Suggestions/Assistance for temporary air circulation in Coop

[ladybrasa]

The fan is in an enclosed roofed coop. The people entrance goes into a narrow storage type area and has a wire door into the first coop section. The fan is propped up at this door blowing in.

The ten chicks currently in there are about five and six weeks, with the exception of a Cornish X (had to meet a minimum at TSC) which I don’t think? is younger than four weeks. As for dimensions ... haven’t gotten around to measuring ... but it’s plenty big. I do however have various aged chicks still in the brooder that I will be moving out in groups to join the others over the next several weeks. (Hope they remember each other!) It’s really staggered because I got a big fat “F” in chicken math this summer. Even now I have some eggs in the incubator.

I really don’t trust the old ladies. I had added an adult on a sudden basis (no way to quarantine, had to just plop her in - friend of a friend had to get rid of her chickens ASAP; I know that’s bad!) and the three old hens were very territorial; rooster could care less. She’s just now comfortable being around them without running away and staying separate. They are five plus years old. Three of them are having trouble in the heat, but I have been landscaping the run, which is where they spend their time. They really only use the coop for sleeping and laying eggs at any time of the year. I don’t remember the dimensions, but the run is at least 640 square feet, probably more.

So my plan is to keep the babies separate until they can all be integrated together. That time being when human mom here feels it’s appropriate (and not being a nervous Nellie). This box fan seems like it could be sufficient, since we will be going into September soon and I don’t think the weather would be much worse than today. If lightning doesn’t strike and explode something like my over-worrying brain is suggesting...

 

[Peppercorngal]

The fan is in an enclosed roofed coop. The people entrance goes into a narrow storage type area and has a wire door into the first coop section. The fan is propped up at this door blowing in.

The ten chicks currently in there are about five and six weeks, with the exception of a Cornish X (had to meet a minimum at TSC) which I don’t think? is younger than four weeks. As for dimensions ... haven’t gotten around to measuring ... but it’s plenty big. I do however have various aged chicks still in the brooder that I will be moving out in groups to join the others over the next several weeks. (Hope they remember each other!) It’s really staggered because I got a big fat “F” in chicken math this summer. Even now I have some eggs in the incubator.

I really don’t trust the old ladies. I had added an adult on a sudden basis (no way to quarantine, had to just plop her in - friend of a friend had to get rid of her chickens ASAP; I know that’s bad!) and the three old hens were very territorial; rooster could care less. She’s just now comfortable being around them without running away and staying separate. They are five plus years old. Three of them are having trouble in the heat, but I have been landscaping the run, which is where they spend their time. They really only use the coop for sleeping and laying eggs at any time of the year. I don’t remember the dimensions, but the run is at least 640 square feet, probably more.

So my plan is to keep the babies separate until they can all be integrated together. That time being when human mom here feels it’s appropriate (and not being a nervous Nellie). This box fan seems like it could be sufficient, since we will be going into September soon and I don’t think the weather would be much worse than today. If lightning doesn’t strike and explode something like my over-worrying brain is suggesting...

Sounds like you need to relax a bit. You sound a little wound up. Have a nice glass of wine and sit and watch your chickens. That will soothe your soul. You have no control over lightening, so relax! Don't make up trouble where there is none.

 

[ladybrasa]

Have a nice glass of wine and sit and watch your chickens.

I wish! At work now, on break (sort of). We’ll see what happened when I get home this evening!

I did actually put in a people bench in the run so I could sit with them, earlier this summer, and a bucket to keep treats in next to it. It’s nice sitting out there for a few moments when it cools down in the evening. But not more than a few minutes, cuz mosquitoes start mobbing me Nevermind that I learned here that there are mosquito vector borne chicken diseases .... where’s that wine ...

 

[Eggs2chicks]

So I’ve started moving out some of the chicks out into the coop. The coop is divided in to two sections, so I only needed to shut the door in between to separate the old adults from the chicks. The door has chicken wire on it, so they can see each other. The idea is, once all the chicks are at least like maybe 3/4 the size of the adults, to finally open the door. The adults have the run access door, the roosts they were using anyway, and appear to be using the temporary nest boxes I set up. It’s hot and humid, but the adults have options - shade and such outside. The chicks however are staying in the coop, and I didn’t realize how stuffy it got in there during the day. Some are struggling already - panting and wings out. There is ventilation, but it’s up in the, I guess you’d call it, the eaves. Definitely no current at or near floor level. There is an old run access door (chicken size) that has been closed off for many years that I could possibly pry open and staple up some temporary chicken wire. Well maybe, I have to check and hope it’s not been permanently sealed.

There is electricity in the coop. I do have an old house box fan. Keep in mince I don’t really know squat about electronics. Would that be safe running all day in an out building unsupervised while I’m at work for at least 12 hours a day? Kind of makes me nervous. Is there some special “outdoor” fan that’s safer to use? What if there is a storm while I’m at work? Are there other options? I am not able to permanently alter the coop at this time. Thanks for any input!

I bought a small office desk fan from the dollar store and that is what I use. It isn’t so strong as a box fan which made them not want to go in the coop at all, (too strong).

 

[ladybrasa]

Mine seem a fried when I turned it on, but fine with it like a minute later!

 

[Peppercorngal]

I wish! At work now, on break (sort of). We’ll see what happened when I get home this evening!

I did actually put in a people bench in the run so I could sit with them, earlier this summer, and a bucket to keep treats in next to it. It’s nice sitting out there for a few moments when it cools down in the evening. But not more than a few minutes, cuz mosquitoes start mobbing me Nevermind that I learned here that there are mosquito vector borne chicken diseases .... where’s that wine ...

I go out and have a chair and small plastic table. I spend at least an hour every day with my chickens. My big rooster comes over to "protect" me and my girls jump in my lap to get some petting! It's hot, but well worth it. I give them scraps from the garden a couple of times a week and they follow me like I'm the pied piper! Enjoy your wine!!