Does any one have pictures of a floor plan for an open air coop?

[Newchickey]

Wanting to know how this works on the inside, where are the roost placed so there is no direct draft on them? How do you keep snow from blowing in? I have snow going in my coop as we speak, humidity in there is 81% and 13 degrees, the snow is blowing in every single vent as it is blowing hard and swirling. All of them are in there right now with snow on the bedding and their backs. I just cant seem to keep the humidity level down with all this snow we have been getting, had a bit of frostbite on combs

 

[Judy]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/163417/please-show-me-your-hot-weather-coops/0_20

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter/0_20

 

[Newchickey]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/163417/please-show-me-your-hot-weather-coops/0_20

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter/0_20

Ive seen these pictures, what I want is the layout for the inside. Everyone says no drafts blowing on them. With it open like this, where are the roost to prevent this?

 

[tracecom]

Open air coops in cold climates are closed on three sides, and the fourth side faces away from prevailing winds. In addition, the coop has to be fairly deep so that the roost poles can be placed well away from the open side. Despite the support of quite a number of chicken keepers, I would prefer a closed coop with good ventilation at the top, above the level of the roost poles. Can you post some pics of your coop? Surely there is a way to get the chicks out of the snow, and improve the ventilation.

 

[Newchickey]

Open air coops in cold climates are closed on three sides, and the fourth side faces away from prevailing winds. In addition, the coop has to be fairly deep so that the roost poles can be placed well away from the open side. Despite the support of quite a number of chicken keepers, I would prefer a closed coop with good ventilation at the top, above the level of the roost poles. Can you post some pics of your coop? Surely there is a way to get the chicks out of the snow, and improve the ventilation.

 

[tracecom]

It would have been better if the coop faced the east instead of the north, but that can't be helped.

Can you add a vent on the south side that is next to the ceiling and is the same size and shape as the vent on the north side? If so, you could close the vent on the west side, and close the pop door and all windows. That would only allow air to flow at the level of the ceiling (above the roost pole,) and provide better ventilation, I think. Some snow would still blow in, but if the humidity is reduced, the snow could be tolerated.

 

[Newchickey]

It would have been better if the coop faced the east instead of the north, but that can't be helped.

Can you add a vent on the south side that is next to the ceiling and is the same size and shape as the vent on the north side? If so, you could close the vent on the west side, and close the pop door and all windows. That would only allow air to flow at the level of the ceiling (above the roost pole,) and provide better ventilation, I think. Some snow would still blow in, but if the humidity is reduced, the snow could be tolerated.

When we built the coop we hadnt spent a winter here so we didnt know what this would be like with the wind. I cant do a vent right now, I would need a good stretch of good weather to do that. I would have to cut off the siding and the inside wall, remove the insulation and put a 2x4 cut to size between each stud to cover the space, place hardware cloth and maybe put a hinged cover I assume since there is no over hang on that side? Should I lower the roost? since that wall angles down, its about 2 1/2 - 3 feet above their roost, is that high enough?

I was thinking next summer I would turn the south side into an open air end. That is the side you are suggesting to cut the vent. I could take out about 2 1/2 feet of the wall at the bottom. It looks like what I need is vents at the top on the same side as the open lower end. Block off vents that the opposite end, which would be the front of the coop now. I may have add a new door and block off the porch one, just making it decorative lol and put their roost across the north side? Roost go opposite the open side?

 

[henless]

I built my open air coop by converting two 10x10 stalls into one coop. I used this 10x20 space as my coop/run combo until we finished my outside run.




I put my two roosts in the back on top of my in coop brooder. I use the top of the brooder as my poop board. There is a large open window on the right above the nest boxes, plus a 2' vent above this window.

For the winter, I put plastic up on the vent above the roosts, and on the large window over the nests. I left the vent open above that window. I also covered the window above the roost ladder as well as the full open West side to the left of my coop. I left the South end and the East side open for air flow.



For the complete build, click on the my coop link in my avatar. I really like my open air pen.

 

[Newchickey]

It would have been better if the coop faced the east instead of the north, but that can't be helped.

Can you add a vent on the south side that is next to the ceiling and is the same size and shape as the vent on the north side? If so, you could close the vent on the west side, and close the pop door and all windows. That would only allow air to flow at the level of the ceiling (above the roost pole,) and provide better ventilation, I think. Some snow would still blow in, but if the humidity is reduced, the snow could be tolerated.

Isnt airflow suppose to be from the bottom to the top? My roost run north to south, air would go right over their heads. If it comes from bottom to top, I could move the roost to the south side, cut a vent at the bottom or at least lots of holes for now, and put a board under the roost so the air has to go beyond the roost before heading up, or with the wind coming from the north would the air go down and out? See I am totally confused and their are so many different answers to this

 

[tracecom]

Isnt airflow suppose to be from the bottom to the top? My roost run north to south, air would go right over their heads. If it comes from bottom to top, I could move the roost to the south side, cut a vent at the bottom or at least lots of holes for now, and put a board under the roost so the air has to go beyond the roost before heading up, or with the wind coming from the north would the air go down and out? See I am totally confused and their are so many different answers to this

First, I should point out that I have no experience with chickens north of Tennessee. That being said, it is my opinion that air flow above the heads of the chickens on the roost is okay. What is to be avoided is air that blows on them. My thought was that, because you already have a vent at the ceiling on the north wall, the best option would be to put a vent at the ceiling on the south wall. Hopefully, that would allow good air flow through the coop along the ceiling, thus evacuating the humidity produced by the chickens, which should tend to rise with their body heat toward the ceiling.

Maybe someone who lives in the frigid north will chime in.