Coop Ventilation ??

[kbreak]

Building a coop for my silkies. It is 3 ft wide x 8 ft long and about 3' high on back and 4' high on front with slant roof. It will be solid wood with external nesting boxes. Was thinking about raising it off the ground 2ft will silkies go in that with a ramp/ door that I close at night? Next questions is about ventilation. I was thinking about putting about 6" of hardware cloth all the way around the top. Would that be enought vetilation? Should I add hardware cloth on the 2 - 3ft doors? Want them to stay dry. Please any advice is welcomed

 

[Judy]

That wire around the top would be a good start for ventilation here in the south. It's similar to what I have, though I also have the people door (mine is walk in) and half the opposite side of hardware cloth for cross ventilation. I cover the people door with plastic in winter to stop the wind on the roosts. I don't see why Silkies wouldn't walk up a ramp like that if it's not too steep, but I've never had a Silkie.

My coop stays dry because there is enough roof overhang all the way around, about 12". In a severe storm, a little rain may blow in, but it is breezy enough in there to dry pretty quickly.

 

[debid]

My coop is a 4x8, 4' height in front and 5' in back and it sits on 2' legs... so just a little bigger than what you're building. I have 6" of wire at the top of the walls that stays open year-round. In the warmer months, I open the windows. I have two, 24" square windows directly across from each other centered on the short walls (which are actually doors...) so the breeze blows through the coop. I leave those open all summer -- the 12" of roof overhang is keeping the rain out well enough that I don't bother closing anything during a storm. This amount of ventilation plus placing it under heavy shade from deciduous trees keeps the coop from being any warmer than it is outside in the summer.