Ventilation on Amish Style Coop

[Aunt Tat]

Good for you to be thinking of the ventilation.

A 3" circle is only .049 of a square foot.

A 4" circle is only .087 of a square foot.

You need 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per adult, standard-size hen. To get 1 square foot of area in a circular shape you'd need a 14" circle.

My personal rule of thumb is that if I put my head and shoulders into the coop on a hot, sunny day and it's warmer in the coop than out I need to add more ventilation.

 

[Aunt Tat]

That makes sense. But still, it wouldn't HURT to ADD ventilation would it?
In the meantime, I'll get a measurement on the coop windows.

 

[3KillerBs]

That makes sense. But still, it wouldn't HURT to ADD ventilation would it?
In the meantime, I'll get a measurement on the coop windows.

Indeed.

Chickens are far more likely to suffer from lack of ventilation than from excess ventilation.

 

[Aunt Tat]

Thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

That makes sense. But still, it wouldn't HURT to ADD ventilation would it?
In the meantime, I'll get a measurement on the coop windows.

More is always better (especially since it lets you safely close or cover up excess ventilation during extreme weather).

I have something like 32 sq ft of ventilation not including any doors, and 10 chickens. Even during a very bad wind/rainstorm, I can close up all the windows to keep wind driven rain and snow out (which happened this year) and still meet the 1 sq ft ventilation minimum.

 

[AprilsZoo]

I saw something cool at Home Depot yesterday.

It is metal, & comes in several colors. It is more expensive than hardware cloth, certainly. But it’s also much prettier. If you have a fancy coop, it could be a nice way to add ventilation while keeping the aesthetics. If your coop is just a basic, functional coop, it could dress it up a little.
Most people won‘t care how utilitarian hardware cloth looks... I agree it’s perfectly fine for most applications. But in the case of this Amish-style coop, This could really look awesome. Clearly, it would need to be secured well— however, I noticed that the edges are very stiff, and much more difficult to deform than hardware cloth. Seems like it could be attached with screws & washers every 6-8” or so, without the worry that it could be bent & pushed in like hardware cloth can be. Framing the edges with wood strips, and securing through that is certainly an option as well.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I saw something cool at Home Depot yesterday.

Is this metal and if so, is it rated for outdoor use?

 

[Aunt Tat]

More is always better (especially since it lets you safely close or cover up excess ventilation during extreme weather).

I have something like 32 sq ft of ventilation not including any doors, and 10 chickens. Even during a very bad wind/rainstorm, I can close up all the windows to keep wind driven rain and snow out (which happened this year) and still meet the 1 sq ft ventilation minimum.

I don't know if we can figure out to close up the wholes for winter...my thought was to place them on the leeward side.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't know if we can figure out to close up the wholes for winter...my thought was to place them on the leeward side.

I never cover up any of my roof area ventilation. But my windows slide shut, so that quickly and easily takes care of any wind driven storms.

 

[Aunt Tat]

Thanks so much for that thought!
The ceiling has a radiant barrier sheathing to keep the coop cooler in the summer heat. It's supposed to be an "all-season" coop for hot OR cold weather.

I think we'll see how it feels then make a decision on what to do.