Ventalation

[dewdropsinwv]

How much ventilation is too much? I need to get more vents for them, but don't want to over do it.

 

[wsmith]

Where I live in Southern Colorado, we have drastic temperature and weather changes. In my main coop, the eaves are open underneath, the main window opens, and I have two large vents, in the end of the roof peaks. The roof peak vents give me a total of about 168 square inches of ventilation on each end of the coop roof. These stay open year round. During the cold winter months, the eave vents are covered, but aren't air tight. The chicken access door stays open all the time except for very cold or blizzard conditions. At those times I close the chicken door until the weather warms a bit and snow isn't blowing into the coop. Remember that there is a difference between ventilation and drafty. You don't want a direct cold wind blowing on them while roosting, so design you coop ventilation with this in mind. The idea is to keep the air moving and not stagnant, but without a direct breeze on them. Consider the prevailing winds for your area and coop location when placing your vents.

In many warmer areas which don't get too cold, people used three sided coops for many many years without any adverse effects on the chickens and laying. The chickens just want somewhere to roost where they are safe and generally dry.

 

[JackE]

If you have to ask, how much? The answer is A LOT more than you think. Check out the link below. It will explain the need for fresh air/ventilation. It shows examples of open air coops that were in use up into Canada. Three sided coops are not just for warmer climates. I get temps into the single digits, and the front of my coop is wide open. Don't put your tolerance for the cold on your chickens. They are built to handle it.
Jack

http://archive.org/stream/openairpoultryho00wood#page/n0/mode/2up

 

[WoodlandWoman]

In hot weather, you can't have too much ventilation.

In freezing weather, it's good to have a sheltered area in the coop for the roosts that isn't drafty. Also, an area of the of the floor that isn't drafty.

You can always put in extra openings that you keep open when it's hot and cover in the winter. They need ventilation all the time, but they need even more when it's super hot.

 

[dewdropsinwv]

Well JackE I'm new to raising chickens, so I don't know how much would be too much. Since I live in Northern West Virginia, and the winters can be cold, I don't want too much cold air on them. I also worry about local predators. I'm glad my hubby can help me with this also.

 

[DadandJB]

Jack, is that your coop in your avatar??? It doesn't look wide open to me...just saying...

 

[JackE]

Jack, is that your coop in your avatar??? It doesn't look wide open to me...just saying...

This doesn't look wide open to you?

 

[Weasleymum]

I live in Central Virginia, so a little milder than you but similar. I'm designing some ventilation features for my coop that will hopefully keep the girls cool in the summer, but can be closed up in the winter. So far this is mostly one big window on the side of the coop that faces the covered run, that will be totally open until it gets really cold, and a wire floor that will convert to a solid floor.

Chickens deal with cold a lot better than they do with heat!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

This doesn't look wide open to you?

Love, Love, Love your coop and it was the inspiration for my wanting as many windows as I could cram into our coop. The birds do suffer so much more with the heat than with the cold and the crossbreeze in my coop keeps it cooler inside than outside. If I'm outside and get hot, I'll sneak into the coop to cool off! Don't know the direction your coop is facing but am guessing you get a lot of winter sun to warm things up when it's colder. Fingers crossed ours works that way when winter comes.