Is my coop ventilation adequate?

[Smokerbill]

It's recommended to have one square foot of ventilation per chicken.

 

[charlie1051]

I've got family in Ithaca so I know it gets COLD where you are! I guess it depends on if you can keep your windows cracked or not..? Honestly, you're going to get a lot of different opinions about this, but personally I think with your 2 vents and the windows cracked would more than suffice. But I battle the heat more than the cold so I have a LOT of ventilation. Here's a pic of my girls and their coop from a few years back.

 

[Krux5506]

I've got family in Ithaca so I know it gets COLD where you are! I guess it depends on if you can keep your windows cracked or not..? Honestly, you're going to get a lot of different opinions about this, but personally I think with your 2 vents and the windows cracked would more than suffice. But I battle the heat more than the cold so I have a LOT of ventilation. Here's a pic of my girls and their coop from a few years back.

yeah I could keep them cracked, I'd just worry about drafts on them as it would be right at the same level as their roost. I think first I'm going to see how it all plays out before I start cutting more holes in my coop. It definitely can get cold here but the last few winters have seemed pretty mild. Maybe a few stretches of overnight single digit temps, or the occasional sub zero wind chill, but nothing compared to what some deal with.

 

[Smokerbill]

yeah I could keep them cracked, I'd just worry about drafts on them as it would be right at the same level as their roost. I think first I'm going to see how it all plays out before I start cutting more holes in my coop. It definitely can get cold here but the last few winters have seemed pretty mild. Maybe a few stretches of overnight single digit temps, or the occasional sub zero wind chill, but nothing compared to what some deal with.

Would you be able to pull the windows out and flip them so the moving sash opens from the top?

Plenty of ventilation is just as important in cold weather as it is in hot weather. High humidity in a coop is a big problem in cold weather. There's a greater chance of frostbite damage to the chickens if it's too humid.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Assuming the soffits are open you can bang out most of the undereave area around the existing small vents (the yellow squiggles), and replace with hardware cloth.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Assuming the soffits are open you can bang out most of the undereave area around the existing small vents (the yellow squiggles), and replace with hardware cloth.

View attachment 3647539

@Krux5506 I also suggest the solution posted by @rosemarythyme. You can always have baffles ready to lay in on top of the hardware cloth if winds get heavy and snow is coming in. That would be much easier than trying to add ventilation when it's 5° out.

 

[aart]

Would you be able to pull the windows out and flip them so the moving sash opens from the top?

This can cause rain infiltration.

Plenty of ventilation is just as important in cold weather as it is in hot weather. High humidity in a coop is a big problem in cold weather. There's a greater chance of frostbite damage to the chickens if it's too humid.

Just how cold is it in "Big Egg Town"?
Where is "Big Egg Town"?

 

[aart]

They are covered with a mesh fabric. In the first pic you can see the vent covers/registers above the windows on the overhang.

Oh, now I see them!
Yeah, not enough really

 

[Krux5506]

Thanks for all the replies. Could definitely open up that undereave area relatively easy. Hate to hack up the coop however I don't want to deal with frostbitten birds. Would it make sense at all to add any type of gable vents on the sides above the doors? Much easier on the chicken door side than the man door side.

 

[aart]

Thanks for all the replies. Could definitely open up that undereave area relatively easy. Hate to hack up the coop however I don't want to deal with frostbitten birds. Would it make sense at all to add any type of gable vents on the sides above the doors? Much easier on the chicken door side than the man door side.

You'd want to open the eve on the back of the coop too(refer to the OverEZ link I posted) to provide flow along the underside of roof.

Adding gable vents might help, but that area of the coop is not protected by a roof overhang, so you might get rain and snow blown into those.