Full Sun Exposure Coop - First Timer

[FunnyBunny89]

You could add another vent and fan above the man door and play with the fans switching from intake to exhaust to gauge inside coop temps.
Are all your vent gaps at roof covered in hardware cloth?
Perimeter of coop floor to keep out diggers?

Nice coop btw,

Yes, all gaps have hardware cloth! And the coop is buried with cinder blocks so no diggers can get in.

And thank you!! It's got my blood, sweat, and tears in it lol.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Agreed with the screen door. You can interchange the doors. Solid for winter, screen for summer.
Just be sure you put latches at the top and bottom so nothing tries to pry it open at the corners. I have a pre-made door and it's kinda flimsy is why I say this.

Oh interesting... the guys who built the framing for the door did a substandard job, can't imagine it would hold up with door switching. I could rebuild it though. The door is almost two inch thick barn wood, like the coop walls, and very heavy. We made it so it could not be pried at the corners, no way. But it used to have a window with galvanized steel wiring and we switched it for the glass window because in the winter, the wind hits that door hard with rain and I didn't want to block it and eliminate light during the months when light is already sparse. I hadn't thought of building a second door for the change of the seasons though!

 

[FunnyBunny89]

UPDATE:

I added a vent at the top as was suggested to me, and I moved the roosting boards around so I could put the fan in front of/next to the window. This new arrangement seems to be the most effective at maintaining the temperature! I also switched out straw for sand, which made a big difference for the chickens since they could dig a little and lay in it. All of these efforts got the coop to match the temperature of the shade outside, which is good enough for me!

Bonus! The sand floor can handle a light spray down which helped the chickens cool off even more.
It would always dry out rather quickly, and even if you get it too wet, you can rake the sand and help it dry out. Having a sand floor is probably the best decision I've made so far.