Putting my girls in the coop in 2 weeks questions

[FireGurl26]

Sounds good then...still a tad small for the attached run, but considering they have plenty of space to free roam, I don't think they'll mind!



Very good point. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I don't see any vents other than those two windows. The windows are big but not placed in a way to move air from the bottom of the coop up out through the edges of the roof, to move ammonia out. Stagnating ammonia air can be deathly toxic to birds (and humans, too). Too little space and poor ventilation is common in the pre-built coops. Here's yet another good article on ventilation:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

I posted the other ventilation i have in the above post.

 

[junebuggena]

We're looking at snow up here Saturday, so i am gonna wait till at least they are 5 weeks old. I have em in my garage currently in a brooder/grow up pen. No, those aren't the only ventilation....there is also 2 long vents behind the roost bars that you can open or close and lock. I also mounted a small fan in the coop. We really don't get that hot up here...but the girls will have access to outside anyways.

Good, but not enough. And ventilation isn't just important in warm weather. It is just as essential, if not more so, to have tons of ventilation for those cold winter months. Chickens produce a lot of moisture at night, and if that moist air can't escape, it will condense and freeze on the combs, causing frostbite. You need lots and lots of cross ventilation above roosting height to get adequate airflow.

 

[FireGurl26]

Good, but not enough. And ventilation isn't just important in warm weather. It is just as essential, if not more so, to have tons of ventilation for those cold winter months. Chickens produce a lot of moisture at night, and if that moist air can't escape, it will condense and freeze on the combs, causing frostbite. You need lots and lots of cross ventilation above roosting height to get adequate airflow.

Well, the two ventilations behind the roosts are the full length of the coop itself and about 8" tall. , one is above the top roost...the other is adjacent to the bottom roost, still above and below the two windows. I have 6 chicks right now. I probably won't get any more chicks unless i get a bigger coop. I do know about cross ventilation and positive pressure ventilation as I am a firefighter, lol. I heard about the moisture possibly causing frostbite in the winter months, that is why I won't use a heater in the winter. Nice thing is the coop and run are on wheels so I can bring em in the pole barn if we get a long period of -30 degrees up here. Thanks for the input.