Ventilation question

[plantoneonme]

My brother is in the process of making a coop for my 3 hens out of a trash can holder my late husband made. It will be 2 stories high. The top part measures 20"'high, 2'deep and 8'long. For ventilation there is a vent 3" tall along the entire 8' length on the back and 2 wire covered "holes" with doors on the front. This is their nesting/sleeping area. Is this enough ventilation for the summer months? In the winter I was planning on putting plastic over the large open areas on the front of the coop but keeping the 3" tall vent open.

The bottom part of the coop has wire on both the front and back (this is sort of their little run area) and it measures the same as the top. There is a ladder that connects the top and bottom together. In the winter I was planning on covering the "run" mesh with plastic to keep the snow out.

We are also going to have a removable/portable extra run connected to this coop so the chickens have extra room to roam and graze. I will be able to move it from one side of the coop to the other side so I can rake up the area and let the grass recover a bit. BTW, the entire coop is on wheels so I will be able to move it around the yard when I want/need to.

If I would have thought to post this question during the day...right now you would see pictures as well

Kim

 

[bryan99705]

Any way you can post a photo and give a little more info like where you are and rural or urban

 

[plantoneonme]

 

[KDK1]

That should be fine.

 

[Dar]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

this is a GREAT resource

 

[elmo]

Chicken wire won't keep out predators like racoons; I'd replace the chicken wire with welded wire (sometimes called hardware cloth). For the grills that you have covering the front windows, the problem there is that the wide spaces between the wires leave open the possibility of "reach through" predation, where the predator sticks its paws through the openings, grabs a chicken, and pulls her through the wire bit by bit. Ghastly. Wire openings of 1/2" by 1/2" inch pretty effectively prevent this from happening.

If you live someplace with hot summers, you'll need to pay careful attention to make sure it isn't getting to hot inside the coop. That's the other important function of ventilation, and those of us who live in hot climates have to build a lot more ventilation for our summers than those who live up North do.

I was also looking at your coop and wondering how you get in there to clean it out?

 

[plantoneonme]

Quote:
I will be replacing the chicken wire with hardware cloth and my plan is to line the trap doors with the hardware cloth also.

I live in Michigan (which I forgot to say) and have the coop in an area that there is shade from 4pm on.

The coop is lined with a very heavy plastic material. I have a little tool that will allow me to sweep the bedding down to the lower level from the top and there will be 2 hinged doors on the bottom so I can sweep it out into a container that will then be dumped in my compost bin. I will also be able to wipe down the inside of the coop to keep everything sanitary.

Thanks everyone for the comments. Kim