ventilation suggestions

[DickMidnight]

here’s a picture of my coop as it stands now. the walls go right up to the roof rafters and while it’s not air tight, it’s pretty snug.

for ventilation i’ve currently got the one window (2’x2’) and the pop door is always open since the run is predator proof.

i’m thinking i need more air flow and i think opening vents between the rafters right under the roof line is the move.

i think i can do a triangular vent above the person door, here:

along with vents on the window wall, here:

i also have spots along the back wall of the coop i can vent as well. i just think the last one closest to the roosts should probably be left alone because they like to perch on the highest roost and i don’t want drafts at their head level.

all vents would be covered by hardware cloth, of course. thoughts on this plan? am i missing anything?

 

[DobieLover]

I would install vents in both of the locations that you are considering. You can cover the cut edges of the siding with trim boards.
That will help a lot with ventilation.
How many birds do you house in the coop?
That top roost is going to be too close to the ventilation and it should be removed.

 

[DickMidnight]

I would install vents in both of the locations that you are considering. You can cover the cut edges of the siding with trim boards.
That will help a lot with ventilation.
How many birds do you house in the coop?
That top roost is going to be too close to the ventilation and it should be removed.

i have 12 birds.

wind mostly comes from the back of the coop, but they’re pretty protected by the woods behind them. i’m definitely not gonna make a vent in that last spot along the back wall, but i think the window wall should be ok. it’s almost a full foot above their heads.

edit to add: i think you’re looking at the framing. that top horizontal bar isn’t a roost. there are three roosts going from top to bottom.

 

[DobieLover]

Do you get snow where you are?

 

[DickMidnight]

Do you get snow where you are?

yes, we’re in CT.

there’s 12” of roof overhang to keep snow and rain out.

 

[DobieLover]

yes, we’re in CT.

there’s 12” of roof overhang to keep snow and rain out.

But the end is not supported. This will buckle under the snow load.
Have you since cut this off flush with the outer purlin?
Do you have closure strips between the roof and the purlins to keep weasels out?

 

[DickMidnight]

But the end is not supported. This will buckle under the snow load.
Have you since cut this off flush with the outer purlin?
Do you have closure strips between the roof and the purlins to keep weasels out?
View attachment 2876627

it’s currently overhanging by more than 2 feet, i haven’t gotten around to trimming it. i’m gonna cut it back to only overhang 8-12”, which should be fine with snow. the roof is also pitched pretty well so the snow should slide off into my gutter and fill my rain barrel

if you think that’s still too much i can trim it further.

we don’t have closure strips, but the roof is screwed to that cross member, so it can’t be pushed up

 

[DickMidnight]

@3KillerBs you seem to
be the ventilation expert around here. any thoughts on my plan?

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Good of you to recognize the problem of having a coop too closed up.

All of those ventilation ideas are desirable -- but better to lower the top roost than to compromise the ventilation for it. You want to try to achieve about 1 square foot of ventilation per adult, standard-sized bird or whatever it takes to get the temperature and humidity the same inside and outside.

I agree with Dobie in re: the problem of an unsupported overhang. But, since big overhangs are so desireable, you might consider adding support rather than trimming it.

The thing with the closure strips and weasels is that they are sometimes small enough to slip over the purlin and under the corrugation.

If you winterize the run with plastic sheets as so many people do -- leaving a generous gap at the top -- you could open the wall into the run substantially without introducing any drafts.

 

[DobieLover]

we don’t have closure strips, but the roof is screwed to that cross member, so it can’t be pushed up

If the profile has more than a 1/2" arch, a weasel can squeeze through.