Do I have enough ventilation?

[Chooks n Kids]

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.

Breed and weight would determine how high they can "jump". I would recommend either a ramp for them to walk up or different height bars so they can hop from one to the other. One thing I do suggest is having the first roost only 12-18 inches off the floor as the larger breeds can develop bumble foot from jumping down from higher roosts. I learned this the hard way, for both me and the poor hens I had to do surgery on. Also if you use 2 x 4's for roosts put them on the flat so they can tuck their feet under them during cold weather. Cheers, Sheila

 

[wdeployedwife1]

Hello everyone! I have some questions about ventilation as well. I am about to build a new coop for my girls, and I can already see that I made many mistakes with adequate ventilation with my last coop. I now know more is better with ventilation. My new coop will be a 12x12. So here is my ventilation plan and will it be enough? I was going to install 2 good-sized vents below the roof on either side with hardware cloth and possibly an overhang in case of rain. I was also going to put a 4' vent with hardware cloth on both sides as well. I guess my concern is when it's winter. Where I plan on putting those 4' vents, it would place them right at roosting pole level. I thought about putting hinged doors over them, but I know I would need more ventilation. Any ideas?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Definitely an overhang since you don't know from what direction the rain may come.

The 4' vent on both sides - 4' by what dimension.

Square footage of opening is important as well as having some cross ventilation.

My last buildings have large openings on both the east and west walls. They're basically the top third of the wall with just a small piece of wall at the roost.

Chickens are outdoor animals. They only need a building for predator protection and a rain shelter. Theoretically they could be outside in a covered hardware cloth room.

I have a friend here with a nice coop and predator proof attached covered run. For the last two winters her birds have opted to sleep in the run. They only go inside to eat and lay eggs.

 

[beverly evans]

Definitely an overhang since you don't know from what direction the rain may come.

The 4' vent on both sides - 4' by what dimension.

Square footage of opening is important as well as having some cross ventilation.

My last buildings have large openings on both the east and west walls. They're basically the top third of the wall with just a small piece of wall at the roost.

Chickens are outdoor animals. They only need a building for predator protection and a rain shelter. Theoretically they could be outside in a covered hardware cloth room.

I have a friend here with a nice coop and predator proof attached covered run. For the last two winters her birds have opted to sleep in the run. They only go inside to eat and lay eggs.

I built a coop that was predator-proof and cozy i n the winter but way too hot in the Texas summers. I've had to put a large fan in there for the humid nites. It has three roosts and I only have chickens enough to fill one and a half roosts but in the heat with the heat they transpire they need extra air movement. I have two sides that are half screen, one side is against the wall of my house and the last wall has a large screened window. You'd think that would be enough, wouldn't you? : )

 

[RJSorensen]

I have come to the conclusion, that if you are asking if you have adequate ventilation, you don't. The workings of chickens is so different from 'people' that perhaps we, for the most part, are unable to intelligently factor the amount of open air space required for our birds. I have read the following link over and over, I still learn from it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

Best to all and their birds,

RJ

 

[jaydendonnelly]

We built our first chicken yard last month for which we put more concern on insulation and draughts which made that place even more air tight and this caused inadequate ventilation. We now need to add ventilation because chickens sweat a lot. One professional advised me that I need to reduce draught and maintain sufficient ventilation.
more info

 

[jaydendonnelly]

We built our first chicken yard last month for which we put more concern on insulation and draughts which made that place even more air tight and this caused inadequate ventilation. We now need to add ventilation because chickens sweat a lot. One professional advised me to that I need to reduce draught and maintain sufficient ventilation. more info

 

[jaydendonnelly]

We built our first chicken yard last month for which we put more concern on insulation and draughts which made that place even more air tight and this caused inadequate ventilation. We now need to add ventilation because chickens sweat a lot. One professional advised me to that I need to reduce draught and maintain sufficient ventilation.

 

[KrystalRose]

So this will be my first winter with the chickens, I built a large coop and have 21 chickens. I know I need more ventilation but not sure where to put it. I always leave the windows all the way open. Should all the ventilation be above the roost height? And how much more ventilation should I put in? I was thinking maybe a couple vents on the back wall for even more cross ventilation? My main coop area is 8'x12'. Oh and I have changed my roosting bars to being 2x4s that are wide side up all at the same elevation at 2' off the ground. I know I have overdone the heat lamps and I dont intend to use them unless we get some weird freak cold snap, I know the dangers of heat lamps and I do want my birds to be adjusted to the cold in case of power outage. I basically built the coop before knowing much about chickens, o well. Here is a picture pre-roosting bar change...

 

[kacklinghen]

So this will be my first winter with the chickens, I built a large coop and have 21 chickens. I know I need more ventilation but not sure where to put it. I always leave the windows all the way open. Should all the ventilation be above the roost height? And how much more ventilation should I put in? I was thinking maybe a couple vents on the back wall for even more cross ventilation? My main coop area is 8'x12'. Oh and I have changed my roosting bars to being 2x4s that are wide side up all at the same elevation at 2' off the ground. I know I have overdone the heat lamps and I dont intend to use them unless we get some weird freak cold snap, I know the dangers of heat lamps and I do want my birds to be adjusted to the cold in case of power outage. I basically built the coop before knowing much about chickens, o well. Here is a picture pre-roosting bar change...
Nice perch !!!!!!!