Hello,we have been experiencing some very high temps. for only being the beginning of june.Its been in the 90's during the day and only going down in the 70's at night,so i told the dh i wanted him to install a fan.My question is,should we have it pulling air out or blowing it in? which works better in the heat? The cieling is at least 10 ft. high and the window i want to put it in is about 5 ft. high.We are mounting it on the south side,on the outside (was hoping it wouldnt get as dusty if it were on the outside)So what do you all think? Any advice is appreciated.
Hot as the dickens here, too. Same temps as yours and humid. In my brooder room I usually have it blowing out at night because they do not like too much draft but during the day I do turn it on the baby d'Uccles because they are very hot and the others are fine with it. In my Silkie/Cochin shed I have 3 windows and the big door is hardware cloth. I put one of those big box fans in the east window (storms usually come from the west or south) and blow it in all the time, day and night. The Silkies in the east coop sit in front of it happily. It blows across them into the south coop but the poor dears in the west coop feel it very little but at least it is moving the air and they are under lots of shade trees. Mine is mounted in the window inside with bungee cords. I use 2 just in case one was to snap, the other would hold. I have been doing this for several years. Burn out a fan in each building every summer but what is $16 each? I do not mind!
right now i have the fan mounted on the outside blowing in.its not a big fan,cause my windows arent standard size,like whats in a house.now im wondering if i should mount a box fan on the inside for more air flow.if the fan is on the inside,doesnt it get real dusty all the time? i still fear fire when running electric in the coop.
Forcing the air out is best but make sure the air can circulate. By that I mean a place for the air to come in and a place for it to exhaust. So if you had two windows put the fan in one blowing out and open the other window so the air will cross. Even when the air is warm and even hot,when its moving it has a cooling property to it. A roof vent with a fan is best but just get the air moving in any fashion you can.
Pulling the ammonia and heat out is best. That way it's coming from every crack and gap and going out the door also it doesn't stir up any dust.
I am going to disagree with all of the above as being probably irrelevant (sorry), but first let me say that if you ARE trying to use a fan to COOL a coop that's hotter than outdoors, it comes down to an irreconcilable conflict between what's best for the coop (blowing air out, so cooler air comes in a lot of places and non-windily) versus what's best for the fan itself (blowing air *in*, so fan is not continually processing lotsa coop dust). So if you blow outwards, expect shortened (perhaps VERY shortened) fan life and elevated risk of fire (yes, dust-clogged fans can start fires) so it is important to choose a fan wisely and keep a close eye on it. That said... ...if it is that hot outdoors, air exchange isn't gonna help you. You should be able to design/modify your coop to remain no hotter than outdoor shade temperature. That being the case, sucking more outdoor air thru the coop will change NOTHING. If the chickens need extra help, what they need is a source of coolth (e.g. frozen jugs o water) or a fan breeze they can sit directly in. For the latter, it's just a matter of taking a normal little household fan and rigging it so it can't fall and is aimed across part of the floor of the coop. If your coop is running hotter than outdoor shade temperatures then it is really MUCH MUCH more efficient (and safer, and more effective) to simply modify it however's necessary to provide enough passive ventilation that it does not overheat. Overheating (compared to outdoors) is a DESIGN FLAW, not a management problem. Good luck, have fun, Pat
There must be so much humidity here that dust is not an issue. My coops are not that dirty. I cleaned them out about 5 weeks ago and put down fresh shavings. I have tried the fans in both directions, blowing out and blowing in. I have thermometers in both rooms and watch what makes the difference. This works for me. This the brooder room window and fan. The window is on the north side. I have insulation on the ceiling, north and south walls to help keep out cold and heat. The east and west walls have coops on them so that helps. The only other opening is the door on the south side. I like to blow the air in from the shaded north side. It drops the temps down about 10 degrees from the outside. My Silkie/Cochin shed is shaded so that helps. Here is the fan in the east window. And from the outside at about noon. It blows through the shed nicely, lowering the temps again by about 10 degrees. I run it on high during the day and medium at night. Otherwise the Silkies get blown off the roost. It helps that the south and west sides have trees and plenty of shade. And that the north side has a big screen/hardware cloth door. And it helps that I had windows put on all 3 walls and the big open door. This is the window and pop door on the south side. You just have to work with what you have and see how best to make it work. I have read from a very smart person here on BYC that ventilation is best for the chickens and have tried to do my best to allow for it, even in the winter with snow on the ground. Also this shed has insulated walls and ceiling. I hope to put in new big vents I recently purchased, too, on the ends up near the roof inside. It has small ones but I would like to put in these much larger ones.