New coop build

[Frstimechick]

Good afternoon! My husband and I are new to chickens. We're almost done with our coop and I wanted to double check that we didn't miss anything important. For starts, we live in central Iowa. Our coop is 4' x 5' for 4 chickens and the run is 8' x 5' with another 4 ft under the coop. The run has hardware cloth on all sides and the roof. There's hardware cloth all around the bottom of the coop. We have 3 vents cut out with hardware cloth covering them and the 2 on the sides have louvered vent covers so they can be adjusted if need be for rain and snow. There's 2 nesting boxes.
The coop is under some trees so the chickens
will have sun for a couple of hours in the morning then shade for the rest of the day. It was 82° this afternoon after we were done working and I went and sat in the coop. Temperature wise, it was comfortable. There was a little breeze going through but not enough to blow my hair.
*Things left to do....bury hardware cloth around the coop and run, fix the chicken door, place locks on the nesting box, build a ramp and touch up some paint.*
Thoughts and opinions?!

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. That's a nice build for a first effort. You must have done your research.

The coop is a good size and the run meets the minimums.

2 things,

First, since you're in an area that gets a fair amount of snow you might want to put a roof on the run so you don't have to keep shoveling it out. Most chickens don't like to go out in the snow.

Second, shade is great for temperature, but you are going to need more ventilation, especially in the winter. One of the primary functions of the ventilation is to remove moisture, which is absolutely critical in the winter because while chickens readily tolerate temperatures down to 0F and even below if it's DRY cold, wet cold can cause frostbite at temperatures barely below freezing.

 

[MarkRainbolt]

I think you and your husband did a fantastic job!!!! 20 square foot is plenty for 4 chickens. If you could put a roof on the run it would help you when it snows and rains. Congratulations on a nice job.
Mark

 

[rosemarythyme]

We're getting confused on how to make ventilation without drafts.

Cut out (and cover with wire mesh) these bright pink parts, front and back if possible (not sure if you will have a water intrusion issue at the high part of the slope due to the height of the top of the run framing).

 

[Frstimechick]

I think you and your husband did a fantastic job!!!! 20 square foot is plenty for 4 chickens. If you could put a roof on the run it would help you when it snows and rains. Congratulations on a nice job.
Mark

Thank you! We're going to cover run in the winter for sure. The trees it sits under make a canopy so if it rains they may not even know it. LOL Worse case, if we have a thunderstorm, nasty rain or tornado coming they'll be put into the coop.

 

[Frstimechick]

I just realized the angle I took the last pic makes the run look incredibly crooked at the end but it's not!

 

[Frstimechick]

@3KillerBs Thank you! We're going to cover the run in the winter for sure. Last winter we got a dump of 12" in a day and some winters we get 12" over 4 months but either way I don't want to shovel it out. (Did I mention I hate winter and ask my husband repeatedly to move?)

Would you recommend bigger or more vents?

 

[John Canfield]

Look at the ventilation Carolina Coops uses in their coop design. Search for Carolina Coops, they have quite a few pictures on their website.

 

[3KillerBs]

Larger vents -- full open soffits at the top and bottom of the roof slope if possible (covered with hardware cloth).

You want your airflow to look like this:

 

[3KillerBs]

@3KillerBs We're getting confused on how to make ventilation without drafts.

What I illustrated is draft-free because the airflow is above the chickens' heads when they're sitting on their roost.

Have a look at my brooder -- which has 16 square feet of permanent ventilation and 10 feet of supplemental ventilation but which is completely draft-free at chick level.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/