in there, it may not be sufficient even with a fan forcing cooler air in.

Glad you didn't get frostbite during winter but unless you get extended or extreme cold I don't see a reason why you'd need to block the vents you do have.

I had a chance to measure. That gap is nearly 4 inches and is 360 degrees along the roof, the width of a 2x4. That with the door and the fan pulling cool air from underneath should be ok. I think I may add a second fan vent in the floor though because I noticed that above it is the spots they compete for. I just wonder if having those fans making positive pressure keeps air from blowing in the top vents and makes them exhaust instead. The idea was that a breeze could blow straight through. Also the roofing overhangs the vent acting as a wind scoop to funnel air in.