venterlation (spelling)

[maine egg man]

I have built a 8x8 coop and was wondering if 3 inch round vents one on each end will be enough ventalion for the coop it has been 16 degresss as of late and I dont want to keep the girls cooped up with out a vent in the coop

 

[PeeperKeeper]

I'm not much on ventillation knowledge, but I do know you want to keep enough airflow to prevent any amonia build up from the chicks droppings causing them respiratory harm.
The air flow would have a lot to do with wich direction the wind is blowing, especially if you have vents on opposite sides of the coop. The air might blow through pretty steady.
Their body heat might also help the air movement if the vents are up higher then the roosts. And: How tight is the overall construction of the coop?

 

[Pumpkinpup]

If the vents are up in the peak of the walls I would think that would be ok. You just need to allow the amonia to escape and that should work.

 

[maine egg man]

vents are going to go near the peak of the roof

 

[maine egg man]

Quote:
coop is for the most part pretty air tight , few spots that might need some weather stripping

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Obviously anything's better than nothing, but this is not your best bet for adequate ventilation.

A 3" diameter hole, even if totally unobstructed by louvers, is only about 7 square inches. If you have 10 total of these vents, let's say, that'll be a total of 70 square inches, which is about half a square foot (i.e. the whole shootin' match is only equal to a single 6x12" hole)

While there may well be times when that's all you need, MOST of the time you are going to need quite a lot more ventilation.

I'd suggest making some big ol' rectangular holes in the coop, ideally up towards the top of the walls and protected as much as possible by the roof overhang, covered with hardwarecloth for predatorproofing. Make flaps or sliders to cover them snugly so you can adjust how much ventilation is open. To me, a reasonable ballpark MINIMUM target for an 8x8 coop would be something on the order of 8 sq ft of ventilation hole area (I'm not giving you a magic number or anything, I'm just saying, more like 8 sq ft than 1 or 80, you know?

And me, I'd build in two or four times as much.)

Better to have and not always need, than to need and not have, you know?

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[speckledhen]

My original coop is 8x8 (now with a 12' addition built exactly the same way). Here is my solution for ventilation. There is also one of those bsmt vent things that can open and close on the back wall. You can see that you can just crack this or open it full up. The more birds in there, the more important ventilation becomes due to the moisture in their breath and poop. A dry coop is the key to good health in your birds, winter and summer.