Ventilation for coop inside of barn

[J.R.]

Hey everyone,
We’ve decided to add chickens to our ever growing list of animals and have started building a coop inside of our barn. The coop will be 10x8 and has a (roughly) 7’ high ceiling. The top 3’ of the walls will be hardware cloth, everything else will be solid wood. I’m having a hard time deciding if it would be better to make the “ceiling” hardware cloth as well or close it in..or a bit of both. I know ventilation is super important, but I’m thinking about all the chicken dust flying out of an open ceiling. Any thoughts or opinions?

 

[avjudge]

I'm not sure I can exactly answer your question, but I can share my experience because I did exactly the same thing. I built a 3'x12' winter coop across the back of the "extra bay" of my barn - the 12x12 bay also has my workbench, storage shelves, and hay/bedding storage bins. The six chickens have been there just about 2 months, since mid December, so that's all the track record I have.

My barn is a center-aisle barn, 36' wide x 24' deep, 10' high first level with a hay loft overhead so a fair amount of enclosed air.

I built my coop with a solid ceiling (used for storage overhead), at 6' tall for most of the width but just 4' tall on one end (about 3' wide) (because I had some larger tools I wanted to store there; you see the partition between that shelf and the tall part of the coop at the top left of the picture). Nest boxes and future pop door are in the short section; two 3' roosts are to the right. There's a rough-sawn 1x12 dropped into slots across the doorway to hold the bedding in, removable for cleaning.

My ventilation is the 6'H x ~5.5'W doorway, plus a ~3'W x 8"H strip across the top of the wall to the right of the picture. Bedding is shredded paper/cardboard. Currently the chickens are let out the main door in the morning to run across the aisle and spend their day in a stall (also shredded paper/cardboard bedding). Or most of the day - they hop out of the stall to return to the coop to lay (as they don't seem to like the makeshift nest box I gave them there), then return to the stall, and they will also hop out to dig around in the half of the aisle I haven't floored yet. Construction of a covered outdoor run is planned for next summer.

My thoughts:

The air in my coop seems no less fresh than the air throughout the barn, so that doorway is giving plenty of ventilation. Granted, so far, most of the time it's been in use the temperature has been well below freezing, but we've had a few thaws and I haven't noticed an issue.

If you can use the storage, a solid ceiling is great, and would probably be easier to build than a hardware cloth ceiling (but that might just be me, because I hate trying to get the stuff looking smooth). But hardware cloth would be fine if you don't want a surface up there collecting dust.

^^ Because with the top 3' of your walls hardware cloth, I can't imagine it will make a difference to the dust level whether the top is solid or mesh. With my one side ventilation (no cross-ventilation) I've got plenty of dust; it looks like you will have three (or is it two?) sides so the air will move through the coop & carry the dust with it. (Of course my birds are also in the same building 24/7 so only maybe 1/2 the dust is from the coop portion.)

Our llamas spent the nights in the stall last winter (pre-chicken) and that created a lot of dust, too, so I'm used to it. I do have to blow off or dust off things that have been sitting a while! (The llamas have their own run-in shed now.)

I do really like having the coop in the barn. I'm completely fine with the dust. It's just so nice to have most of the work under one roof - get the llama feed & hay, get the horse feed & hay, move the chickens & check their feed, morning and night, all in from the weather.

Also, the air is fresh without having perceptibly moving air. When I go in the barn on the really cold mornings that dead air (in a good way - fresh but still) is so much milder-feeling than the bite of the outside air. I'm not sure it's measurably much warmer, but it feels it.

This is the only picture I have on this device. Hope something in this post helps!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm not sure I can exactly answer your question, but I can share my experience because I did exactly the same thing. I built a 3'x12' winter coop across the back of the "extra bay" of my barn - the 12x12 bay also has my workbench, storage shelves, and hay/bedding storage bins. The six chickens have been there just about 2 months, since mid December, so that's all the track record I have.

My barn is a center-aisle barn, 36' wide x 24' deep, 10' high first level with a hay loft overhead so a fair amount of enclosed air.

I built my coop with a solid ceiling (used for storage overhead), at 6' tall for most of the width but just 4' tall on one end (about 3' wide) (because I had some larger tools I wanted to store there; you see the partition between that shelf and the tall part of the coop at the top left of the picture). Nest boxes and future pop door are in the short section; two 3' roosts are to the right. There's a rough-sawn 1x12 dropped into slots across the doorway to hold the bedding in, removable for cleaning.

My ventilation is the 6'H x ~5.5'W doorway, plus a ~3'W x 8"H strip across the top of the wall to the right of the picture. Bedding is shredded paper/cardboard. Currently the chickens are let out the main door in the morning to run across the aisle and spend their day in a stall (also shredded paper/cardboard bedding). Or most of the day - they hop out of the stall to return to the coop to lay (as they don't seem to like the makeshift nest box I gave them there), then return to the stall, and they will also hop out to dig around in the half of the aisle I haven't floored yet. Construction of a covered outdoor run is planned for next summer.

My thoughts:

The air in my coop seems no less fresh than the air throughout the barn, so that doorway is giving plenty of ventilation. Granted, so far, most of the time it's been in use the temperature has been well below freezing, but we've had a few thaws and I haven't noticed an issue.

If you can use the storage, a solid ceiling is great, and would probably be easier to build than a hardware cloth ceiling (but that might just be me, because I hate trying to get the stuff looking smooth). But hardware cloth would be fine if you don't want a surface up there collecting dust.

^^ Because with the top 3' of your walls hardware cloth, I can't imagine it will make a difference to the dust level whether the top is solid or mesh. With my one side ventilation (no cross-ventilation) I've got plenty of dust; it looks like you will have three (or is it two?) sides so the air will move through the coop & carry the dust with it. (Of course my birds are also in the same building 24/7 so only maybe 1/2 the dust is from the coop portion.)

Our llamas spent the nights in the stall last winter (pre-chicken) and that created a lot of dust, too, so I'm used to it. I do have to blow off or dust off things that have been sitting a while! (The llamas have their own run-in shed now.)

I do really like having the coop in the barn. I'm completely fine with the dust. It's just so nice to have most of the work under one roof - get the llama feed & hay, get the horse feed & hay, move the chickens & check their feed, morning and night, all in from the weather.

Also, the air is fresh without having perceptibly moving air. When I go in the barn on the really cold mornings that dead air (in a good way - fresh but still) is so much milder-feeling than the bite of the outside air. I'm not sure it's measurably much warmer, but it feels it.

This is the only picture I have on this device. Hope something in this post helps!

View attachment 2996595

It is measurably warmer. I built a grow out pen roughly 4'x11.5' for my littles once they are out of the brooder and beginning integration with the main flock (they have their own attached run in the pasture, accessed from a small door in the wall of the barn).

I didn't answer OP because my walls are all mesh for the pen, and my floor is recycled concrete base - so the whole thing is stupid dusty till I find money to cover with concrete. But I can tell from the hangeing thermo that the temp in the area, for all that its still air, is warmer than the outside. Even in my mild climate.

 

[Huntmaster]

Don't think it would be a whole lot different with ceiling open as you will already have 3' around top open for the dust to escape.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I built my coop in a former loafing shed I took it all the way to the ceiling of the shed. If you are not going to be using that area for storage why bother to build a ceiling under a roof? The only thing I can think of is predator protection maybe? Will it be easier to make it predator proof with a separate ceiling?

Since the top 3' will be hardware cloth I don't see any significant difference in whether the ceiling is solid wood or vented. I'd look at ease of construction and cost.

 

[J.R.]

I'm not sure I can exactly answer your question, but I can share my experience because I did exactly the same thing. I built a 3'x12' winter coop across the back of the "extra bay" of my barn - the 12x12 bay also has my workbench, storage shelves, and hay/bedding storage bins. The six chickens have been there just about 2 months, since mid December, so that's all the track record I have.

My barn is a center-aisle barn, 36' wide x 24' deep, 10' high first level with a hay loft overhead so a fair amount of enclosed air.

I built my coop with a solid ceiling (used for storage overhead), at 6' tall for most of the width but just 4' tall on one end (about 3' wide) (because I had some larger tools I wanted to store there; you see the partition between that shelf and the tall part of the coop at the top left of the picture). Nest boxes and future pop door are in the short section; two 3' roosts are to the right. There's a rough-sawn 1x12 dropped into slots across the doorway to hold the bedding in, removable for cleaning.

My ventilation is the 6'H x ~5.5'W doorway, plus a ~3'W x 8"H strip across the top of the wall to the right of the picture. Bedding is shredded paper/cardboard. Currently the chickens are let out the main door in the morning to run across the aisle and spend their day in a stall (also shredded paper/cardboard bedding). Or most of the day - they hop out of the stall to return to the coop to lay (as they don't seem to like the makeshift nest box I gave them there), then return to the stall, and they will also hop out to dig around in the half of the aisle I haven't floored yet. Construction of a covered outdoor run is planned for next summer.

My thoughts:

The air in my coop seems no less fresh than the air throughout the barn, so that doorway is giving plenty of ventilation. Granted, so far, most of the time it's been in use the temperature has been well below freezing, but we've had a few thaws and I haven't noticed an issue.

If you can use the storage, a solid ceiling is great, and would probably be easier to build than a hardware cloth ceiling (but that might just be me, because I hate trying to get the stuff looking smooth). But hardware cloth would be fine if you don't want a surface up there collecting dust.

^^ Because with the top 3' of your walls hardware cloth, I can't imagine it will make a difference to the dust level whether the top is solid or mesh. With my one side ventilation (no cross-ventilation) I've got plenty of dust; it looks like you will have three (or is it two?) sides so the air will move through the coop & carry the dust with it. (Of course my birds are also in the same building 24/7 so only maybe 1/2 the dust is from the coop portion.)

Our llamas spent the nights in the stall last winter (pre-chicken) and that created a lot of dust, too, so I'm used to it. I do have to blow off or dust off things that have been sitting a while! (The llamas have their own run-in shed now.)

I do really like having the coop in the barn. I'm completely fine with the dust. It's just so nice to have most of the work under one roof - get the llama feed & hay, get the horse feed & hay, move the chickens & check their feed, morning and night, all in from the weather.

Also, the air is fresh without having perceptibly moving air. When I go in the barn on the really cold mornings that dead air (in a good way - fresh but still) is so much milder-feeling than the bite of the outside air. I'm not sure it's measurably much warmer, but it feels it.

This is the only picture I have on this device. Hope something in this post helps!

View attachment 2996595

Thank you so much for the description and the picture! My barn set up sounds a bit like yours as it’s also used for tool storage and has stalls built for our goats. The unframed side in the picture isn’t done yet but that’s where the man door will be to enter the coop. It gets pretty cold here in Ohio but I know that the barn is always warmer than the outside air.

 

[avjudge]

@J.R. & @U_Stormcrow, I believe you that it’s warmer! Just have never made the measurements to prove it. It’s also buffered against daily lows & highs.

I can say that with temps this winter hitting the negative mid teens I haven’t noticed a hint of frostbite while I read posters here having problems barely below freezing - and I credit that with the huge volume of air in the barn so 6 little chickens don’t make a blip in the humidity level.

Oh, and they love the indoor life! At least as long as it’s cold and snowy. We have poultry netting and their summer coop/tractor (with plastic sheeting over the hardware cloth part, and hay on the floor) set up just outside one of the barn’s back doors, and keep access dug out for when we need the stall for a horse or llamas, and they hate to be tossed out there! (And I do have to toss - ok, carry - them out to get them there.) I’m glad I didn’t get to building a run this year as I’ve learned it needs to be more enclosed than I thought to keep them happy - I’m now thinking hoop run with ridge pole, with plastic sheeting and/or tarps on the winter.

 

[J.R.]

When I built my coop in a former loafing shed I took it all the way to the ceiling of the shed. If you are not going to be using that area for storage why bother to build a ceiling under a roof? The only thing I can think of is predator protection maybe? Will it be easier to make it predator proof with a separate ceiling?

Since the top 3' will be hardware cloth I don't see any significant difference in whether the ceiling is solid wood or vented. I'd look at ease of construction and cost.

My reasoning for thinking about putting a ceiling on it is a combination of having a fair amount of plywood laying around that’s bothering the Mrs, wanting to have something a little bit lower to hang feeders off of, a little bit of added storage, and I guess a little added predator protection. I really appreciate all the feedback from everyone with experience!

 

[avjudge]

My reasoning for thinking about putting a ceiling on it is a combination of having a fair amount of plywood laying around that’s bothering the Mrs, wanting to have something a little bit lower to hang feeders off of, a little bit of added storage, and I guess a little added predator protection. I really appreciate all the feedback from everyone with experience!

All sound like good reasons to me! My coop is fine for me at 6’ (my husband might like about 2” more).

In my case I already had a 16” deep shelf at that height so I added about 2’ in front of it. I mostly don’t use that for storage but when I pull stuff out of the boxes on the shelf — my electrical wiring stuff and my electric fencing supplies are among the things stored there — it works great to have a place that’s not the floor to spread them out for the duration of the project. I already kept an old 6 foot step ladder on hand for access to all of the shelves in the bay, now will climb up & kneel/sit on the coop ”roof” and pull out and go through the supplies.

 

[J.R.]

All sound like good reasons to me! my coop is fine for me at 6’ (my husband might like about 2” more).

In my case I already had a 16” deep shelf at that height so I added about 2’ in front of it. I mostly don’t use that for storage but when I pull stuff out of the boxes on the shelf — my electrical wiring stuff and my electric fencing supplies are among the things stored there — it works great to have a place that’s not the floor to spread them out for the duration of the project. I already kept an old 6 foot step ladder on hand for access to all of the shelves in the bay, now will climb up & kneel/sit on the coop ”roof” and pull out and go through the

All sound like good reasons to me! my coop is fine for me at 6’ (my husband might like about 2” more).

In my case I already had a 16” deep shelf at that height so I added about 2’ in front of it. I mostly don’t use that for storage but when I pull stuff out of the boxes on the shelf — my electrical wiring stuff and my electric fencing supplies are among the things stored there — it works great to have a place that’s not the floor to spread them out for the duration of the project. I already kept an old 6 foot step ladder on hand for access to all of the shelves in the bay, now will climb up & kneel/sit on the coop ”roof” and pull out and go through the supplies.

Anything to help with the barn clutter! Or am I the only one with that problem?!