Roof vents

[aart]

My husband installed two roof vents on our 8x6 coop (8 ft high). These roof vents are the kind you would find on a house. Is this sufficient venting for a coop? Or, do you need open grates at the top of the walls, to let air really flow/move?
Thank you in advance for your insight.

It would be good to see pics of your coop, inside and out.

The whole 1sqft per bird is not a bad 'rule of thumb',
but hard numbers don't always apply as there are always variables at play.

The only ways to know if you have 'good' ventilation is to:
- measure the humidity inside and outside the coop..they should be roughly the same.
-stand inside the closed coop on a really windy day, you should feel some air movement but no strong drafts near the roost area.
-use your nose, if ammonia is strong smelling when entering the coop in the morning, you may need more ventilation and/or better bedding and manure management.

Here's pretty good discussion about:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1048597/ventilated-but-free-of-drafts

 

[jthornton]

The biggest thing most people don't understand about moist air is it rises all by itself without any air movement. So you don't need a draft for moist air to rise because moist air is lighter than dry air.

JT

 

[pintail_drake2004]

I use to roof houses for a living, and I always advised home owners against those style of vents. Full length ridge vents are far superior as they vent the entire length of the structure, not just the one or two spots where those vents are located. Go into any attic with those square roof vents in the summer then go into an attic that has a full length ridge vent and you will notice a huge difference. As an added bonus you don't have to worry about the buildup of ice and snow with ridge vents.

 

[loracarroll]

Is that the only ventilation you currently have? You want a minimum of 1 sq ft per bird.

Other concern with those types of roof vents is snow build up will block it up, so you need to keep snow cleared around it.

I’m assuming you mean one square foot per bird, meaning the size of the coop, and not the amount of venting, yes? Our birds free range, and only sleep in the coop. Although, I’m sure on colder days, they will stay in the coop. Today is -8C, and they are all walking around outside. They were holding their feet up, so I called them into the coop and enclosure. They stayed in there long enough to eat their mealworms, then came back out. Their coop has a small door that opens into an enclosure. I have bales of straw in the enclosure, so they can be off of the cold ground. We are going to wrap the enclosure in plastic, to block the wind.

 

[loracarroll]

Being in snow country, when snow covers those vents on roof, you have no venting at that point. It is in my opinion and many others will agree to place vents on gable ends.(provided your coop is constructed in such fashion). Venting at the eves is also ideal, since it will not get blocked easily. It is also good to have a small vent opening at bottom of coop to allow for take-in air.
Good ventilation means a good free airflow, without drafts or wind to ruffle chickens feathers.
I do not know how your coop looks, therefore I am only suggesting what is commonly known about ventilation.
If your coop is not exactly tightly sealed, and there are cracks, and other small openings allowing air to enter, you may have sufficient venting.
If you small ammonia inside coop, or if you see condensation inside on the walls of your coop, that would mean insufficient venting.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Thank you.

Our coop door has a quarter inch space between it and frame (height-wise) - we were going to put something there to cover it so there weren’t any drafts. Should we leave it to act as venting?

 

[aart]

I’m assuming you mean one square foot per bird, meaning the size of the coop, and not the amount of venting, yes?

Not coop size, but ventilation area.

 

[cavemanrich]

Thank you.

Our coop door has a quarter inch space between it and frame (height-wise) - we were going to put something there to cover it so there weren’t any drafts. Should we leave it to act as venting?

Leave it as additional ventilation.
1/4 inch gap is fine. It is not big enough to produce any drafts.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I disagree, not trying to be a prick but with 1sq.ft. per bird she would need to take roughly a 1/4 of her roof off. So just stop and think about that for a second. Her coop is roughly 48 sqft and per your calculations she needs 10sqft of venting. That is not true. I believe the 2 roof vents you have will be plenty given they have an equal amount of intake air space. Each one of the vents you have will have a listed amount of "free venting area" now make sure you have a place lower not in the path of your chickens allowing at least the same amount of free venting area to act as intake air. Once you start with that you will know if you need more or less. Yes you will need to keep venting areas clear of possible snow/debris.
Again not trying to insult anyone I am just looking to correct what I believe is misinformation. Many come to this site looking for answers and while it's great to have info we need to make sure it's good info.

Wow @RoosterML that's a massive misunderstanding. Vents do NOT have to be all on the roof!

She does need more ventilation if the roof vents are the sole vents. THEY DO NOT NEED TO BE IN THE ROOF. Nowhere do I claim that MORE roof vents are needed when in fact these types of vents will be more likely blocked by snow.

In fact, you're best served placing vents at varying heights to increase air circulation, that means vents low, medium and high. I have floor vents and windows in addition to gable, ridge and under eave vents. More ventilation up high, nothing on top of the roof at all = plenty of air flow without drafts.

 

[RoosterML]

Wow @RoosterML that's a massive misunderstanding. Vents do NOT have to be all on the roof!


She does need more ventilation if the roof vents are the sole vents. THEY DO NOT NEED TO BE IN THE ROOF. Nowhere do I claim that MORE roof vents are needed when in fact these types of vents will be more likely blocked by snow.

In fact, you're best served placing vents at varying heights to increase air circulation, that means vents low, medium and high. I have floor vents and windows in addition to gable, ridge and under eave vents. More ventilation up high, nothing on top of the roof at all = plenty of air flow without drafts.

Like I said I did not mean to come off the wrong way, alot is lost when reading something. You need to keep in mind that when you have "vents" located all over the place they do actually reduce the effectiveness of some vents. Venting should be done as in a venting system for example if you have a vent in each gable "gable vents" do not start adding soffit and ridge vents. They will reduce the overall effectiveness of that system.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I’m assuming you mean one square foot per bird, meaning the size of the coop, and not the amount of venting, yes?

We are going to wrap the enclosure in plastic, to block the wind.

1 sq ft per bird in vents (which do NOT have to be on the roof). That's just a general guideline, as with everything else. I hope someone in your climate can chime in with good examples of the best type of vents for your region because I know dealing with extended below freezing weather is different in than just "cold snaps" or snow.

Blocking the wind in the run is a good idea, but just as with the coop, make sure there are gaps left to allow things to breathe. Condensation + cold temperatures is the true enemy.