Ventilated but Free of Drafts

[3KillerBs]

That monitor roof is probably excellent for ventilation.
But no other vent or windows except the pop door?
Is it always in the shade?

Yes. It was under trees in the shade and the pop door was never closed.

Since the coop was so small, 4'x4', if we'd put in another vent it could only have been blowing on the roost.

 

[CynthiaDown]

I love the car/humidity analogy!!
Something everyone has experienced <snickers, in highschool> and can relate too.

.. I have NO idea what you're talking about...

 

[Dhkoenig]

Remember that the high openings are closed in winter..... precisely to keep breezes from moving thru the coop.
The big front remains open all winter allowing some air movement inside.

Can I see an example of what you mean by the high openings and the big front ones? Do you have a pic of your coop you can share?

 

[Dhkoenig]

That’s a good question and, as usual, there are different ways to answer. I’ll assume you know why you need ventilation and no breezes hitting them. I purposely said breezes, not drafts. A draft is when you hold a candle next to a window to see if there is a tiny bit of air movement. That’s not what we are talking about. We are talking about a breeze strong enough to ruffle their feathers. That kind of draft from a window is good. It moves bad air out and good air in.

I don’t know where you are so I don’t know what kind of temperatures you are dealing with so I can’t get real specific.

JackE likes to push the Woods Coop design. That’s a very specialized design where the front is pretty much open and there is another opening up high so you get any breezes in the lower opening and flowing out the upper opening while the back of the coop where the roosts are sees only gentle air movement. That works up in Canada if it’s built right.

In the winter if you really have cold temperatures to deal with, I really like openings up high over their heads when they are on the roosts. If you have more than one opening up high and a breeze is blowing, that goes over their heads yet creates enough gentle turbulence to stir up the air and replace bad air with good. On a calm day, whether you have one or more openings, you still get air movement. Warm air rises. Warmth is being generated inside the coop from their body heat, breathing, warm poop, thawed or even heated water, and if the coop is on the ground the ground is warmer than the air during a cold snap. That warmth is enough to create air movement with just openings up high.

Another reason for openings up high is that, if it is not frozen, their poop generates ammonia as it decomposes. Ammonia is lighter than air and is hard on their respiratory systems. Since it is lighter than air, gravity forces ammonia to rise and replaces it with heavier fresh air from outside, even just with openings up high. You do not need openings down low to get air movement.

Your biggest danger from the cold is not them freezing to death, it’s frostbite. Frostbite is possible anytime the air temperature is below freezing, but with good ventilation and no breezes hitting them chickens can handle temperatures below zero Fahrenheit without getting frostbite. Mine do. A big contributor to frostbite is dampness, excess moisture. Ventilation gets rid of excess moisture. People as far south as Georgia have caused their chickens to suffer from frostbite by closing the coop up too tightly while some chickens sleep in trees in upper Michigan or even in Canada during the winter as long as they can stay out of breezes. It’s hard to get too much ventilation as long as you keep breezes off of them.

I don’t know what your coop looks like or your climate. Openings at the top of walls under overhangs can move a lot of air. Gable vents, roof vents or cupolas are good. Ridge vents work great as long as you don’t get enough snow to block them.

Whenever you create a hole in your coop remember predator protection.

Would you be able to post a pic of a coop that has adequate ventilation? I am in Northern NJ, it will get to be as low as -5 and mostly stay at around 20 degrees most of the winter. That range. I picture would paint a thousand words for me to understand exactly what "enough" is. Could you snap a few pix of your coop or ones that you know are about right for my climate? Sorry to ask but you seem like an expert and I clearly am not LOL

 

[Ridgerunner]

Would you be able to post a pic of a coop that has adequate ventilation?

My photos won't help you. My climate is different and I'm pretty sure our coops are really different. But I'll post some of my 8' x 12' coop.

This one shows the gap at the top of the wall. Those are 2x6 joists so That gap is about 5-1/2" high and sealed with hardware cloth to protect against predators climbing or flying predators. That's on the high and low shed walls.

This shows the outside front of the coop. I left the triangle above that wall open and covered it with hardware cloth. You can see the same thing in that other photo, I sealed off the end of a shed to make my coop so that other opening in inside the rest of the shed.

I have no idea what your coop looks like, what your current ventilation looks like, or how you might be able to add some easily if you need more. Photos pf what you are working with would be a lot more helpful.

You will probably be better off starting your own thread with your photos. Post a link here so we can find it.

 

[aart]

Can I see an example of what you mean by the high openings and the big front ones? Do you have a pic of your coop you can share?

My post that you quoted was about a Woods Coop....not my coop.

 

[3KillerBs]

Would you be able to post a pic of a coop that has adequate ventilation? I am in Northern NJ, ...

The design of my Little Monitor Coop is made for draft-free ventilation (though in a cooler climate than my present location in the Steamy Southeast I wouldn't have added the side window).

Open soffits with a ridge vent are often considered ideal for draft-free ventilation -- along with extra windows to open in warm weather.

 

[Dhkoenig]

My photos won't help you. My climate is different and I'm pretty sure our coops are really different. But I'll post some of my 8' x 12' coop.

This one shows the gap at the top of the wall. Those are 2x6 joists so That gap is about 5-1/2" high and sealed with hardware cloth to protect against predators climbing or flying predators. That's on the high and low shed walls.

View attachment 2380327

This shows the outside front of the coop. I left the triangle above that wall open and covered it with hardware cloth. You can see the same thing in that other photo, I sealed off the end of a shed to make my coop so that other opening in inside the rest of the shed.

View attachment 2380328

I have no idea what your coop looks like, what your current ventilation looks like, or how you might be able to add some easily if you need more. Photos pf what you are working with would be a lot more helpful.

You will probably be better off starting your own thread with your photos. Post a link here so we can find it.

Okay will do - I will go out and shoot some pix of the ventillation and then I will add it to my thread. Thanks so much

 

[Dhkoenig]

Okay will do - I will go out and shoot some pix of the ventillation and then I will add it to my thread. Thanks so much

 

[Sally PB]

And you needs adequate space between the birds and the walls and the ceiling.

Sorry, the quote is from the beginning of the thread, a few years ago. But my question is about this very thing.

When I go shut the coop up at night, all four of my birds are squished together on about 2.5 feet of roost space on a 4 foot roost. They are tight to one wall, and usually in the same order. I'm assuming they want to do it this way, and I shouldn't worry?

The ventilation openings are about 8" above their heads. Is that enough, or should I lower the roosts? The openings equal a little over 4 square feet, so theoretically I could cover the bottom inch or so, but I don't want to. I will add some more ventilation next spring if I get more birds, as planned.