Is this enough ventilation?

[michelle127]

I am a "new mother" to our four chickens. Our girls were born on May 5th, 2013 so they are 26 weeks old. We got them when they were a day old on May 6th. We have a Black Australorp (Muffin), Buff Orpington (Nugget), Silver Laced Wyandotte (Oreo), and an Americauna (Peanut). Against what some people advised, we chose to keep their brooder in our house. We chose to do this because of the extra time and interaction we would have with them. They moved outside after all of their feathers came in. We constructed a roughly 4x4 coop. It was constructed with typical lumber and plywood, with insulation and then paneling for walls. There is also siding on the outside. (Pretty well insulated!) We live in Wisconsin where it can get down right cold during the winter. Right now, our lows are around 20F and highs around 35F. We clean the coop weekly- taking out everything and starting fresh.
Here are three pictures of the coop. We put a 14x6 wall vent in the big white door. I'm hoping it's enough ventilation but don't want to lose one of my girls because of it.

 

[michelle127]

Here's a pic of the vent we put in the door. The other pics were pre-vent. We put a deflector on to avoid wind blowing in.

 

[Rooster Rules]

Good idea, a small roof vent might have worked well in your lil coop too.I might cut in a vent on my coops walk though door too, I will make a damper on the inside of the door, to control the air flow, or to block it completely.
Vents near the ceiling or through the roof really are best, allowing moisture and gases to escape......RR

 

[Going Quackers]

It's cute and there isn't a thing wrong with brooding chickens in the house, every chicken here started that way

My big hens are still super tame despite living in a coop outside and free ranging as adults. I have a vent in my door of my big coop too... i also have some up at the top of the sides.

 

[michelle127]

Thank you for the input. Do you guys think its enough ventilation though? If we have to modify it, I'd rather do it now than when its in the negatives.
I love having tame chickens

 

[Grey Roo]

Lots of good construction information to found in BYC. When in doubt try the search portion and find great articles about ventilation like this one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop. I do not think your ventilation is adequate myself, ventilation needs to be high up, you don't want them in a cold draft either.

 

[Going Quackers]

I would agree it needs some on the sides near the top, that avoids drafts but gives ventilation. That article given by the PP is a good read!

 

[4 the Birds]

Thank you for the input. Do you guys think its enough ventilation though? If we have to modify it, I'd rather do it now than when its in the negatives.
I love having tame chickens

Looks fine. Perhaps next Spring you could add a similar 14x6 vent to the opposite side for cross ventilation. You may also want to cut a 14x6 board and add hinges to the top to create and awning over the vents and also have the ability to close off an upwind vent during a storm event. It looks like you free range but I would increase the size of your run. I am also confused how the birds get from the coop into the run??? You could add a roof board extending out from the pop door side and enclose an extended run area. This way you could leave the pop door open with a ramp down to a secure run during the warm seasons. Hope this helps!

 

[michelle127]

Grey Roo- The vent that's in the door is just above where their heads are on the roost. I think I will have to ad some extra ventilation in.
4 The Birds- I can't add a vent on the opposite side because that's where the nesting boxes are (The walls taper on that end). The vent that is in the door now has a slider to close it down if there's a storm (Just like the ones in our house). As far as the run, that is the temporary winter run. It is 4x4. In the summer, we move the coop out into the open and connect a 6x4 run to it, making it 10x4 which is all we are allowed by out city. We allow them to free range almost daily so just in the morning they are confined. I took the pictures before doing the final attachment of the ramp. I attached a picture so it ends the confusion but the "chicken door" is open all day so they can get into the run and it's secure so no worries there.
During the summer, we will have a different big door that will be a "screen door" so it's more ventilation. Also, the small window in the picture can be opened and will be open all summer.
As far as winter, should I open up the small window an inch or two? Would that be enough for winter? Or do I still need to add some?