Trying to cool off my coop

[StepfordCuckoos]

Hi! I'm trying to cool off my coop. I live on the East Coast of the US and it's very hot where I am. Not like scalding out, but it's not comfortable to be outside for an extended period of time. I have two silkies that are broody and in the process (very close) to hatching eggs. Their brooder is inside the coop and it gets quite hot in there. Is there any way to cool down the coop? I have tarps. For reference their coop looks quite close to: this. If I put a tarp over their run will the shade help cool off the coop? Will putting a tarp over the roof of the coop itself help cool it off?

 

[WIchickMama]

Are you able to plug in any small fans for them, cool it down and circulate the air?

 

[StepfordCuckoos]

Are you able to plug in any small fans for them, cool it down and circulate the air?

We have an extension cord the runs to their coop that I can plug in. Just have to figure out where to set the fan up for it to work best for the silkies. Their brooder is in the loft part of the picture that I attached. There is a window as well.

 

[WIchickMama]

I think any air movement would help with cooling it off or at least giving a breeze, but maybe you could build a small platform with braces to hold it outside the coop by the window (similar to what you would see with a window unit AC)

 

[Ridgerunner]

The best way to cool it is good ventilation. Since warm air rises, openings as high as you can get them will help a lot. And it can help a lot if you have an opening down low on the shady side so cooler air can come in to replace that hot air that rises. The air will be cooler coming from a shaded area than a sunny area.

Is that loft blocked off in a way that stops air circulation? Is it going to be like the attic in your house where hot air gets trapped up there. How warm is it up there compared to down in your coop? You might be better off moving the brooder to the coop floor.

Shade in the run can be a big help. Sunlight does not come in from the top only. You may need to put some shade on the side of the coop, especially south and west sides since you are north of the equator.

I don't know how you plan to manage those broody hens and their chicks. Some people like to lock them up and keep them confined. I let my broody hens raise her chicks with the flock. The more options you can give your broody the better she can manage the heat.
A fan can help keep them cooler. I dump water in the run in the shade so they can lay on wet ground, that helps keep them cool. I don't know what kinds of temperatures you are facing but heat can be dangerous.

 

[3KillerBs]

I live in the Steamy Southeast so I built my Outdoor Brooder with 16 square feet of permanent ventilation and 10 extra square feet of supplemental ventilation but I still had to put up a picnic fly for extra shade.

You can see what I did here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

 

[Swbertrand1]

The best way to cool it is good ventilation. Since warm air rises, openings as high as you can get them will help a lot. And it can help a lot if you have an opening down low on the shady side so cooler air can come in to replace that hot air that rises. The air will be cooler coming from a shaded area than a sunny area.

Is that loft blocked off in a way that stops air circulation? Is it going to be like the attic in your house where hot air gets trapped up there. How warm is it up there compared to down in your coop? You might be better off moving the brooder to the coop floor.

Shade in the run can be a big help. Sunlight does not come in from the top only. You may need to put some shade on the side of the coop, especially south and west sides since you are north of the equator.

I don't know how you plan to manage those broody hens and their chicks. Some people like to lock them up and keep them confined. I let my broody hens raise her chicks with the flock. The more options you can give your broody the better she can manage the heat.
A fan can help keep them cooler. I dump water in the run in the shade so they can lay on wet ground, that helps keep them cool. I don't know what kinds of temperatures you are facing but heat can be dangerous.

+1 on this. Vents down low and roof exhaust fans work well for us. In addition to windows up high, we have a temperature-controlled exhaust fan that comes on if the temperature rises above 80 degrees.

ALL coop construction guidelines that I've ever seen mention having ventilation above the highest point that the birds might occupy. Be sure your coop follows that guideline; otherwise, you create a pocket of heat up high that can't escape and will rise significantly in temperature compared to the area just a few feet below it. You did say your birds were in a "loft", so be sure they're not stuck in an "attic" type space with no relief.

In the short term, any fan will work to move cool(er) air in and hot air out. We also use oscillating fans to move the air around in the coop. Heck, we've even considered a small (5000BTU or less) window air conditioner, but never put that one into play...

 

[StepfordCuckoos]

The best way to cool it is good ventilation. Since warm air rises, openings as high as you can get them will help a lot. And it can help a lot if you have an opening down low on the shady side so cooler air can come in to replace that hot air that rises. The air will be cooler coming from a shaded area than a sunny area.

Is that loft blocked off in a way that stops air circulation? Is it going to be like the attic in your house where hot air gets trapped up there. How warm is it up there compared to down in your coop? You might be better off moving the brooder to the coop floor.

Shade in the run can be a big help. Sunlight does not come in from the top only. You may need to put some shade on the side of the coop, especially south and west sides since you are north of the equator.

I don't know how you plan to manage those broody hens and their chicks. Some people like to lock them up and keep them confined. I let my broody hens raise her chicks with the flock. The more options you can give your broody the better she can manage the heat.
A fan can help keep them cooler. I dump water in the run in the shade so they can lay on wet ground, that helps keep them cool. I don't know what kinds of temperatures you are facing but heat can be dangerous.

We just put a tarp over the entire run, so hopefully that cools things off a bit.

The brooder is not closed in. There is a window at the front, but also the entire front is open, save for wire the makes sure they cant get down. They've gone broody before (more than once) and have raised chicks wonderfully in the brooder. I don't want to raised them with the flock yet because all of the other chickens are not bantams and I'm just not comfortable with mixing them until they're a good size.

 

[StepfordCuckoos]

+1 on this. Vents down low and roof exhaust fans work well for us. In addition to windows up high, we have a temperature-controlled exhaust fan that comes on if the temperature rises above 80 degrees.

ALL coop construction guidelines that I've ever seen mention having ventilation above the highest point that the birds might occupy. Be sure your coop follows that guideline; otherwise, you create a pocket of heat up high that can't escape and will rise significantly in temperature compared to the area just a few feet below it. You did say your birds were in a "loft", so be sure they're not stuck in an "attic" type space with no relief.

In the short term, any fan will work to move cool(er) air in and hot air out will work. We also use oscillating fans to move the air around in the coop. Heck, we've even considered a small (5000BTU or less) window air conditioner, but never put that one into play...

Is there a way to put in an exhaust fan with something that is already built?

 

[3KillerBs]

A note about fans:

Be sure to get one rated for outdoor and barn use. The feather dander dust and bedding dust is both highly destructive to machinery and flammable.