First coop...Need help.

[flytpm]

I'm building a small coop for 3 Bantams tomorrow. It is 4' by 4' by 4' with a small run the same size. The run is on the south side of the coop, the people access door is on the west side of the coop. Where do I need to put my ventilation and what size do I need? It will have a flat slanted roof which drains rain from south to north. Thanks for your assistance.

 

[airmom1c05]

I would put it opposite the access door for cross ventilation, but my access door to my larger coop is inside the run, so you might want to put it on the north side. I think cross ventilation is better than just one vent, window, or door. As to size, it shouldn't matter if it is directly across from another opening. Hope this helped. Some folks put a wind turbine in the roof. That might work for your coop. I was planning on one for mine, but the folks who are going to modify my coop thought cross ventilation would work best.

 

[MandyH]

If your roof is slanted from South to North, why not raise the south side of the slant up a couple inches and leave that open for ventilation.

 

[patandchickens]

A couple lessons from my tractor, the shelter part of which is 4 x 2.5 x 3+ (roof slopes):

-- do not put the vents near floor level. On windy days it kicks up bedding dust all over.

-- do not put vents where they will dump cold air at roosting chickens -- that means not next to roost at roost level, and not on the wall adjacent to roost *above* roost level either.

You will need at vents on two walls, preferably opposite ones, to get decent air exchange.

My suggestion would be to put the roosts all the way to one end of the coop, and the vents all the way to the other, something like this:
_____________
| |
|roostroostroost|
| |
| |
. .
. .
|____________|

And of course make them closeable, ideally with louvers or something like that so that you can largely exclude rain without having to completely shut off the vent.

Good luck,

Pat