My Coop

[ValerieJ]

What you show in those pictures looks like an awesome coop to me, but @aart is the expert when it comes to coops, and especially roosting bars and nesting boxes. I'm copying his in my new coop this spring.

 

[DecT]

but is the ventilation/draft okay?

 

[aart]

but is the ventilation/draft okay?

Impossible to tell from your pics how the whole coop is laid out and thus where the roosts are in relation to the windows.

Best way to assess your ventilation is to stand inside the coop in a really windy day and feel the air movement.
Maybe reading this will help you:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ventilated-but-free-of-drafts.1048597/

 

[DecT]

sorry for terrible pics, I haven't got roasts put up yet, I will take more pictures and make an online design... will this help?

 

[ValerieJ]

So basically, you need to have lots of ventilation, but you don't want it to blow on the roosts. So, roosts have to be positioned out of the direct airflow. Depending on where you put them you can close off parts of the windows, but replace the ventilation somewhere else. I think, and @aart can clarify this, you need a square foot of ventilation per 4 sq ft of floor space. I'd like to know if I'm right about this actually, because that's what we're planning in ours.

 

[DecT]

would it matter much if I had more than 1 square foot of ventilation per 4 sq ft of floor space?

 

[ValerieJ]

I don't think so, as long as it doesn't blow directly on the chickens.

 

[DecT]

thank you so much for your reply(s), I live in the UK so guessing it doesn't get so cold in winter as (some places) in the USA. just more mild, damp, just guessing.

 

[ValerieJ]

I'm in Washington state and would guess my weather is very much like yours. Winter here brings lots of rain. The main thing to think about is keeping the chickens dry. If they are dry, and there is no breeze blowing on them, they will be fine. Our winds here are always accompanied by rain, so I have to be sure that is not blowing into my coops. I don't have any windows on the west side of the coops because most of our weather comes from that direction.

 

[DecT]

That also another issue I am facing with all the open windows it may get wet from all the rain getting in... should I have shutters or something like that?