Coop Ventilation

[WCB]

Clearly I need to provide some ventilation for my girls (6 laying hens max) - especially over the winter and wetter months. I live on the west coast of BC, Canada on an island near the US border. Summers can be very warm for a period of time but for the most part it’s a fairly moderate climate but damp. I have a small-ish coop approximately 4’ W x 6’ L and maybe 5’ at the peak. One end has a door for the girls to come and go during the day and the other has a larger door for cleaning. They are shut in at night. Along one side is a window the full length of the coop covered with hardware cloth and has a hinged cover that allows me to open and close the opening at will. This is left open mostly from April through to October. Three roosts are along the bottom of this window and go across the coop. Six nesting boxes are below the window and extend outside of the main coop wall. The walls are not airtight by any stretch which in the cooler times probably allow for a fair bit of draft. I’m learning this is not to be confused with ventilation. And the coop is not insulated. I do have in-floor heating. When it gets cooler I close the cover on the window and when the temperature drops below zero I turn on the heating. But there is too much humidity.

It seems proper ventilation will help but how much will be enough? Should I be covering/filling in the cracks in the walls? What is the best way to ventilate in this situation? Will natural convection be sufficient or do I need a fan? Bearing in mind they spend their days outside the coop in the run.

I attach pictures for clarifcation. I’d appreciate any advice/suggestions.

 

[nuthatched]

Nice coop. Yes, cover the cracks and cut out the area under the peak, cover with hardware cloth

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC!

If you put your location into your profile people can give better targeted advice for your question because climate matter.

It looks like you need top-level ventilation to let the warm, moist, ammonia-laden air out.

Here's my article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

 

[WCB]

Thank you for your very helpful article. Explains a lot. Since I’m now dealing with this issue after the fact I’d like to do it as best I can with what I have to work with. The debate I’m having with myself is whether I need to use an exhaust system (fan) or will the drilled holes/convection method be sufficient?

 

[Ted Brown]

I am in Quebec near Ottawa, have relatives on Vancouver Island so am familiar with your climate.

Agree with the comments above, you need to open up the gable ends and possibly the roof peak to get lots of ventilation ABOVE where your birds roost. From your pictures it looks like both would be easy (peak venting caps are available to match your steel panels, you could slide them down a bit to open gaps to enable ventilation). Remove some of the boards from the gables and cover with hardware cloth (forget the fan).

IMHO you do not need to worry about the cracks you have between the boards; there appears to be only a few and your temperatures do not get cold enough that the air intake would matter at all. You also do not need to add heat nor insulation, hydro cost in BC are high and insulation creates great hidey holes for critters that you do not want inside your coop.

Best of luck!

 

[WCB]

Also not sure where I can add location in my profile.

 

[WCB]

I am in Quebec near Ottawa, have relatives on Vancouver Island so am familiar with your climate.

Agree with the comments above, you need to open up the gable ends and possibly the roof peak to get lots of ventilation ABOVE where your birds roost. From your pictures it looks like both would be easy (peak venting caps are available to match your steel panels, you could slide them down a bit to open gaps to enable ventilation).

IMHO you do not need to worry about the cracks you have between the boards; there appears to be only a few and your temperatures do not get cold enough that the air intake from would matter at all. You also do not need to add heat nor insulation, hydro cost in BC are high and insulation create great hidey holes for critters that you do not want inside your coop.

Best of luck!

Thank you.

 

[3KillerBs]

Taking the wood out of the tops of the gable triangles and replacing it with hardware cloth would be a good start. Do you have a ridge vent?

Also not sure where I can add location in my profile.

Go to your account info. There should be a section there for filling out information that includes a line for your location.

 

[WCB]

Taking the wood out of the tops of the gable triangles and replacing it with hardware cloth would be a good start. Do you have a ridge vent?



Go to your account info. There should be a section there for filling out information that includes a line for your location.

Just checked - no ridge vent. Hmmm… now that would have been the bees knees. Maybe one can still be created??

 

[3KillerBs]

Just checked - no ridge vent. Hmmm… now that would have been the bees knees. Maybe one can still be created??

Manufactured ridge vent is available from home improvement stores.