EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

[BantyChooks]

When designing the coop, where is the best place to put ventilation?

IMO where the roof meets the walls is probably best. Natural protection against elements and it won't blow on your birds.

 

[lovechicks1293]

I've seen some on the "post your chicken coops here!" Thread where some are over the door, or somehow actually in the roof, and on the side. I think that over the door might be the best?

 

[dragonthehunter]

do you get much snow where you are?

 

[lovechicks1293]

do you get much snow where you are?

Well, this year in Michigan, we had about a foot of wet snow for about two weeks, then it went down to about five and now it's staying at about three inches.

 

[lovechicks1293]

I have to go...it is my little sisters turn on the iPad. I'll update later

 

[dragonthehunter]

Cool Well then I suggest having a slanted roof

 

[lovechicks1293]

Yeah, It was already on my plans lol

 

[kajira]

Merry Christmas to everyone!

 

[dragonthehunter]

Merry Christmas

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Quote:

When designing the coop, where is the best place to put ventilation?

Much depends on the size of the coop and the environment.
Most people suggest to keep drafts off of the chickens.
An opening low and big openings high will allow fresh air to enter at the bottom and let moisture and ammonia escape through the upper openings.
I have ridge vents on all my peak roofed buildings However, they're worthless with several inches of snow on them.

I, on the other hand, don't subscribe to any of that.
Chickens can live in trees - until an owl or raccoon eats them. So could someone tell me how to keep drafts out of a tree?
The only reason to have a coop is to keep them safe from predators and to keep the rain off of them at night.
Chickens can live quite nicely in open sided buildings.

In the early days of commercial poultry production (early 1900s), they closed the birds up in buildings at night and it was quite common to lose 70% of the birds through the winter. The reason wasn't well understood.
Most thought it was cold, but some thought it could be bad air.
A big poultry farmer decided to cut one entire wall out of all his buildings. Snow would blow into the building but he didn't lose a single bird the first winter.

I believe that fresh air is more important than water and nutrition for chickens.
Every time I build a building it has bigger openings than the one before.
My breeder complex has huge windows at roost height on both the east and west walls. The wind blows right through the building across the birds. I only close off one window if a huge storm is coming through and then only the windy side.
I've lost birds to heat but never to cold. It ranges from -19F to 112F here.



Another thing to keep in mind with the coop design is to arrange roosts, chicken doors and nest boxes so the chickens don't need to walk under the roosts to go from the outside to the nests. Otherwise they'll track feces into the nests.