Question

[Threechimkens]

Should I use the floor vents for homes as my chicken coop ventilation??

 

[Rldad1]

That's OK as long as 1. They are up high, heat and ammonia rise 2. There is enough of them to equal at least one square foot per chicken and 3. You cover them with hardware cloth to keep the predators out. Most of them are around 1 foot X 4 inches, in which case you need 3 per bird. Your best bet and probably cheaper is to cut long holes under your eaves at the roof top and cover with HC. See photo below of mine.

 

[3KillerBs]

No, they're far too small to do any good.

You need big openings: 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per bird not counting the pop door that's closed at night or the windows you close in the winter.

A nice big opening covered in hardware cloth below a generous roof overhang is best.

 

[Threechimkens]

No, they're far too small to do any good.

You need big openings: 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per bird not counting the pop door that's closed at night or the windows you close in the winter.

A nice big opening covered in hardware cloth below a generous roof overhang is best.

Oh because my coop is pretty small only 10 square feet

 

[Threechimkens]

No, they're far too small to do any good.

You need big openings: 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per bird not counting the pop door that's closed at night or the windows you close in the winter.

A nice big opening covered in hardware cloth below a generous roof overhang is best.

Okay how much square feet of ventilation if my coop is like 12 square feet

 

[CluckerFamily]

You need 1 square foot of ventilation per chicken you have.
How many chickens do you have?

 

[3KillerBs]

Okay how much square feet of ventilation if my coop is like 12 square feet

1 Square foot of ventilation PER CHICKEN.

At 4 square feet of coop space per chicken you can have 3 chickens in a 12 square foot coop and need 3 square feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation.

 

[Acre4Me]

Can you give us pics @Threechimkens ?

your profile says Canada...but that can be wildly variable in climate. Gives us a better general location so that you can get better advice.

is your coop really only 10 square feet? What are the actual dimensions snd how tall inside? There are some good ways to get good upper ventilation put into a coop, particularly if you are building it. For example, a very popular method is to simply raise the roof up on the rafters on top of your walls. Now the roof is approx 1.5 inches above the walls and there is ventilation all around - just cover with HWC to keep out predators. This won’t give you quite enough ventilation, but it helps immensely.

 

[Threechimkens]

Can you give us pics @Threechimkens ?

your profile says Canada...but that can be wildly variable in climate. Gives us a better general location so that you can get better advice.

is your coop really only 10 square feet? What are the actual dimensions snd how tall inside? There are some good ways to get good upper ventilation put into a coop, particularly if you are building it. For example, a very popular method is to simply raise the roof up on the rafters on top of your walls. Now the roof is approx 1.5 inches above the walls and there is ventilation all around - just cover with HWC to keep out predators. This won’t give you quite enough ventilation, but it helps immensely.

I’m in Ontario here is the coop and the ventilation I’ll use I have 3 hens

 

[Threechimkens]

You need 1 square foot of ventilation per chicken you have.
How many chickens do you have?

3