Is this ventilation high enough to avoid drafts?

[CrazyCatLady76]

I'm in the design phase of building our first coop/tractor, and I want to make sure I'm not creating dangerous drafts in my attempts to give adequate ventilation. My current design for the coop part is essentially a 2-ft tall box with a pitched roof on top of that and the eaves open for ventilation. If I put the roost a foot up, that will give them a foot of solid wall before the vents start. Is that enough protection, or do I need to make the coop taller/the vents higher.

Our girls are Golden Comets, so we're expecting them to be fairly average sized hens.

 

[patandchickens]

It depends so much on where you live.

Generally, in warm weather it is fine to have a breeze on the roost. In cold weather, you want your ventilation to be as much at the opposite end of the coop as possible (on the downwind side), for a small coop like that.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[CrazyCatLady76]

I'm in Eastern Kentucky. It gets up near 100 and very humid during deep summer, and frequently in the low 20's in winter. Obviously the top vents aren't going to be sufficient for summer, so I'm planning windows on the long sides of the coop that are level with the roost. That part I feel like is pretty under control. I just don't want a moving breeze right at head level when it's cold, and I can't find any height estimates for specific breeds so I don't know how high their heads would be.

Also, I've read in some books that you want some of your vents on opposite sides of the coop to improve air flow, so I had planned to put roughly 4sf of vents in the eaves on both ends of an 8' long coop. Is that a bad idea, then?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Vents on opposite sides is good for summer.

But not for winter if you feel that temperature/wind-chill will be an issue (and for some chickens in some sites in some parts of KY they WOULD sometimes be an issue, IMO).

I would suggest simply planning on closing the upwind vents during cold winter weather, and having only the furthest-from-roost-and-downwind vents open. For small coops that generally does about as well as you *can* to give you fresh air without drafts at chickens.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat