Do I have enough ventilation?

[Namrag]

How high can they jump straight up? Or should I put in different height bars so they can jump from one to the next?

Every time I have ever checked on them at night they are all sleeping close together lined up on the low roosting bar. They've never pooped in the roosting boxes so far.

I was wondering that myself. My roost are low too. Sounds like I need to relocate them.

 

[Stephanie_VA]

This thread has been an interesting and informative read. I am in the midst of designing my tractor coop and now realize that what I had originally intended would not have worked well. Now, I am rethinking my design. On the 4 X 6 coop I'll have a 6' ridge vent, which I have an idea on how to close in the event of a hurricane or similar storm. And, I'll have a decent overhanging roof line with soffit vents on both sides between each truss. Plus I'll add a window on opposite sides with hardware cloth behind them to keep out nasties. That should provide more than enough ventilation in the summer, while still allowing me to reduce it a bit during the winter.

 

[FarmBurl]

I was wondering that myself. My roost are low too. Sounds like I need to relocate them.

This is my first time with chickens- my chicks are about two weeks old, now, and something got the girls all riled up after I cleaned their brooder this morning... They were jumping and flapping their wings, easily getting to three times their height! I'm glad I decided to move them to the taller, bigger box a couple of days ago or they would have been hitting their heads on the hardware cloth covering their brooder!!

 

[k9grammy]

Wow! Glad I read this. I'm converting a plastic yard shed for the new chickens and I was going to cut holes for windows and put plexiglass in. Now I'll cut the holes, but put heavy screens on them and in the winter I can cover with plastic or something. This whole site has been really helpful.
Thank you!

 

[sheilavanrooy]

This is the side of my coop. (Hard to see) it sits between 2 lean-tos. At the top above steel i have a 1 1/2' x 3' area that is open for air on both sides. Is this ample amount of ventilation?

 

[rosemarythyme]

At the top above steel i have a 1 1/2' x 3' area that is open for air on both sides. Is this ample amount of ventilation?

Answer depends on how large your coop is, and how many chickens.

 

[sheilavanrooy]

Answer depends on how large your coop is, and how many chickens.

Its 6x8 we will be getting 6 chickens. We did get a window today to add for extra ventilation if we need it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Its 6x8 we will be getting 6 chickens. We did get a window today to add for extra ventilation if we need it.

Sounds like that should be enough, though I'd add the window anyhow for extra light and optional ventilation (assuming it opens and shuts).

 

[FurryFett]

Calling all Tropical and Sub-tropical BYCers!

What do you all recommend for ventilation in VERY humid, hot areas? I live in South Florida (hardiness zone 10b!). During the summer its typically in the 90's or high 80's all day, with very high humidity. Night isnt much better. It almost never even gets to freezing temps at night during winter, so cold is not at all an issue. To make it worse, the only location we can build the coop is in an area already tucked between other walls/buildings.

Looking at the attached pic, the coop is the red box on the left side, and the run is the black boxed area to the right of the coop. Its all small because we're only going to have about 4 chickens.
The southern wall (top in the picture) is the only wall facing direct breezy air, although there are some bushy plants in the way. The west (right side on pic) wall is next best. I was thinking about making at least the top half (or more) of those two walls entirely of screen. I could make the whole wall of screen (except for support beams), but that seems like it would give predators more of a chance of breaking in? Raccoons, possums, snakes, rats, giant iguanas, etc. I'm not sure how crafty these predators can be - should I be concerned, or just secure the screen tightly and move on?

The roost is the grey box (poop board) with yellow line though it (perch itself) in the upper right side of the coop. It's a little over 3ft. If I do the above plan, it should get a nice diagonal breeze by being at the same level as the open screen areas. I figured in my case, it was best to put the roost in the breeziest area.

I'm also thinking about installing some kind of fan at the top of the southern (top) wall to increase ventilation on those stagnant humid days/nights.

There would also be some kind of ventilation on the northern (bottom) wall/door, but I since most of that wall will be door, I'm not sure what I'll do for it yet.

Does this seem like it will be enough? Or am I crazy to put chickens in this corner of the land? (It seems to be the only part of the land far enough away from neighbors to follow the city ordinances, otherwise I'd pick a more open space).

Lastly, I was planning on getting Silkies. I read on the breed page that they developed in southeast asia, which has a similar climate to south florida, so perhaps they deal with heat better than some breeds. However, looking at their feathers, I find it hard to imagine...they seem so insulated. Which is it?

 

[3KillerBs]

Calling all Tropical and Sub-tropical BYCers!

...

I'm not quite that far south myself, but lots of people in the deep south and southwest make coops that are more wire than wood. Look for a thread called Texas Coop Build.