My chickens don't like their coop :( please help

[ejducharme]

So I built a coop for my chickens. It's is 5x4x5 inside. Roosts are about 14 inches off the ground, 2 inches across. There were two vents along two of the walls, about 24 inches by 4 inches wide and the entire top of the coop was wired with corrugated plastic arched over it for more ventilation. The other morning, I walked out to let the chickens out, and one of them was panting terribly and wouldn't come out. The others stayed with her and after about an hour, they were all panting. The inside of the coop was 90 degrees inside...

I bought a small window a/c and installed it into the coop. I use it on the low fan setting, not the cold setting, because I don't want them getting sick, but now they won't go inside the coop at all. I have to physically put them inside the box part myself, and they won't sit on the roosts. (They had been roosting on the sides of the nest box as it had no roof to it, but I took that out to install the a/c). They huddle in one corner of the box, opposite the a/c and at the door they go out of to get into the run area. Should I take out the a/c? The inside of the coop stays around 75-80 degrees with the a/c on, but that's because our nights are still mild. In the summer, it will be around 90 at night because of the heat during the day.

So any suggestions on what I should do? I'm using aspen bedding that is about 3 inches deep, so the roosts (which are now the highest point in the coop) are about 12 inches from the ground. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. I posted picture of my coop in progress previously, so I can do that again if needed.

 

[teach1rusl]

Wow...90 degrees inside is really bad...so early on in the year too...careful or you're gonna' have baked chicken. How high would it get by summer time??? I don't know about others, but a pic. would help me a lot. What did you take out to put the ac unit in???
So are you thinking that there's simply not enough ventilation??? Is the corrugated plastic roofing the clear stuff, because that would create a virtual greenhouse. Is the coop in a shaded area? If not, can you put some kind of shade over it??? Is the ac unit really loud? Is it blowing directly on them (because I doubt they would like that). Sometimes it just takes a while for chickens to adjust to new things too. I put curtains up in my coop to help block light/heat (have an all glass door, so I had to get THAT covered), and they stressed out about these new THINGS in the coop for two days.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

You need a roof vent to help get rid of the hot air. Do your chickens know how to get out of the coop. How steep is the ladder to get down?

Pictures would be good

 

[ejducharme]

There is a roof vent. the corrugated plastic was 4 inches off the top of the hardware cloth at the high point, and 2 inches in the middle so it slanted for rain to drain off.. so virtually the whole top of the box was a vent for the air. And it was white plastic to reflect heat.

Here is one of the vent sides. The vent is the unpainted area ovbiously. lol

This is where the nest box was, but is now an a/c window unit. The small roosts were taken out for the new 2x1 roosts. I'll take pics of those in the A.M. if needed.

The coop isn't in a shaded area right now, but as the trees around it get the rest of their leaves it will be shaded almost 95% of the run area and the coop. The a/c isn't loud to me, but i'm sure it is to them and I have it pointed to the big door for me to clean out the coop, so away from the roosts, but they huddle in the corner away from the roosts against the big door, so I'm sure it's hitting them some, but it's on low.

The ladder is ok for them to get up and down on, they were putting themselves to bed before I installed the a/c unit, but I don't know what to do about the heat so they don't end up "baked" chickens. My putting in the a/c unit is the only thing that's changed in the last couple of days.

 

[greenpeeps]

The roost look to small. Those big toes need more to hold on too

this is a new coop for existing chickens?? Then you need to lock them in there for a few days to rehome them.

 

[Chicken0Boy]

Quote:
Also the roost look to close together

, but thats just my opinion. Besides that all looks well!

 

[ejducharme]

those roosts aren't there anymore. We took them out because previously I was told they were too small. There are now two roosts, about 14-15 inches high, 2 inches wide and about 3 feet long each.

 

[teach1rusl]

Okay, then I would just stick them in there for a few more days at night. I'm thinking that it's because it's new and makes noise. I think within a week they will adjust. My curtains didn't make noise, and it took them two days to adjust. Something that makes noise is scary. So where will you place the nest box now???

ETA: Was talking to DH about this. He says that even if the cor. roofing is white, it's letting light and heat through big time, and that you either need to paint the roofing, insulate the ceiling, or use a sheet of plywood under the cor. plastic. He seemed to think any of those would help a lot. Good luck! I sure hope you figure this out.

 

[ejducharme]

the nest box is going to be an outside box instead of inside the coop like it was. It's going on the side in the picture, with the vent. My babies are only about 2 months old right now, so I figure we have a couple of months before they start laying to worry about getting it done.

 

[BankerJohn]

I read that there is a ridge vent for heat escaping. Are there any floor vents to allow for air intake to complete the air exchange cycle. 90 this early sounds pretty hot!