open air coops

[Davaroo]

Did you know that the term coop originally described a small carrier for chickens?

thanks d for the links. always up for some more reading. seems like the more i know, the less i know. hahah

Thats why I prefer the wisdom of our elders when it comes to chickens. They weren't bogged down with so much high falootin' knowledge.... they knew what worked and mostly stuck to it.​

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Sure it makes sense. What do you think the relative humidity was in each case? That affects frostbite considerably -- is why it's so important to, you know, have a well-ventilated coop

Also, climate makes a biiiiiig difference. Leaving one side of your coop open makes perfect sense in some parts of the country. In other parts, you need to make sure that storms don't come in that side by making it closeable. And some places that get Really Really Cold it's just going to be a nonstarter.

Pat

 

[lalyswishytail]

I was just about to write this exact thread question myself!! In fact, I was even going to reference the same book as well as Robert Plamondon.

Anyways, I would like to know specifically what to design for the cold witner climates of Chicago and northward. The Norton Creek Press shows pictures of coops, (more like sheds), with a roof and three and a half walls. Would anyone really advise that it's a good idea to let in so much fresh air? People have written a lot about ventilation, but I am having the hardest time visualizing what it should look like in the coop I'm about to build. If the roof is an upside-down V shape, do I leave space under the point in the back and if so, how much space? Three inches? Five? A foot? In the front, should I follow the old designs and leave the top half totally open?

I can't mandate anyone to answer my questions, but if you do, can you please, please be really detailed in your description? It would be so much more helpful than just writing "yes, create ventilation," as I already said I don't know what that looks like.

Thanks, and I hope I didn't sound pushy!

 

[CANDLE98]

Our coop has windows that we are going to cover in the winter and then open in the summer. Do you think that is open air enough?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
For whatever it's worth, the first person I met who had chickens in Canada (I've only been here six or seven years), about 15 minutes down the road from me, had an old style coop (it wasn't actually that old, I mean, but what people here are calling 'open air' which to me is just yer basic older chicken coop). Three solid draftproof sides, decent roof overhang, and the front wall was basically all just wire mesh. She stapled heavy plastic over the front in winter (not a very windy location), that was it, no heat lamp or anything like that. Her chickens did FINE.

So things like that can certainly work in more northern climates provided you have a way to close it up for winter. (Not airtight or without ventilation, of course, just 'as if it were a regular coop') And presumably have sensibly chosen breeds.

The Norton Creek Press shows pictures of coops, (more like sheds), with a roof and three and a half walls. Would anyone really advise that it's a good idea to let in so much fresh air?

Well sure. Why not?? As long as the weather remains unvicious enough. Then you can close up the open parts. No big deal.

The things you're looking at on Bob Plamondon's site are really, really typical older style coops, and they work real well. In a hotter climate you'd want much more ventilation than that, even, like two or three walls fully or mostly mesh.

having more ventilation available is WAY WAY WAY preferable to not enough

If the roof is an upside-down V shape, do I leave space under the point in the back and if so, how much space? Three inches? Five? A foot? In the front, should I follow the old designs and leave the top half totally open?

Sorry I don't have photos - my current 'coop' is a converted dog breeding/boarding kennel building and really does not have a lot to do with the way most people here keep their chickens

But lots of people here DO have photos, just browse thru the Coops section of this site with everyone's personal pages on their coops.

In a wintery climate your best bet IMHO is as follows: have adjustible vent openings under the eaves of the roof on all 4 sides, with flaps/sliders/whatever that allow you to adjust how much each of them is/isn't open. Then ALSO have as much openable window space as possible, and/or a wall that is mostly just wire mesh (but with a plywood panel or whatever that you bolt on for wintertime). I would suggest that in a typical size coop, stocked at a typical density (like 3-4 sq ft per chicken), a reasonable general ballpark figure would be something like 1 sq ft of ventilation openings per chicken. More is better though -- easier to have and not need, than need and not have, you know? Of course all openings need to be screened in a predatorproof way, and the better they're tucked under overhangs to discourage rain from blowing in, the better.

(e.t.a. - having windows be your only ventilation source is not ideal, because a) they're usually only on one or two walls and b) they're typically not openable at the tippy top, which is where you want your wintertime ventilation for maximal effect. If you ahve doublehung windows high on all 4 walls, and they are sufficient in area for your coop size / # chickens, then it could be a reasonable substitute -- otherwise, I would really suggest having sizeable ventilation openings IN ADDITION TO yer windows.)

Hope this helps some,

Pat​

 

[lalyswishytail]

Thanks Pat, that did help!

I noticed in the photos of your coop that you used floor vents for ventilators. Would you say those do a good job of keeping the draft out when they are closed? If yes, (and this probably sounds dumb), would you build walls with a bunch of those vents lined up around the top perimeter?

 

[tdgill]

still looking to narrow down the "draft" issue. Not sure what is meant by drafts since the open air coop i was reading about stays open thru the winter as well with snow blowing in even.

and to think i was just gonna get a couple of chickens for fun. hahahah. actually i've been enjoying looking at the breeds and coops and hencam more than i could have imagined.

but i have half a coop started...so i'm gonna not "chicken out"

btw, where did THAT phrase come from?

I'm getting kinda "cooped up" with the icy snow here in maryland, think i'll go out and ponder the shed again. i'm afraid it needs moved or raised up some. we had to replace backside t-111 siding a few years ago, i thought it was just rain dripping down from lack of gutters, but now i've been wondering about slope and drainage and thinking moisture is from bottom up. i have a concrete pad just in front of the shed that was FOR a shed, that we put up for a bb court...haha. BF is gonna love this one. "honey, can we move the 10x20 shed?" for the chickens

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Well, mind, that's just my tractor, not the main chicken building

I like 'em ok I guess. I'm not sure I'd use it as my sole or major ventilation feature on a fullsized coop though.

First because it would probably end up significanlyt more expensive than anything you built yourself (I paid $1 apiece at a recycling store, I think they are $4 retail). And second because they are just not that big, and furthermore the way the louvres are constructed limits airflow more than I'd prefer.

Really I'd recommend something more along the lines of the upper vent of that tractor (although you could build it a LOT more accurately and tidily than I did

) - a 6-12" slot all the way along the top of each wall, or at least between studs, with probably several segments of flaps or sliders to close it down partway or all the way as weather dictates. For winter use you'd want weatherstripping so that when the flaps were closed they were *really* closed... my tractor is only for summertime so I did not bother.

Also I am pretty certain they would ice up and become immoveable in some of the weather we get here, and probably some of yours too.

JMO though,

Pat

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

We live in a warm climate and chose to make an open air coop (see link below). The attached run makes up the 4th side and is secure so the chickens can put themselves to bed and we don't need to lock them up at night (although we do have to put them back into the coop every day after they free-range).

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=111571&p=1

 

[plreef]

I built my coop with only 4 walls here in Connecticut. The top is wide open but protected from the rain because of the roof of my garage protects it. Its get pretty drafty in there and it been really cold lately too. But my birds are all still laying. They don't seem to be affected by the draft.

Here is a pic of the coop.

Here is a pic of the garage before I built the coop.