question on ventilation

[jaimslee4u]

I just have a quick question for anyone with coop experience. I am in the process of building my coop and am worried about ventilation. I have read that it is important to have ventilation but that it is also important to not have any drafts in the winter.

Which is more important?

I was thinking about putting a small wired ventilation area about 2 inches wide and across the the lenghth of the coop. But now with living in Northern New England I am worried about drafts.

Any ideas?

 

[elmo]

You want to avoid a situation where your birds would have to roost in an area where winds blow directly over them--that's what's meant by avoiding drafts.

You can put your ventilation openings up high (higher than where you place your roosts). Some people use three sided coops, with one whole wall open to the air (but covered with hardware cloth). Other people put in additional ventilation windows that can be covered during the coldest weather.

Adequate ventilation is critical to birds' health because of the nature of their respiratory systems.

My coop is open on all sides with a sheltered area at the back where my chickens can get out of the wind. However, I live in an area where the temps rarely go down to freezing.

 

[patandchickens]

The two are in no way contradictory. All that's meant is, don't have breezes blowing at the chickens (in winter that is - in summer it can be a *good* thing

)

What works best is to put a long (wall-length) vent high on several walls where it's protected by the roof overhang, with flaps to close each vent partially or totally depending on the weather.

Unless you have very few chickens in there, you will be wanting more than just a 2" high vent, and ideally on more than one wall (although in some weather you may want only the downwind wall's vent *open*)... but your general concept is good

See my Ventilation page link (in .sig below) for a lot more on the subject.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[tlharv]

It's a good question -- I've found that my design needs some changes so the hens are out of the blast. For me, it'll be louvres on the vents to break the wind, and lower perches. That's on this weekend's chore list

I know hens aren't the brightest, but would one perch up high even if that meant being in a drafty place? Or do they dislike drafts and will seek a better place to roost?

 

[BroomFarm]

Pat,

You seem to be the resident authority, so...do you have a recommended amount of ventilation? I was hoping for something expressed in "X" numbered of inches squared, for "X" number of cubic feet of coop.

Our coop is small; 6'X8' floor with a 30 degree sloping roof, so it is only 4' high in the front and maybe 30" high, in the back. I'm guessing it is something shy of 150 cubic feet of total space.

The roof has a skyvent (an opaque plastic skylight/vent) that sits on a 10" hole and has louvered openings all the way around it to allow for ventilation. The rest of the ceiling is insulated with rigid foam and covered with 1/8" sheets of plywood. The sides of the coop are not insulated, but all the seams are tight and caulked. I have been meaning to go out with a candle or powder on a very windy day and check thoroughly for drafts.

Given that the coop is so small in cubic feet, I'm hoping the girls won't need more than a 75 watt bulb (used to maintain 14 hours of daylight, more than warmth) to keep from suffering damage to their combs. Do you think I should add a little more ventilation to one side of the coop?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Have you taken a look at my ventilation page, which discusses that somewhat. The best I am willing to do is give a safe general ballpark figure, which except for in hot climates or *very* crowded coops is fairly sure to be adequate (although in some cases you might turn out to be able to get away with less -- but it can't HURT to risk overbuilding ventilation, since it will be adjustable). I would suggest that, except for hot climates or very crowded coops, you will be in good shape if you have one square foot of vent space per chicken, or (if you want a less-ample less-guaranteed-to-work number) one square foot of vent space per 10 sq ft of floor space. I would advise closer to the former than the latter, as it really sucks to have to hack holes in the coop in the middle of winter

The roof has a skyvent (an opaque plastic skylight/vent) that sits on a 10" hole and has louvered openings all the way around it to allow for ventilation.

I am not sure I am envisioning this correctly, but if I am, be vigilant in watching it for leaks and blown-in rain, and you may well have to shut off those vents during part of the winter (when it is very cold, and when there is blowing snow).

Given that the coop is so small in cubic feet, I'm hoping the girls won't need more than a 75 watt bulb (used to maintain 14 hours of daylight, more than warmth) to keep from suffering damage to their combs.

I would not actually expect you'd need ANY supplemental heat unless they are less-cold-hardy breeds or you have dampness problems. For just lighting to increase egg production, if that's what you want to do, a 40w bulb would be more than adequate (even smaller wattage would be fine if you can find one) and in that size coop will still provide nontrivial warmth, especially if you set it to be on for the hours before sunrise.

Do you think I should add a little more ventilation to one side of the coop?

Sorry, it's a weekend and I have screaming children underfoot and I am just having brain lock trying to envision your coop, it's not your fault, I just can't think today

so all I can really say without a photo (which would get around the brain lock problem

) is that if it were me, I would aim for about a square foot of total vent area per chicken, with at least *some* of it high on the downwind walls. I dunno if that helps any, but it is the best I can do until the kids stop pretending to be bees

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[chookchick]

I am finding with my new coop that more ventilation is better--just make sure that you can close it off easily in the winter. I have lots of ventilation up near the roof, but nothing down lower. It seems rather stuffy and more smelly that the old coop (which was much smaller), especially on the hot days we've had. I'm going to add a largish vent near the floor, that can be closed up easily. I hope this will create a "chimney effect" that will dry things out faster and bring in cool breezes in the evening. I'd be curious if anyone else has tried this (vents down near floor, and up high near the rafters).

 

[cmom]

I put my first vent in the coop when we built it. The second one was added later. My coop is also raised off of the ground by 1ft. Under my roosts is a poop pit with wire over it and the poop falls through the wire onto the ground and weekly I rake it out. The ventilation in my coop may not be by the numbers but I believe it is good. Also I have a screened window on one side of the coop which opens and closes and on the other side is a screened door with sliding glass panels. Usually they are all open. Usually the rain comes generally easterly or westerly. I do close the windows to keep the rain out. I close the window that is in the direction of the rain. I almost never cover the eve vents.

 

[BroomFarm]

You can see pictures of how our coop is built on our BYC page.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=30118

I'm just now noticing this, but none of these show the roof vent. It will not leak but only provides about 100 square in of ventilation. I have read your Big Ol' Ventilation page twice through and have decided to go out next weekend and cut a 4" tall, by 40" long slot along the back side of the coop. I'll use an offset hinge design and weatherstrip around it, so it can be sealed up, if needed.

Does it make any difference at all that the pop door is in the floor of the coop and that the area underneath is wide open on two sides?

Also, during hot weather, we leave the door to the nesting boxes open a few inches to allow hot air to escape. The largest wall faces southeast and while it is shaded by mature trees on summer days, in winter it will get a fair amount of sun. I have an opaque plexiglass panel that will be attached as a "skirt" around the base of the coop, so that light/warmth comes in underneath but prevents drafts from coming in through the pop door.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Actually you can only count the EDGE area, so it may be less than that. It's an interesting device, though, and as long as you can close it off if you ever need to, can't hurt, with other ventilation present too

Does it make any difference at all that the pop door is in the floor of the coop and that the area underneath is wide open on two sides?

You may change your mind about the floor door... they lose a lot of bedding every day. But no, it really does not matter ventilationwise whether the door is in the floor or wall.

Have fun,

Pat​