Is this enough ventilation?

[clrdogrl]

Does this coop provide enough ventilation for winter? I live in New Hampshire and winters can be quite cold.




In the winter, the door will be covered with plexiglass. If you look at the roof, you can see spaces between the metal corrugation. Is that enough ventilation? The coop is 4x6 and there are only 4 birds.

And if that will not provide enough ventilation, what should I do? Cut a section of wood and put this in? And do I need 2...one of each opposite end of the coop?



And last question regarding drafts...the small chicken door that leads out to the run (can't see in picture)...does that need to have a door on it assuming the run is completely predator proof? Or would it be too drafty? The roosting bar isn't directly in front of the door. I'd prefer not to have a door as there are several times we aren't up early to open it and not at home at night to close it...

Thanks in advance...

 

[Judy]

If there is a chicken door, that would not be nearly enough ventilation. But if you're going to leave the chicken opening open, I don't see why ventilation would be a problem.

 

[tiny1985]

That would b plenty as long as it doesn't get to hot

 

[aart]

That's a really nice little coop! Bought or homebuilt?


Is that metal roof insulated? They can really make a coop heat up really fast.

Ventilation is very important even, maybe especially, in cold winter areas.
Humidity + cold temps causes frostbite.
1 square foot of ventilation per bird is recommended.

This is a pretty good article on ventilation, read up!

 

[clrdogrl]

It is built by someone local in Maine and the price is right. I love the way it looks but I would need to add plexiglass to the doors for the winter and there are other changes that need to be made too. I'm trying to determine if those changes are worth the cost or if I should buy another one that is already vented in the soffits and has a shingle roof.

The metal roof is not insulated. The only ventilation would be from the ridges in the corrugation so I didn't know if that's enough. I'm not worried about the heat since the coop is under shady trees but I'm worried about the sweating in the winter. Do all metal roofs sweat? There are no rafters (the roof lies directly on the edges of the coop) so I couldn't insulate it.

P.S. The noise of rain and such with a metal roof doesn't bother me...the chicken have a metal portion of roof over their run and they aren't bothered by the noise.

 

[aart]

You might want to add some rafters, better support for the tin, can add a sheet of rigid foam for insulation (concern about condensation is a good one), and add some ventilation around the roof line(cold temps also need great ventilation as frostbite is caused by humid air and frigid temps). Hopefully they put the tin on with screws so it would be easily removable and if it is nailed might be worth the cost of replacing the tin to improve the ventilation/insulation issues.

 

[4 the Birds]

I would get a can of "Good Stuff" (spray foam about 5 bucks) and seal the small holes under the corrugated roof. The problem is that in cold regions it snows. Blowing snow will fill your coop with deep drifts in no time! If you lived where it does not snow then you will be OK. I would cut 6" x 12" holes or vents in all 4 walls up high and add a hinged board above it. This way you can open all the vents in good or warm weather and close or crack them open according to the weather. Not sure if your shown "door" is the only door into the coop or not but you want about a 12' square opening to serve as a pop door for the chickens to go in and out and then a large door for cleaning access. Ideally you will want to build a predator proof run to the coop so that they can go out for fresh air or in the coop at night for shelter. Hope this helps!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If that screen door is your only access to your coop then I don't think you'll be happy with it. When it's time to clean out the coop you will rather have a much larger opening to shovel out the pine shaving and add new. Your likely better off to build your own. Cruise the coop section here and you'll get a lot of ideas and inexpensive alternatives.