ventilation and "headroom"

[mroxner]

I am sure that the answer to this question is buried in the forum somewhere. I am tired of searching - sorry

How much headroom should I provide between the heads of roosting chickens and my "top of coop" year round ventilation?

I will have a small (4x4) coop and am trying to gauge how tall to make the coop. It will be 18" off the ground (partial run underneath) to begin with and I would prefer to keep the coop as low profile as I can.

Thanks y'all.

Bryan
MI Zone 5

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
That's a good question and I wish I knew what to tell you. Something that you might consider is building in some extra height for hanging a heat lamp in case there's a need for one. This would also give a deeper chamber that would create a larger buffer between the chickens' heads and the upper air vents.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[CityChook]

I don't have a measurement for you, but I'm in zone 4 and I can tell you that I wouldn't want that cold air any closer than probably 12 inches above their heads. And more would be better. And it's never a bad idea to have a plan for temporarily blocking off the ventilation for when it gets really really cold or if a blizzard is blowing through.

My girls get pretty compact when they sleep and during the winter, they sleep with their heads under their wings to stay warm.

Hope this helps

 

[teach1rusl]

I agree with citychook and intheswamp. Mine is a few feet above them (other than my windows, but drafts in warm/hot weather is generally welcomed). And if you could swing at least about 30 inches between the roof and the roost, then you'd have decent space for a heat lamp if that's something you'd use in winter.

 

[patandchickens]

4x4 is a tough size/shape of coop for a cold-winter climate, which even the warmer parts of MI are *somewhat* cold. The problem is that there just *isn't* anywhere *to* put the ventilation that won't be right next to the chickens in the winter.

A better design, if it's an option for you, would be to make the coop longer, so that you can have the open-in-winter vents be at the downwind-most end and the roost at the opposite end. If you can't make the coop longer than 4' you can at least do that as best you can, but in a 4' cube there is not a lot of room for separation, you know?

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[write2caroline]

[/img] Mine don't have a lot of head room in the roost area up top but it gets good air circulation and has been fine for the few cold days we have had and the many hot ones so far. Those side panels all come off - the ones on the bottom are due to the neighborhood dogs who like to mess with my chickens - last summer they were babies and now they are grown up - my roo is fierce to deal with now and chases them off.

Caroline