Question about Ventilation and Light

[danepup]

Hi all,

My builder just finished my coop and the girls are moved in. This is a customized version of the Garden Loft. I'm double checking with the plan designers to see if we missed a step, but the only ventilation in the henhouse is the door (that goes up and down on a pulley). Because the henhouse is enclosed in the coop and it's "predator proof" - as well as situated in my backyard, in town, and I have four big dogs that roam the backyard - I planned to leave that door up so the girls could come and go as they please.

Problem one - is they won't go in the henhouse. They climb up the ladder and all sit on the balcony. Last night I shoved two in and sprinkled some meal worms, put them up on a roost, and they stayed there all night, but the other three just sat out on the balcony.

We did put a transom window on the back of the henhouse, but it's about 2 feet from my house, so it doesn't let in much light. I've been leaving one of the double doors to the henhouse open at night in hopes that they'll feel more inclined to go in there. Maybe it's just too nice out (not cold enough) so they're not going in?

I live in Iowa, so I don't want to punch too many extra vent holes in the henhouse that can't be covered up for those super cold winter days - but I'm wondering if I need to (1) figure out how to add another window for more light (something on the side or even in the double doors) and/or (2) something for ventilation. I'm sharing photos of the coop and also a window I just found on amazon that perhaps I could put (one or two) in the double doors or on the egg box side if my builder won't kill me for adding something after we were "all done."

Thank you.
A.
Image 1: Window option off Amazon
Image 2: Coop1 - Front of coop and run from outside
Image 3: Coop2 - Window on the back of the coop and distance next to house
Image 4: Coop 3 - Image taken through henhouse door - it's lighter in there than I expected when the double doors are closed.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If this is the style of coop I'm thinking, the entire top of the coop should've been left open with wire mesh to allow the entire "roof" of the coop to be open ventilation with the run roof serving as climate protection.

In cold weather ventilation is just as crucial as in hot weather as moisture needs to escape in order to reduce risk of frostbite, so you still really want to aim for roughly 1 sq ft of ventilation 24/7 per bird in the winter and have it up high as hot, moist air rises.

If it's currently dark and stuffy inside the coop, the chickens won't be inclined to want to use it. But if this is completely new, their unfamiliarity might also play a part - hard to say because it doesn't look that dark in photos? Though I do need to point out, the roost looks high relative to the landing space "in front" of it. If the roost is 2' high for example, the birds need 2' or more in front in order to land safely.

 

[danepup]

If this is the style of coop I'm thinking, the entire top of the coop should've been left open with wire mesh to allow the entire "roof" of the coop to be open ventilation with the run roof serving as climate protection.

In cold weather ventilation is just as crucial as in hot weather as moisture needs to escape in order to reduce risk of frostbite, so you still really want to aim for roughly 1 sq ft of ventilation 24/7 per bird in the winter and have it up high as hot, moist air rises.

If it's currently dark and stuffy inside the coop, the chickens won't be inclined to want to use it. But if this is completely new, their unfamiliarity might also play a part - hard to say because it doesn't look that dark in photos? Though I do need to point out, the roost looks high relative to the landing space "in front" of it. If the roost is 2' high for example, the birds need 2' or more in front in order to land safely.

That’s what I was wondering. I didn’t catch the error until the coop was complete but have since found a photo from the plan website that shows that. I’ve talked to my builder about fixing it or cutting some skylights in the roof that we can cover with mesh. I’ll also see about lowering the long perch to just above the nest box. There are other perching options in there, but first I need them to go inside.

I can’t/won’t shut them in there to get acquainted with the coop until we get the ventilation issue resolved. The coop has only been done for a little over a week. Thank you.

 

[aart]

Confused about the image labels, are there 3 coops?

Pics of coop and run from farther back and all around would help.

 

[danepup]

Confused about the image labels, are there 3 coops?

Pics of coop and run from farther back and all around would help.

No, there's one coop - a henhouse inside of a coop. The photos are of the front, the back (where the window is for light) and the inside taken through the henhouse drop down door. I got my questions answered already, though, and we're working on a fix.

 

[danepup]

If this is the style of coop I'm thinking, the entire top of the coop should've been left open with wire mesh to allow the entire "roof" of the coop to be open ventilation with the run roof serving as climate protection.

In cold weather ventilation is just as crucial as in hot weather as moisture needs to escape in order to reduce risk of frostbite, so you still really want to aim for roughly 1 sq ft of ventilation 24/7 per bird in the winter and have it up high as hot, moist air rises.

If it's currently dark and stuffy inside the coop, the chickens won't be inclined to want to use it. But if this is completely new, their unfamiliarity might also play a part - hard to say because it doesn't look that dark in photos? Though I do need to point out, the roost looks high relative to the landing space "in front" of it. If the roost is 2' high for example, the birds need 2' or more in front in order to land safely.

Thanks again. I talked to my builder and he says it's all an easy fix. We're going to pop out the roof and add wire mesh and lower the roosting bar. Whew!

A.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks again. I talked to my builder and he says it's all an easy fix. We're going to pop out the roof and add wire mesh and lower the roosting bar. Whew!

If for any reason popping the roof off the coop portion isn't easy to do, the "skylight" idea has also been done on here as well (not the exact same coop as yours, but similar in that the run roof provides most of the protection over coop ceiling) and that would also do the job as long as they're large openings, like more than 50% of the coop ceiling.