Pre-fab Coop Ventilation 🥵 my chickens are hot!!

[ddago003]

We are also in FL. It is blazing here as you know. Much hotter than it should be for this time of year. I'll share what we do and what has worked for us thus far.

Our girls have an open air run attached to a prefab and the run is covered with a tarp that serves as the roof. They are also under trees. Move your coop under a tree if you have one and put a canopy over it if you have one. Perhaps a table umbrella if you have one. Time to get creative. There is no cross breeze for them and that fence probably radiates heat onto the coop since it's wood.

We removed vents and windows in the coop and replaced them with hardware cloth. The coop is not inside the run as it would take up too much space so we cannot remove the doors as they would be totally exposed and it would take up too much run space. We have a white canopy over the coop that is up full time and provides total shade for the coop, lowering the temp by 15 degrees. We also have the run fully tarped which serves as the roof as well as tarps that we use on the run "walls" (wire) hung with bungee cords that blocks the sun in the morning and afternoon. We also have four fans running at all times, one in the coop and three outside the run. Yes, it requires running extension cords to the house. If you do this, ensure you buy / use the outlet splitters rated for exterior use as well as outdoor extension cords. The cords are the most expensive aspect of running the fans but a small price to pay to provide air movement, albeit hot air. It's important to get air flowing in the coop, especially at night.

Try this fan:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DP4F63BV?ref_=pe_123509780_1038749300_t_fed_asin_title&th=1

It's quick to charge, has a thin profile, can be hung on your hardware cloth or set up on its stand inside the coop. It has a long battery life and it's the best small fan we've discovered yet for interior coop space. It has four speeds and they all blow phenomenally well. It has helped us tremendously. I highly recommend it for inside the coop.

We have been running 4 box fans for the past month when it turned hot. While our electric bill has taken a hit by $35 in one month, we are still getting eggs from all our girls every day. They are handling the heat very well but do pant and wings are out in the hottest part of the day. Hot is hot. There is no getting away from 104 heat index no matter what you do.

It looks like their run floor is pine shavings? If you can, add some dirt so they have something to dig down into to get cool and can dirt bath which will help with the plethora of insects we have here. Pine shavings can be hot to lay on based on how they are to the touch when we collect eggs.

We found Home Depot has the best selection of hardware cloth depending on your need. Rolls come in various lengths. Determine how you can enclose the top and tarp it out. They need shade and air movement.

Best of luck. Congratulations on your first flock.

Oh my goodness yes it has been crazy hot. And less rain than usual isn’t helping. I love how you have a canopy over the coop. That makes perfect sense and seems like such an easy fix. We were thinking of adding a canopy to the run, but placing it over the coop for cooler temp makes perfect sense. That would work perfectly in our setup and also would add some extra shade outside the coop for them. We have been putting a fan outside during the day (in addition to the solar fan already attached to their coop). They seem to like the extra fan but it’s not water proof so we have to keep an eye on the weather when it’s outside. I’ll def be looking into the fan you suggested. Their floor IS pine shavings, but it’s only an inch or two thick so they are able to dig down into the soil when they’re hot. It’s pretty sandy, but they have a compost pile they love digging in for bugs. I didn’t think about the pine shavings being hot to the touch! I’ll have to check tomorrow, I hope they aren’t burning their feet! If you have a picture of your setup I would love to see it to help visualize. Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback!

 

[Bawkbok]

If you have a picture of your setup I would love to see it to help visualize.

I'll work on taking pictures tomorrow. The canopy is large enough - 10x10 I think - that it also covers the fans outside the coop so i don't worry about them too much and I think the breaker would trip if for some reason it got wet or something goofy happened like a squirrel chewed on the cord. We chose a white canopy to deflect the sun and we have it on the highest notch to allow more space and air flow between the canopy and coop. The downside is that a canopy can trap air which could make the coop hotter so the more space between the two the better. With all the fans running that hasn't been a problem.
So if you start cutting holes in the walls of your coop, and you have to take the canopy down in a rain storm, your girls may get wet. You might want to think about creating an awning over the holes you cut so the rain can wash away from the holes. I don't know where one goes to rummage through construction remnants but with all the new construction going on in this state, depending on where you live, it should be pretty easy to get some scrap items.

 

[Bawkbok]

@ddago003 - As promised here are pictures of the chicken setup. The large run is 12'L x 9'H and covered with a heavy duty tarp. The canopy is 10' tall and encompasses the entire coop and smaller run which is 9' x 5'. We oriented it in an East / West direction to catch sea breezes which don't kick up until late afternoon / evening here. You can also see the front picture depicting the full East morning sun shining straight into the run so it is covered with tarps until it hits the trees.
The girls are up front in the shade, another is standing on the veranda in front of the small box fan that blows directly into the coop. There are two more smaller fans inside the coop running at all times pointing at the nests and from the front screened window pointing toward the back door which is ajar, fastened with industrial strength velcro in order to allow air movement throughout. We don't open this too far to prevent song birds and squirrels from getting in. We also have a large box fan on the back side pointing under the coop; air also blows into the back door and vents. Essentially, the fans are situated in all directions, keeping air moving about. The girls are not panting while on nest. It seems to be working thus far. We will see how things go once we hit triple digit temperatures, which doesn't seem to be far off. I hope this gives you some ideas for how to shade and ventilate your spaces. Let us know how it goes.

 

[townchicks]

I second the popup canopy suggestion. I only use my small prefab coop occasionally now, for rehab or introduction, but it is covered by a popup canopy year round. Not only does it keep things cooler in summer, it protects it from rain for the most part. Between painting every four or five years, and protection from the elements, it's going strong 9 years in. Tie it down good though, mine nearly jumped a six foot fence, one windy day.