Is this enough ventilation?

[Luckyeights86]

We have an 8' x 10' shed we are in the process of converting to our new chicken coop. It is a resin shed, and only came with a few measly screened slats on the front and back of the shed. Obviously this isn't enough ventilation, so we added 3, 4" soffit vents on either side, directly under the slats that are already there. We also have this awesome fan/air filtration system hanging inside the coop in the middle to encourage air flow. We don't have shade really at all, but we hung an insulated reflective tarp on top of the shed to compensate, which has helped a lot in this hellish Summer weather. I'll add pictures, but PLEASE ignore the mess! We are still working on it! The box fan and A/C unit WILL BE REMOVED, they are only there now while we are in the shed working.

Also, we just had hatching eggs under a broody hen which then killed her first chick and crushed another egg while hatching, and then ate the yolk sack . So we took the eggs, hatched the rest ourselves, and had to hurry up to add our new brooder inside.

TLDR: Is 3, 4" soffit vents on either side of this shed enough ventilation with our air fan/filtration system, or do we need to add additional vents? Reflective insulated tarp has been hung on shed to mimic shade, which has helped a lot.

 

[Sic]

I think the general consensus is 1 square foot of ventilation per chicken. I'd suggest a search on coop ventilation to gather as much information as possible.

I have an open air coop, one end being open but has an eight foot overhang roof. I see you have no overhang whatsoever so ventilation is going to be more difficult than just cutting open your gables which is what most would recommend.

Sorry your broody hen wasn't the best mom. Wishing you the best for your baby chicks.

 

[Luckyeights86]

I think the general consensus is 1 square foot of ventilation per chicken. I'd suggest a search on coop ventilation to gather as much information as possible.

I have an open air coop, one end being open but has an eight foot overhang roof. I see you have no overhang whatsoever so ventilation is going to be more difficult than just cutting open your gables which is what most would recommend.

Sorry your broody hen wasn't the best mom. Wishing you the best for your baby chicks.

Yeah, we've tried to research quite a bit, but there's not much information when it comes to this style of shed - we're kind of going off of other YouTubers who are also concerned with the ventilation in their coops similar to ours. It's also difficult to find workable solutions and exactly how much is necessary. I understand that they need about 1sq ft per chicken, but how to accommodate that with our new coop isn't mapped out exactly, which makes it kind of a guessing game. We thought adding the air filtration system would definitely help, and you can feel a lot more airflow out of the vents now that we added it, but it still seems like we should be doing more.

Thank you for the well wishes with our chicks! It was a rough start, but things seem to be going smoothly now, so knock on wood we can keep it that way!

 

[aart]

We thought adding the air filtration system would definitely help, and you can feel a lot more airflow out of the vents now that we added it

Not sure what this is supposed to do.
Does it vent directly outside the shed?
Does it draw in outside air directly?
Is it made to filter 'barn' air and the related dust?

Are your birds already living in this shed?

Reflective insulated tarp has been hung on shed to mimic shade, which has helped a lot.

Not seeing this?
If there is little to no air space between tarp and shed, it's probably not helping much.

do we need to add additional vents

Yes.

Might help to know....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Luckyeights86]

Not sure what this is supposed to do.
Does it vent directly outside the shed?
Does it draw in outside air directly?
Is it made to filter 'barn' air and the related dust?

It was recommended by a fellow popular chicken keeper, "The Featherbrain," specifically for use inside the chicken coop as it helps to not only filter the air for particulates, but increases air flow in from the outside of the coop, draws it through the filter, and then helps to push the air outside through the vents we installed. It also helps cool the coop as it has much better air flow than before.

Yes, prior to purchasing, we ensured it was made to filter barn air, dust, dander, etc. as we know this can be a huge safety issue if not.

Are your birds already living in this shed?

We are still working on the coop as I said. The only birds we have in there now are the chicks we had to move due to the emergency situation I mentioned previously, and we are out there with them as often as we can. Doors to the shed are open. They are protected inside their brooder which was built with 2 step locks and hardware cloth.

Not seeing this?
If there is little to no air space between tarp and shed, it's probably not helping much.

Adding this tarp has kept this shed much cooler since we put it up. You cannot see it because it is on top of the shed roof. It was designed to use reflective side up in order to cool things under/behind it down, and in the Winter, we will put the other side on top to absorb more heat. We have used this specific tarp on top of both of our other coops, and there is a remarkable difference inside when we have the reflective side up during the Summer.

Yes.

Ok. It would help if you could elaborate on that. Any ideas on what kind of vents, how many more we need, and where we need to install them? I'm clueless here as to what would be the best way to go about adding more. Do we need to add some on either side of the shed instead of just the front and back? Any type of ventilation that might work better in our instance that could be doable for this shed? I want to make sure this coop turns out to be healthy environment for our chickens, which is why I came here to ask this question.

Might help to know....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3933986

Located in Central Indiana. Humidity in Summer is a consideration, as well as negative temps in Winter.

 

[aart]

specifically for use inside the chicken coop as it helps to not only filter the air for particulates, but increases air flow in from the outside of the coop, draws it through the filter, and then helps to push the air outside through the vents we installed. It also helps cool the coop as it has much better air flow than before.

So the unit draws air directly from outside the coop, thru the filter and into the coop then it exits the coop thru the various openings/vents we see in the pics?
Sounds decent at least for summer.

Any type of ventilation that might work better in our instance that could be doable for this shed?

I can't think of any without protection of a large roof overhang.
Maybe some large top hinged windows.

 

[Luckyeights86]

I can't think of any without protection of a large roof overhang.
Maybe some large top hinged windows.

I definitely like that idea - I've actually seen a bunch of old windows on Facebook marketplace and thought it would be cool to add those to the coop somehow.

And yeah, the overhang thing has been the major reason we put in the soffit vents because they came with the cover already. I wish they made a long, window sized kind of vent with an awning. That would be a major help.

So the unit draws air directly from outside the coop, thru the filter and into the coop then it exits the coop thru the various openings/vents we see in the pics?
Sounds decent at least for summer.

The system is positioned so that it intakes the air from the back vents of the shed (rather than being attached to the outside vent directly), filters it, and fans it through to the front area of the shed which then exits via the front vents we installed, but yes, basically same idea. You can feel the air suctioning in if you put your hand up to the back vents, and then outside the front vents, you can feel the wind being blown out from the inside of the shed. It mostly just helps keep the air cleaner and circulate a lot better than having only the vents alone. I wasn't sure if having this system meant that we wouldn't need as many holes in the coop or not since there's a lot more air flow in there now. My gut instinct says that yes, it definitely helps, but it's still not enough to compensate for not having as many vents as we would like, so we will continue to try and figure out ways to incorporate more ventilation into the coop.

 

[aart]

we put in the soffit vents because they came with the cover already.

Um, you can't have soffit vents if you don't have a roof overhang to create said soffits....so not sure what you are calling "soffit vents".

 

[Luckyeights86]

Um, you can't have soffit vents if you don't have a roof overhang to create said soffits....so not sure what you are calling "soffit vents".

I'm calling them that because that's what the sign at Menards called them... Sorry if it's not the correct technical name for whatever the vents we put in are.

I'm sorry, but I don't get the attitude? I'm just here because I wanted help, and all I've gotten is what seems like severe judgement from you.

 

[aart]

I'm calling them that because that's what the sign at Menards called them... Sorry if it's not the correct technical name for whatever the vents we put in are.

I googled that and see how those could be used in a soffit.

I'm sorry, but I don't get the attitude? I'm just here because I wanted help, and all I've gotten is what seems like severe judgement from you.

Sorry, I'm not a cheerleader, just an old curmudgeoness....
...who is sad that the shed you bought is so unsuited to chickens.