Chicken Taj Mahal....

[pozarnsk]

I am in the process of converting a 27 X 18 barn into a house for my new chics. I have a question on windows.... It has three windows total, about 2ftX1ft, is this enough ventilation, or do I need to cut some more holes??

 

[BearSwampChick]

That seems like a very large space for only 3 small windows and you need cross-ventilation. There's a formula for window space, but I can't locate it right now. I'll do some more research and post again later.

 

[Jenlyn9483]

Yes cross ventilation, as much as you can get. I can imagine it can get roasty in their in the summer. you might want to put shutters on your windows so you can close them in the winter to keep the cold winds out and open them in summer to let cool air in. That halarious what you are calling it. When we built our really large enclosure we named it the "Chick Mahal" because of the size. We name all of our coops, LOL. So far we have he "broody bunch" which is where are bantams live, and the "biddy bungalow" which i got the design for on this site, its the two story coop. works great as a brooder for 2-4 week old chicks.

 

[Mycookoonest]

DH and I just finished the coop (well the inside we need to do the run) and I'm naming it Margarittaville... I figure when DH asks me where I'm going I'll just tell him it's 5 o'clock somewhere! LOL!

Yes you definately want ventilation! We just put 2~28"X39" (I believe) in out 10'X12' shed. We are also planning on putting a screen door on the front for summer heat.

 

[pozarnsk]

Yeah Saturday night I grabbed a beer out of the fridge and told my wife I was headed out to the Taj to pick up some chics......she rolled her eyes and laughed. She's very understanding.

Stupid ?....by cross ventilation you mean windows on opposing walls? How about just adding an attic wind turbine vent? Really don't want to instal more windows....

 

[BearSwampChick]

No, you don't need them on opposing walls, but you will at least some cutouts with hardware cloth covering, probably up near the ceiling. Chickens need ventilation, even in the winter, because they exhale a very large amount of carbon dioxide which can make them sick if they don't have a source of fresh air. Also the manure can create ammonia which needs to be expelled.

I see you live in North Dakota and probably don't get a lot of sunshine in the winter? Having more window space on the south side of the coop will help with winter egg production and also will help warm the coop on sunny days. If all your windows are already on the south-facing side, then they may be enough. But I still think that's a pretty small area for that large of a coop. IMO.

 

[pozarnsk]

Well you hit the nail on the head with my major problem with cutting more holes......

I live in ND, and it gets COLD here in the winter. I'm talking -20 -> -40 F sometimes. Thus I am insulating the crap out of this thing. Cutting holes with hardware cloth covering makes me shiver......

 

[BearSwampChick]

I think you need someone who is an expert on this particular situation and she is patandchickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/profile.php?id=1642
Perhaps you could PM her with your question.