Coop Air Conditioner?

[Dhkoenig]

I keep dreaming of making my next billion dollars (a girl can dream....) by inventing and selling little mini window a/c units! The smallest one I can find is 16 inches wide and my coop windows are 12x12. We can't do the misters because it gets super humid here in the summer. I have my coop under trees and we have two windows and vents (I will probably add a bigger vent this summer - this is our first year with chickens) but in order to keep the coop nice and dry, I certainly wouldn't want to put anything that generates moisture in there. I don't want to leave the coop door open at night because we live where there are a lot of predators, so.....my question is.....1) can somebody invent a mini window- a/c unit for me? 2) when the answer is no to question number one, what can I do beyond adding more ventilation and having the coop shaded that cools the coop off with the coop door closed with no moisture???

 

[Duhonmommie]

I keep an oscillating fan in my coop. I'm in Louisiana where we can easily make it to 100° during the summer! This seemed to work well at keeping my chickens cool last year.

 

[aart]

what can I do beyond adding more ventilation and having the coop shaded that cools the coop off with the coop door closed with no moisture???

More ventilation.
Might help if you posted pic of your coop, inside and out, for some suggestions.

Here's what I do to help beat the heat:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Dhkoenig]

I keep an oscillating fan in my coop. I'm in Louisiana where we can easily make it to 100° during the summer! This seemed to work well at keeping my chickens cool last year.

Okay awesome!! do you have it up on a shelf or something just below the roosts? I know they don't like drafts/wind and also my chickens are clumsy (as opposed to those really coordinated chickens everywhere else LOL) and would knock it over

 

[Mamatomany123]

More ventilation.
Might help if you posted pic of your coop, inside and out, for some suggestions.

Here's what I do to help beat the heat:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

I agree, ventilation. Here is a picture of my roost set up. In the summer they love the breeze that goes through. In the winter they have enough room to sit and not be hit, move to a lower roost, or (not shown in this picture but has since been added) they will sit on the poop boards under the roost.

 

[3KillerBs]

Chickens need ventilation above all things.

An air conditioner would serve little purpose since it would just recycle slightly cooler ammonia for a little while before the dust killed it (possibly starting a fire).

If you use a fan you need to make sure it's rated for outdoor and agricultural use or the dust will either destroy it or cause a fire.

 

[Duhonmommie]

Okay awesome!! do you have it up on a shelf or something just below the roosts? I know they don't like drafts/wind and also my chickens are clumsy (as opposed to those really coordinated chickens everywhere else LOL) and would knock it over

There was a tall shelf in the building when we moved in. It's got cubbies that my chickens love sleeping in. But they've never flown to the top, that I've ever seen. The shelf is somewhere around 6 feet tall. This will be our second summer using it. My lovely neighbor decided to cut down all the trees that shaded my coop from the western sun so we'll see if the fan is enough this year.

 

[Dhkoenig]

I agree, ventilation. Here is a picture of my roost set up. In the summer they love the breeze that goes through. In the winter they have enough room to sit and not be hit, move to a lower roost, or (not shown in this picture but has since been added) they will sit on the poop boards under the roost.

More ventilation.
Might help if you posted pic of your coop, inside and out, for some suggestions.

Here's what I do to help beat the heat:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Dhkoenig]

Here are pix of my coop!

 

[Dhkoenig]

Here are pix of my coop!

there are 12 2" holes on one end of coop and where the roof meets the walls it is open (I think that is called a soffet?)