To anyone thinking of getting one of those cute little coops….

[DonyaQuick]

I have one of those, at least I think it's the same thing. A desperation purchase when it was the only thing locally available at a bad time of year after a bizarrely failed integration of 2 chicks. Didn't have time to build anything. Later when those two chickens have moved to a bigger space it'll make a good broody house in the summer to avoid having a flock of tiny house chickens, since I think my husband's had enough of that lol. Even my big setup will fill with snow so I put shower curtain around the sides of the little one with a few inch gap for ventilation and it has stayed pretty dry without being stinky. Mine came with weird circular things for some of the top ventilation though that are terrible for snow; not sure if yours came with those square slatted covers or if that was an add-on but that gave me some good ideas for what I can use to replace the annoying little circle ones on mine by removing the little circle thing and then some sort of vent cover screwed over the top. Just have to find a good cover now but I see there are some that have curved plastic hoods that look like they would keep rain/snow out pretty well.

Aaaaaand....bam.

used ones like in this link although slightly different size:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Heat-and-Air-Deflector-HD7/100575548
I got the biggest one they had because it was also the tallest. Pretty sure mine are the 10-16" version but I only see the 10-14" one online (altough those probably would have worked too, they're just a little shallower).

Edit update: apparently I do actually have the 10-14" ones - oops! That's what the box says. Not sure where I got the 16 from.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Oh, did you install that vent too? It looks nice

 

[3KillerBs]

Aaaaaand....bam.
View attachment 3419832
used ones like in this link although slightly different size:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Heat-and-Air-Deflector-HD7/100575548
I got the biggest one they had because it was also the tallest. Pretty sure mine are the 10-16" version but I only see the 10-14" one online (altough those probably would have worked too, they're just a little shallower).

That cover is nice against the rain but I fear that the vent can't possibly have more than *maybe* 6-8 square inches when the coop needs one square foot (144 square inches), per hen.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Oh, did you install that vent too? It looks nice

It came with the green circular vent cover if that's what you mean. Unfortunately that piece is more aesthetically pleasing than it is useful - it opens and closes by twisting, which I did have to make use of to keep rain out before I had the clear covers. Rotating it when it's cold and slippery is tough though; it really needed to have a little nib or something somewhere to push on to make it move. However, now I've got the clear panel over the top it doesn't matter and I can keep it open all the time.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It came with the green circular vent cover if that's what you mean. Unfortunately that piece is more aesthetically pleasing than it is useful - it opens and closes by twisting, which I did have to make use of to keep rain out before I had the clear covers. Rotating it when it's cold and slippery is tough though; it really needed to have a little nib or something somewhere to push on to make it move. However, now I've got the clear panel over the top it doesn't matter and I can keep it open all the time.

Really? Well now I'm jealous. My sentinels have nothing but the pop door for ventilation

 

[JacinLarkwell]

This spring once everything is done, I might try to cut out the wood paneling on one of the side doors for each of them to increase it more

 

[DonyaQuick]

That cover is nice against the rain but I fear that the vent can't possibly have more than *maybe* 6-8 square inches when the coop needs one square foot (144 square inches), per hen.

I'm not saying the ventilation in this thing is great by any means, I just want those two round things to not dump snow inside like OP ran into. At the risk of summoning the wrath of the forum upon my head, the prefab is working for my temporary purposes. In the capacity that I have been using it, it never smells one bit and it doesn't experience humidity buildup (which I have actually measured with a sensor because that was a worry I had in colder temps).

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I'm not saying the ventilation in this thing is great by any means, I just want those two round things to not dump snow inside like OP ran into. At the risk of summoning the wrath of the forum upon my head, the prefab is working for my temporary purposes. In the capacity that I have been using it, it never smells one bit and it doesn't experience humidity buildup (which I have actually measured with a sensor because that was a worry I had in colder temps).

Do you shut them in the house at night or let them access the run 24/7? Thats what I do and it works really well

 

[DonyaQuick]

Really? Well now I'm jealous. My sentinels have nothing but the pop door for ventilation

Wow! They must have changed the design over time. Mine even has some space between the top of the wall and the roof although it's not obvious from the photo (although it's not a lot of space; I might boost it up a bit with some spacers come warmer weather).

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Wow! They must have changed the design over time. Mine even has some space between the top of the wall and the roof although it's not obvious from the photo (although it's not a lot of space; I might boost it up a bit with some spacers come warmer weather).

I wonder if there were just two versions. I got all 3 of mine last year over the summer