Coop ventilation for next winter in MN

[mintyradish]

I'm in the final stages of building my coop. I have ~4 sq ft ventilation under the eaves and ~5 sq ft of ventilation provided by the triangles at the gables for a total of about 9 sq ft of ventilation. The inside area of the coop is 22.5 sq ft, and the walls are 4 ft tall (not including the roof trusses).

The coop is raised. The floor is insulated and I'm planning on insulating the walls.

I'll have five chickens and do not plan on heating the coop. I'm pretty sure I have adequate ventilation, but do I have too much for the winter? We can get stretches of down to -20F. Should I build in the ability to reduce the ventilation during winter if needed?

 

[LizzzyJo]

The coop looks beautifully constructed, but I would say too much ventilation for your winters. Knowing Wisconsin winters well, I would put plastic over at least half of the mesh shown in the photo. Put the roost bars well below the openings. This looks amazing for the summer though. If you get dozens more chickens then you may consider opening it fully in the winter.
You can use your instinct to check the ventilation come winter. Check for condensation, etc.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Very nice build, so bright! You have a good amount of ventilation, but have you checked for drafts? Go in on a windy day with all vents open and hold a light ribbon where you plan to have the roosts, and see if there's any issue in the roost area.

In the winter you may want to consider putting up some sort of buffer over the openings in the gables, but I would not cover them up completely. You still want the ventilation they provide, as long as wind/snow can't get in.

 

[Shezadandy]

also … I would strongly suggest putting hardware cloth up if it isn't up already. I couldn't tell what the mesh was made of for sure, but just wanted to add the suggestion.

Any dedicated predator can eliminate non-hardware cloth mesh in short order. I would cut some hardware cloth to size, adding 1.5" to each side of the opening. Then I would staple the hardware cloth into the 2x4's - and then screw a board in over the edges of the hardware cloth - and do the same for your windows. Hardware cloth sandwiched between 2x2s or 2x4s works really well.

The 2nd picture was my interior door/"window" separating the front of the coop from the chicken area, so it's not 100% buttoned up above the door as the building itself was secured. 3rd shows the windows in that coop from the outside where a 2nd layer of hardware cloth was installed.

 

[Chad Oftedal]

Looks like a solid, well constructed coop!

I'd maybe pre-build some plywood covers for those gable ends. Maybe something as simple as a triangle piece that fits on the inside of the coop and covers the full end. Then, rip it from top to bottom down the middle (top of the peak to the base), so you have two halves. Then put in a ledge or brace for them to sit on. In the winter, if you need to close it fully off, put them in place and secure them in whatever way you come up with. If you only need to block off some, put one of the halves up and secure it, and leave the other one open. It looks like you have that nice center brace already in the middle there, so I could see using that as one of the mount points. I hope that wasn't too rambling and you get a rough idea from it.

 

[mintyradish]

I would say too much ventilation for your winters

Thanks for the feedback @LizzzyJo - that's exactly what I was looking for! I'll make sure to be able to fully close off the eave vents and adjust the gable vents as needed.

hold a light ribbon where you plan to have the roosts

I was wondering how I might check for draftiness. Thanks for the excellent suggestion @rosemarythyme !

I would strongly suggest putting hardware cloth up if it isn't up already

@Shezadandy , yep I already have hardware cloth for predators and screen for mosquitoes. The hardware cloth is facing the outside of the coop and the screen is facing inside, so it's easy to miss in my picture.

I'd maybe pre-build some plywood covers for those gable ends.

Great idea @Chad Oftedal ! I want to do the prep now so I'm not doing emergency fixes come winter!

 

[Shezadandy]

@Shezadandy , yep I already have hardware cloth for predators and screen for mosquitoes. The hardware cloth is facing the outside of the coop and the screen is facing inside, so it's easy to miss in my picture.

Yes, I think the net for mosquitos made the hardware cloth look like the plastic mess stuff! If you haven't already (forgive my aging eyes) I would do a strip of wood along the interior edges to lock it down even more. That also makes for a nice spot to tack up some reduced airflow during the winter that's not right up against the hardware cloth/mosquito net.

 

[aart]

Looks like a solid, well constructed coop!

I'd maybe pre-build some plywood covers for those gable ends. Maybe something as simple as a triangle piece that fits on the inside of the coop and covers the full end. Then, rip it from top to bottom down the middle (top of the peak to the base), so you have two halves. Then put in a ledge or brace for them to sit on. In the winter, if you need to close it fully off, put them in place and secure them in whatever way you come up with. If you only need to block off some, put one of the halves up and secure it, and leave the other one open. It looks like you have that nice center brace already in the middle there, so I could see using that as one of the mount points. I hope that wasn't too rambling and you get a rough idea from it.

Good idea!
Might also consider instead, or in addition too, an outside stand off baffle.
Blocks direct winds but still allows a good bit of air flow
Attached to gable end here they could also be mounted on stand offs,
or to underside of roof overhang with cleats.