Ventilation on Amish Style Coop

[aart]

I'm going with one end open all the time, all year.

If you are taking this idea from the Woods design,
remember that it only works with the Wood building proportions,
and all other openings closed tight in winter.
Not sure how you'd close soffits and ridge vent in winter.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Plenty of people have these coops. I would think people would be posting about sick or dying bird eventually if the coop was the issue. Ive seen one post where ventilation was somewhat of an issue, and that is only because the person was using a heat lamp in winter. Other than that I havnt found anything else. I added 4, 4", vents in the soffit between the rafters. I will have 13 birds in each coop. I guess we will see what happens. I also free range mine. I see how too much space can be an issue as well. I think the space issue goes both ways.

But see, that’s just it... most people don’t realize that the two things are related.

It’s the same way someone will assume that they need a heater in the coop if their birds get frostbite. But if they’re using a pre-fab coop, as advertised, with too many birds and without any add’l ventilation... the problem isn’t the low temperature— it’s that there’s twice as much hot, moist air being breathed into the space and no where for it to go, so it precipitates onto the chickens and freezes.

Who tells them this, though? It’s not intuitive. Frostbite comes from cold, right? So, add heat— problem solved. Except cold [alone] wasn’t the whole problem, just the last step in the cascade.

Think about it... The idea of raising chickens appeals to you, so you buy a coop, assemble it according to instruction, and use it the way it said you could. Then you begin seeing illness in your flock. Maybe you lose a couple. Others get sick, then better, then sick again... it seems like there’s always something going around the flock. If you’re really lucky you have access to an avian vet, but they diagnose pneumonia, maybe coccidia, and at one point even worms. They certainly don’t ask where you got your coop, or how much ventilation you have.

There is literally no-one else out there pointing out that prefab coops aren’t living up to the manufacturers’ claims. Even most of the bad reviews cite things like: ‘the paint faded in one summer’ or ‘the wood is much thinner than expected‘, etc.

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That said, I think it’s worth noting, the coop from the OP isn’t really a “pre-fab” coop in the usual sense of the term. Rather, it’s designed by a craftsman (who may or may not hold Amish beliefs ). I believe it’s flaws are probably the result of it being designed by someone who was more likely a cabinetmaker or carpenter, rather than a chicken farmer. So it is a very attractive coop visually, but lacks a few key details that a chicken keeper might find critical.

Ventilation isn’t hard to add. It could use some extra reinforcement with hardware cloth, and may need better latches... all that is relatively simple enough to augment.

 

[saysfaa]

If you are taking this idea from the Woods design,
remember that it only works with the Wood building proportions,
and all other openings closed tight in winter.
Not sure how you'd close soffits and ridge vent in winter.

Thank you. I got the idea from Woods' and from the old barns on the farm I grew up on. I have a back up plan if I miss too far on the proportions. I will put pictures of everything on my build thread and/or coop page - I don't want to hijack this thread. The builder is having trouble getting materials so the shell will come sometime between a week and a month. I hope.

 

[3KillerBs]

But see, that’s just it... most people don’t realize that the two things are related.

It’s the same way someone will assume that they need a heater in the coop if their birds get frostbite. But if they’re using a pre-fab coop, as advertised, with too many birds and without any add’l ventilation... the problem isn’t the low temperature— it’s that there’s twice as much hot, moist air being breathed into the space and no where for it to go, so it precipitates onto the chickens and freezes.

Who tells them this, though? It’s not intuitive. Frostbite comes from cold, right? So, add heat— problem solved. Except cold [alone] wasn’t the whole problem, just the last step in the cascade.

Think about it... The idea of raising chickens appeals to you, so you buy a coop, assemble it according to instruction, and use it the way it said you could. Then you begin seeing illness in your flock. Maybe you lose a couple. Others get sick, then better, then sick again... it seems like there’s always something going around the flock. If you’re really lucky you have access to an avian vet, but they diagnose pneumonia, maybe coccidia, and at one point even worms. They certainly don’t ask where you got your coop, or how much ventilation you have.

There is literally no-one else out there pointing out that prefab coops aren’t living up to the manufacturers’ claims. Even most of the bad reviews cite things like: ‘the paint faded in one summer’ or ‘the wood is much thinner than expected‘, etc.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
That said, I think it’s worth noting, the coop from the OP isn’t really a “pre-fab” coop in the usual sense of the term. Rather, it’s designed by a craftsman (who may or may not hold Amish beliefs ). I believe it’s flaws are probably the result of it being designed by someone who was more likely a cabinetmaker or carpenter, rather than a chicken farmer. So it is a very attractive coop visually, but lacks a few key details that a chicken keeper might find critical.

Ventilation isn’t hard to add. It could use some extra reinforcement with hardware cloth, and may need better latches... all that is relatively simple enough to augment.

Additionally, when their coop stinks people don't think, "Ammonia rises and this design has no roof-level ventilation so the ammonia is trapped, therefore I need to add ventilation at the gable peak." Instead, they try to change their bedding -- assuming that the problem is there rather than in the airflow.

 

[saysfaa]

Additionally, when their coop stinks people don't think, "Ammonia rises and this design has no roof-level ventilation so the ammonia is trapped, therefore I need to add ventilation at the gable peak." Instead, they try to change their bedding -- assuming that the problem is there rather than in the airflow.

Or just assume chicken coops always stink.

 

[roy2636]

Thank you. I appreciate you answering. I live in the upper midwest, so have been looking for how to handle the cold. I found a lot of evidence for the unheated open-air Woods's style being the least likely to have frostbite or respiratory problems even much further north than I am. Not just the Woods' book but also things like looking up what kind of housing people use (and what else might be factors) when I find posts about frostbite or related issues. I'm going with one end open all the time, all year. And soffits, ridge vent, and windows opened on both sides spring, summer, and fall. If I'm wrong, I'll post about next year so other people can find it.

The first coop i built is a simple 8x8 shed with a walk in storm door that has a pet door opening built in. along with 2 windows and venting on the front and back overhang near the roof. simple set up. this past year I only had 6 chickens in there. more than enough space, especially since they free range. they ended up with frost bite this past winter. before, i would keep 15 chickens in that same coop and no frost bite, even during really cold snaps when it hits -15 ambient temp.

I wanted to build a coop this year. I simply dont have the time with the changes going on at work. "chick days" only last so long around here and I wanted to get a good amount of chicks this year. I opted to buy the OverEz large coop because of that. I still need to replace my deck and i dont know if ill have time for that, let alone a coop.

I dont see the space as a huge issue because i do free range. they literally have 10 acres of free range space available. I think the tighter coop space will help keep them warm during the winter. where i live the air moves fairly well. some times too well. All ive done is add extra vents on the front over hang portion and hardwire cloth over the windows.

I could see how the roost bars are too close, but ill see how that pans out.