First brooder and coop builds.

[WestoftheRest]

Very nice! I really like your double brooder design. I might have to borrow some of your ideas from this one. I really like the auto watering system too. Thanks so much for sharing these pics!

Thanks!! My wife asked for a “simple” brooder and ended up with this. If you need more pics or have any questions just ask.

 

[WestoftheRest]

Perhaps your first brooder and coop - but most definitely NOT your first build! Holy smokes, that is some nice work!

Nest boxes are plenty big! Mine are 11"x11" and they work great. An 8x10 coop - if you use 2 sq ft per bird (which I think is too small) that's enough space for 40 birds (which would need ~40 sq ft of ventilation)... If you use 5 sq ft per bird (which I think is quite generous) that's enough 20 birds (needing ~20 sq ft of ventilation).

You've got 6 sq ft of ventilation total at the top of the front and back wall right now (each wall has a 3.5"x10' vent, right?). Some Qs:

• How much ventilation area will each window provide?
• What is your roof design (shed, gable)?
• How do the front and back wall upper vents work with the roof design?

Considering that 3.5" gap at the top of the walls... if you could increase that gap... for every 1.2 inches you increase the gap per wall, you will add 1 sq ft of venting.

So 6" gap on both walls will give you 10 sq ft of ventilation.

Adding cold air inlets (baffled to prevent drafts and screened to keep out critters) will greatly increase your ventilation efficiency. I built my lower vents into built-in storage cabinets under the nest boxes.

Looking fantastic though!!

Thank you!! Sounds like I may need to rethink my ventilation. The windows are fairly small prolly add a lil over a square foot each. Put them in mostly for light and they were super cheap! The roof is just a single slope from front to back. The vents will be right under the tin roof and just be covered with hardware cloth. There is plenty of room to add more vents will just have to break out the jig saw and add them in.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Thank you!! Sounds like I may need to rethink my ventilation. The windows are fairly small prolly add a lil over a square foot each. Put them in mostly for light and they were super cheap! The roof is just a single slope from front to back. The vents will be right under the tin roof and just be covered with hardware cloth. There is plenty of room to add more vents will just have to break out the jig saw and add them in.

Windows are nice! Can't hurt anything and it is really nice to get extra light in there

Sweet! I love shed roofs. So you've naturally vented along the convection lines of the roof anyway. On the rake walls I just didn't sheath the angular top of the wall and that became "pennant vents." What could be used to sheath them just became a vent cover on hinges.

Ideally you'd get 50/50 division of upper and lower venting. But rarely does that seem practical. The more I've thought about it the more it seems about 25%-33% of the venting as cold air inlets down low is the best compromise between ventilation efficiency and coop functionality. Here you can see the lower vents built in to the storage cabinets (which act as a baffle against drafts) and their exits inside the coop at the floor level:

If you're in an area that can be both humid and cold, a LOT of condensation can build up under a metal roof. In those cases it is probably best to sheath the roof (plywood, OSB, whatever), and putting a moisture barrier down before attaching the metal. Some people just put the metal over the walls... that can lead to "rain" in the coop under cool, wet conditions.

You're definitely on the right track!

 

[WestoftheRest]

Windows are nice! Can't hurt anything and it is really nice to get extra light in there

Sweet! I love shed roofs. So you've naturally vented along the convection lines of the roof anyway. On the rake walls I just didn't sheath the angular top of the wall and that became "pennant vents." What could be used to sheath them just became a vent cover on hinges.
View attachment 1326145
Ideally you'd get 50/50 division of upper and lower venting. But rarely does that seem practical. The more I've thought about it the more it seems about 25%-33% of the venting as cold air inlets down low is the best compromise between ventilation efficiency and coop functionality. Here you can see the lower vents built in to the storage cabinets (which act as a baffle against drafts) and their exits inside the coop at the floor level:
View attachment 1326153 View attachment 1326155
If you're in an area that can be both humid and cold, a LOT of condensation can build up under a metal roof. In those cases it is probably best to sheath the roof (plywood, OSB, whatever), and putting a moisture barrier down before attaching the metal. Some people just put the metal over the walls... that can lead to "rain" in the coop under cool, wet conditions.

You're definitely on the right track!

We are opposite of humid! If we get 10” of rain a year we are happy. We have some cold weather (right around freezing so maybe cooler weather for those of y’all further north) come winter time but very seldom is it accompanied with moisture. Summers are usually in the upper 90s but nights dip in to the mid 70s I plan on leaving the coop open to the run all the time. So with all that in mind, how much more ventilation should I add? I could easily add vents to the front wall. They would be right above my planned roosting bar. Will the hens still roost there?

 

[HoopyFrood]

Ah, the good ol' desert You can add your location to your profile, if you're so inclined.

Sheathing the roof with OSB or something might be advisable just to stop the metal roof from acting like a heating element in the coop in the summer months. Those upper "pennant" vent on the rake walls can really help alleviate heating in the summer.

Freezing is no big deal and one of the main concerns of adequate ventilation is preventing frostbite, which sounds unlikely to be a big issue with you

You don't want drafts from the wind to hit the roosting area or the nest boxes. This naturally works well with walk-in coops where roost bars are about 2 ft off the floor. They are out of the way of (say about 2 ft above and below) any vents.

Again the goal is about 1 sq ft per bird. So if you want to target 20-30 birds that gives you a rough goal. You can get 10 sq ft out of a six inch vent on the front and back walls. I don't know what your roof pitch is but if your rake wall is 8 ft wide a pennant vet on each side could add a lot of area, probably a few sq ft without too much trouble. You've got a couple square feet in the windows... If you could do a few square feet in lower inlet vents, you'll be hitting the 20 mark pretty quickly

@aart always links to this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ventilated-but-free-of-drafts.1048597/

Definitely read through it if you haven't done so already, good stuff!

 

[WestoftheRest]

Ah, the good ol' desert You can add your location to your profile, if you're so inclined.

Sheathing the roof with OSB or something might be advisable just to stop the metal roof from acting like a heating element in the coop in the summer months. Those upper "pennant" vent on the rake walls can really help alleviate heating in the summer.

Freezing is no big deal and one of the main concerns of adequate ventilation is preventing frostbite, which sounds unlikely to be a big issue with you

You don't want drafts from the wind to hit the roosting area or the nest boxes. This naturally works well with walk-in coops where roost bars are about 2 ft off the floor. They are out of the way of (say about 2 ft above and below) any vents.

Again the goal is about 1 sq ft per bird. So if you want to target 20-30 birds that gives you a rough goal. You can get 10 sq ft out of a six inch vent on the front and back walls. I don't know what your roof pitch is but if your rake wall is 8 ft wide a pennant vet on each side could add a lot of area, probably a few sq ft without too much trouble. You've got a couple square feet in the windows... If you could do a few square feet in lower inlet vents, you'll be hitting the 20 mark pretty quickly

@aart always links to this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ventilated-but-free-of-drafts.1048597/

Definitely read through it if you haven't done so already, good stuff!

I just joined last night I will eventually get around to updating all the profile stuff.

So with some brain storming I am thinking of installing several vents similarly to the one pictured above around the bottom. Putting my roost bars 2 feet above them and then making up the other 20-25 square feet up near the top. I will come up with something.

Thanks for all the tips.

 

[HoopyFrood]

@WestoftheRest You're very welcome! If you have any questions, don't be shy. Lots of helpful, knowledgeable folks around BYC! Glad to have you join us! Some day I hope I can build as cleanly as you do! My coop and run were actually my first big build project.

Speaking of your build: that 1/2" vinyl coated hardware cloth on your brooder? Do you buy that? I have a local energy contractor that scraps a lot of that stuff and the let me scavenge. But I may need to buy it in quantity for some projects. All my HW cloth purchases to date have been through Amazon.

Where do you buy?

 

[GracieJ]

This is very impressive!!

 

[WestoftheRest]

@WestoftheRest You're very welcome! If you have any questions, don't be shy. Lots of helpful, knowledgeable folks around BYC! Glad to have you join us! Some day I hope I can build as cleanly as you do! My coop and run were actually my first big build project.

Speaking of your build: that 1/2" vinyl coated hardware cloth on your brooder? Do you buy that? I have a local energy contractor that scraps a lot of that stuff and the let me scavenge. But I may need to buy it in quantity for some projects. All my HW cloth purchases to date have been through Amazon.

Where do you buy?

I bought it at my little local hardware store. I think I saw some last time I went to Lowe’s.

 

[HoopyFrood]

I bought it at my little local hardware store. I think I saw some last time I went to Lowe’s.

Cool, thanks for the info! I don't see any on their website right now but I'll keep my eyes peeled.