Prefab Coop Ventilation. How should I do it?

[Kaiser Fertilizer]

Hello,
I want to know as much as I can about ventilation in a prefab coop. My chickens have been sleeping on top of the coop almost all summer, and I want them to go back in before the fall/winter starts. It's likely the reason is excessive heat and poor ventilation. I've heard people with similar situations recommend drilling some holes with a hole saw (at the peak of the coop) then covering them in hardware cloth. But I'd like to know if anyone has any simpler/better ideas. Just so you know this picture of my coop is older, and I have since added some seemingly effective ventilation to the nesting box, but nothing else. I also have 7 chickens right now, and I know this size is not ideal, but I give them a lot of free ranging time.

How should I specifically add ventilation to the coop? If I used a hole saw, how many holes should I drill and how big should they be? Etc.

 

[nuthatched]

Cut the the peak out entirely, if possible.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Holes won't cut it - that's adding sq inches of ventilation, when you need sq ft. It'd be difficult, if not impossible, to add the recommended amount of ventilation (which would be 7 sq ft 24/7) in this coop, without making bigger changes.

I'd highly recommend you consider renovating this coop/run combo into a bigger coop:

To turn it from 2 small "boxes" (tiny coop above tiny run) into 1 bigger "box" you'll want to remove as much of the inside coop wall as possible, plus the floor. Take out the old roosts too.

Nests might be able to stay as is, or may need to be relocated elsewhere or replaced - depends on the structure of the coop and how things inside stack up once done.

Run a new roost(s) lengthwise or widthwise across the newly open space, depending on how much roost is needed. Ideally you’d like 12” per bird but 10” can suffice in many cases.

Board up some of the external wire walls so that the roost area is protected from winds and rain. Do NOT fully cover up all the wire, you need ventilation and natural light, so at the very least a few inches under the roofline should remain open. If your climate allows for it, you can leave entire walls open with just the mesh, or make it convertible for the season by covering up open walls for winter, and then uncovering for summer.

Example of a modified prefab: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-renovated-prefab-coop.1440258/

 

[3KillerBs]

Here's my article on coop ventilation so you can see the sort of airflow you're aiming for: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

That coop is, I'm afraid, simply way too small. If you can take @rosemarythyme's advice it will help a lot.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

6 hens

• 24 square feet in the coop. 4'x6' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber. If you can't walk into it, put the access door in the middle of the long side to make sure you can reach all areas of the coop because a stubborn chicken WILL press itself into/lay an egg in the back corner where you can't reach.
• 6 feet of roost
• 60 square feet in the run. 6'x10' or 8'x8'.
• 6 square feet of ventilation.
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

8 hens

• 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
• 8 feet of roost
• 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
• 8 square feet of ventilation.
• 2-3 nest boxes.