My hen breathing hard with mouth open

[sunflowerbee]

I am in the same boat. My goal is to get some extra holes cut out before winter and my husband doesn't get why the extra ventilation is necessary.

Looks like I will be doing it myself.

Yep me too. We got this!!

 

[mclanea]

I'm so sorry that you lost your chicken. Ugh, how frustrating!

Like others have mentioned, you could use a hole saw & cordless drill to cut small vents.

You could cut a vent yourself with a reciprocating saw and install a larger vent, I have 2 of these in my coop. You basically cut a hole, pop it in, and bend the tabs down on the inside. I like that it's got some mesh built into it to keep critters out. Also, if it gets too cold in there over the winter you could just cover it with something magnetic.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Construc...el-Reversible-Foundation-Vent-TW144/202092770

There are other threads for keeping chickens cool. My go-to easy way to keep them cool is to put ice or a frozen jug between bricks/landscape blocks. The ice cools the block which gives them something cool to stand on.

 

[sunflowerbee]

I'm so sorry that you lost your chicken. Ugh, how frustrating!

Like others have mentioned, you could use a hole saw & cordless drill to cut small vents. 

You could cut a vent yourself with a reciprocating saw and install a larger vent, I have 2 of these in my coop. You basically cut a hole, pop it in, and bend the tabs down on the inside. I like that it's got some mesh built into it to keep critters out. Also, if it gets too cold in there over the winter you could just cover it with something magnetic. 
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Construc...el-Reversible-Foundation-Vent-TW144/202092770

There are other threads for keeping chickens cool. My go-to easy way to keep them cool is to put ice or a frozen jug between bricks/landscape blocks. The ice cools the block which gives them something cool to stand on. 

That's a great idea.... Thanks so much

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Yep me too. We got this!!

Hi - I'm in KY, too, and understand your concerns about ventilation. Our coop is a lofted-style gambrel roof barn with a metal roof and two screened windows, one on each side. Last year, my chickens were so hot one evening - even with added ventilation and windows open in their coop - that we had to dip them in cool water. As you can imagine, no one enjoyed that! This year, before the real heat hit (and it just keeps coming), we did the following to make the coop more comfortable for them: built a secure screen door from wood and rabbit wire so that we can leave the front door open even at night; attached 90% shade cloth "sails" to both sides of the coop to shade the coop and also provide a shady spot underneath where the chickens and ducks could hang out; and mounted a large fan toward the top of the coop that we can adjust to point down or up.
We also leave a nipple waterer in the coop at night and put frozen water bottles in there to keep the water cool.

These have made a huge difference, even on those 100+ degree days. We rarely see anyone with wings held out to the sides or beaks open, and no dips have been necessary. I have 2 Brown Leghorns, too, with big, floppy combs - they do better in the heat than some of the other girls, but this heat is brutal for everyone.

 

[sunflowerbee]

Hi - I'm in KY, too, and understand your concerns about ventilation. Our coop is a lofted-style gambrel roof barn with a metal roof and two screened windows, one on each side. Last year, my chickens were so hot one evening - even with added ventilation and windows open in their coop - that we had to dip them in cool water. As you can imagine, no one enjoyed that! This year, before the real heat hit (and it just keeps coming), we did the following to make the coop more comfortable for them: built a secure screen door from wood and rabbit wire so that we can leave the front door open even at night; attached 90% shade cloth "sails" to both sides of the coop to shade the coop and also provide a shady spot underneath where the chickens and ducks could hang out; and mounted a large fan toward the top of the coop that we can adjust to point down or up.
We also leave a nipple waterer in the coop at night and put frozen water bottles in there to keep the water cool.

These have made a huge difference, even on those 100+ degree days. We rarely see anyone with wings held out to the sides or beaks open, and no dips have been necessary. I have 2 Brown Leghorns, too, with big, floppy combs - they do better in the heat than some of the other girls, but this heat is brutal for everyone.

Oh thank you for the ideas

 

[sunflowerbee]

Hi my friends... Have a question.... I have cut out some holes for ventilation around eve of coop. Should put hardware cloth inside of coop or outside over holes? Lol!!

 

[mclanea]

It'd probably look better on the inside. I think if you attach with something strong it won't matter much from a predator perspective.