Enough Ventilation?

[grnmntnchick]

I'm planning my coop starting with a 10x10 wooden shed kit. I live in central VT so it can get warm and humid in the summer and pretty dry and cold in the winter. The shed will be in a spot where it will get sun in the winter and shade in the summer. I'm putting a window (that can be opened) into the west and east sides. I was also thinking of leaving the eaves open (covered in hardware cloth) where the rafters meet the sidewalls. I'll also be able to leave the people door open during the day... will this be enough ventilation or will I need to cut some holes?

 

[iwiw60]

Pics would be nice to have a better idea!

 

[4 the Birds]

I'm planning my coop starting with a 10x10 wooden shed kit. I live in central VT so it can get warm and humid in the summer and pretty dry and cold in the winter. The shed will be in a spot where it will get sun in the winter and shade in the summer. I'm putting a window (that can be opened) into the west and east sides. I was also thinking of leaving the eaves open (covered in hardware cloth) where the rafters meet the sidewalls. I'll also be able to leave the people door open during the day... will this be enough ventilation or will I need to cut some holes?

Leaving the people door open is really great since it has a lot of square footage! You can even leave it open during the night if it is within your run and your run is predator proof. I use to open windows but I did not like opening and closing them according to the weather or winds (created mid coop level drafts as well). Plenty of holes with hinged flaps are always great to have so that you can adjust air movements as needed. I like to open up the coop as much as possible during the Summer months.

 

[grnmntnchick]

Sorry iwiw60 I can't post pics because it isn't put together yet! I was supposed to have some help (it's a 2 man job at least) putting it together yesterday but it didn't pan out. I'm really just in the planning stages right now, and getting a bit overwhelmed! This is the shed, what it will look like when it's not in pieces! I plan on adding 14"x21" windows to each side towards the front. That way the roosts could go in the back and any breeze from the windows won't be directly on them. Is 100sqft too much space for 8-10 chickens?

 

[Glos Girls]

That is almost what we are using as our coop. (And have the same plan, newbies here too) We already had the shed and will be adding windows on both sides, small wire for screen and wooden flap shutters. Used a couple old wooden ladders for roosts, cut to size and they were finished. We are finishing up the fence, have five' now but want to add another 2' before covering their run with chicken wire. Hoping this will keep out all of the predators. Then we can finally sit back and relax for a bit, I hope lol Good luck with your coop.

 

[iwiw60]

Sorry iwiw60 I can't post pics because it isn't put together yet! I was supposed to have some help (it's a 2 man job at least) putting it together yesterday but it didn't pan out. I'm really just in the planning stages right now, and getting a bit overwhelmed! This is the shed, what it will look like when it's not in pieces! I plan on adding 14"x21" windows to each side towards the front. That way the roosts could go in the back and any breeze from the windows won't be directly on them. Is 100sqft too much space for 8-10 chickens?

Wow! That's going to be one nice chicken coop when you're done! I know how you feel when you said "didn't pan out" .... I've had a neighbor guy helping me, too. Problem is he says he'll be here, then no show. Says he'll be there the next day, no show again. AAaaack!!

But I do have my shed kit built finally, now working on getting the run built...that should be around October at the rate we're going...eek!!

Best of luck and keep us updated!

 

[grnmntnchick]

My brother was supposed to help and he did show but the weather didn't co-operate. It seems lately that the week days are nice and then it rains all weekend.

Now I've learned that I need a new tool shed so I'm thinking about dividing the shed in half at the doors and using one side for tools and one side for chickens. That would still leave 50sq ft for each. Since I was planning on just a small number of chickens it should be plenty of room. Now I have to figure out where it should go and about a million other things. This won't be done anytime soon.....

 

[vehve]

My brother was supposed to help and he did show but the weather didn't co-operate. It seems lately that the week days are nice and then it rains all weekend.

Now I've learned that I need a new tool shed so I'm thinking about dividing the shed in half at the doors and using one side for tools and one side for chickens. That would still leave 50sq ft for each. Since I was planning on just a small number of chickens it should be plenty of room. Now I have to figure out where it should go and about a million other things. This won't be done anytime soon.....

Here we say "There's no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing." Although it really loses a lot since the rhymes don't work translated out of the original Swedish. Maybe "There's no such thing as weather that's bad, it's just you who's wrongly clad."

Some annoying perky poetry to cheer you up.

 

[grnmntnchick]

very true BUT it's hard to dress for lightening and hail!

 

[vehve]

very true BUT it's hard to dress for lightening and hail!

Gore tex.