ventilation for modified dog house

[Moselle]

I am planning to turn a basic rectangular dog house into a henhouse for 6 hens. The floor space inside is about 10 sqft. My basic plans are to put 2 nests in the back about 3" up from the floor, and roosts in the front section about 6" from the floor. The roof of the house will be hinged so it can be opened easily. We will need to construct a sturdy door in front that will let them out into their run.

Besides the door, there are no other openings in the dog house. I want to make sure there is enough ventilation without the house being drafty. We live in the southeast U.S., so combating the heat will be our main issue. I'm just not sure where and what kind of ventilation we should put into the house. Complete windows? Small holes drilled through the walls? Would we put holes/windows on opposite sides? Near the floor? Near the roof? Both? I'm assuming since heat rises, we'll need something near the roof. There is a slight (2") overhang in the roof of the dog house.

Also, how much "head room" do chickens like/need in their roosts and nests?

Thank you for your help. You can see that I'm not an engineer.

 

[tiffanyh]

Hi,

It is a bit tight (at least some will say) for 6 hens as you chouls have 4 sq feet per bird inside, but I have 8 hens in a 15sq ft and they have never picked or had any probs. Although, they are never left in the house except for overnight for safety.

I also have a dog house. You can drill small holes in the top. what i did was after cuting the door, I cut a "window" in the door and covered it with hardare cloth. That way it let light and ventilation in and out.

You can see it here.

Im sure youll get lots of ideas! Good luck!

 

[Moselle]

Ok - so I may have to rethink the coop a bit. Between the henhouse and run, I'm estimating about 40sqft. There may be a bigger doghouse and I can easily make the run a bit bigger.