Where to add a fourth window for ventilation??

[MixedFlock23]

I recently built a second coop for my bachelor roosters. I think I have four (maybe just 3) cockerels. They are 13-14 weeks old now and I’m not sure about one of the silkies. Anyway, I built a 6’ long x 4’ wide coop that is 3’ tall slanting up to 3.5’ tall on 18” legs. The north side nearly touches our shed but there’s a 2.5” gap. There’s only the gaps that the wavy roof makes as far as ventilation on that side. The roost bars are on the north half and run east to west. On the east and west sides I have narrow triangular windows. The door is on the east side and is shut at night. The largest window (glass/screen/hardware cloth) is on the south side. I plan on leaving it open (top half or bottom half depending on season) unless it’s going to storm. But the roof gaps, the narrow triangles, and the small vinyl window only give me 167 sq inches (1.159 sq ft) of ventilation. The floor space is 24 sq ft, and I’ve read I need 1 sq ft of ventilation per 10 sq ft of floor space... so that means I need another 1.24 sq ft of ventilation! I have enough leftover hardware cloth to do that, but where?? I think my only two choices are on the north side above their heads. The north wall is the highest wall at 42”. Roosts are 18” high. Between the outside of the coop & the shed, there’s only a 2.5” gap, so no cold north winds will blow in. My other spot is on the west wall on the south side, which is by the feeder not the roosts. It would be across from the door though that’s closed at night.
What would you do? I plan to cut the hole for the new window tomorrow. Thanks!!

Is 2.4 sq ft of ventilation in a 24 sq ft coop enough or should I do 1 sq ft per bird? (I read that suggestion somewhere too!) I’ll have to buy more hardware cloth if I need to add 2.8 more sq ft of windows.

I’ll attach photos with scribbles where I’m thinking the window(s) could go. The winds do come from the west mostly and they blow straight across the fields and right to the coop, so keep that in mind. Maybe the north side nearly up against the shed is the better choice so it’s not windy?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Ideally you want to aim for 1 sq ft per bird or 10% of floor space, whichever is greater. The wall between the coop and shed might be a good place to put it due to the fact that the shed should buffer incoming winds, though you'd know your wind directions better than me.

 

[Alaskan]

What type of climate do you live in?

How cold is your cold? And how hot do you get?

For sheltered ventilation, I agree that the wall between the coop and shed might work well. The trick is putting in ventilation in such a way so that rain or snow don't blow in.

 

[MixedFlock23]

I live in southern Illinois. 100° in the summer isn’t unheard of and 0° in winter isn’t unheard of either.
We get rain & snow in the winter and winds mostly blow from the west. Today there’s a wind advisory with gusts up to 45mph. They’ll be coming straight at the west wall of the coop. I’m thinking I may need to anchor the coop too. We had a trampoline (no real surprise) blow across the street before we anchored it, and we had a two story kid climber with slide from Step 2 blow across the street! That thing was over 7’ tall & long, & weighed ~200lbs, I think.

Thank you! I was leaning towards that back/north wall up by the shed, but didn’t know it it would count with just 2.5” space but no way for wind to blow in. Wind can blow in & across the small east and west triangular windows way above their heads, so I suppose that’s good for fresh air. The south window and the soon-to-be-added north windows will be to let more air out, I guess (along with the roof gaps).

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you! I was leaning towards that back/north wall up by the shed, but didn’t know it it would count with just 2.5” space but no way for wind to blow in.

That sounds ideal then, and yes it "counts" - really not that different than having a vent that has a baffle over it to blunt the winds. Just wanted to make sure that you did not regularly have winds that would blow in a direction right through that gap, in which case drafts/rain could get driven in.

 

[MixedFlock23]

I added the new window(s) on that north side by the shed. Thank you for your advice!
Now hopefully these 10 young pullets/cockerel(s) fit in here until they are old enough to go in the big coop/run with the adult hens.
I moved the 3 crowing cockerels that will live in this coop later out to the chicken tractor until this coop is empty & ready for them. I wanted to wait until I was sure I identified all the cockerels, but the Ayam Cemani cockerel started pulling the White Crested Polish’s “hair” yesterday, so I had to separate them. It is my plan to have the Ayam Cemani with the girls and then the rest of the cockerels as bachelors (Polish & 2 Silkies). The white Silkie might be a boy too, but so far no boy behaviors. it’s a frizzle Silkie hen.
Thanks again. Hopefully this is enough ventilation. I’ll measure & calculate it exactly later, but it should be about 2.5 sq ft. Less than 3 for the 3 boys who will live here next month on, but slightly more than the 2.4 suggested for 24 sq ft of floor space.

 

[MixedFlock23]

Woohoo! It’s 2.68 sq ft of permanent ventilation (roof line, triangles, and new rectangles) and up to 3.64 sq ft if I open the window all the way. It’s all the way open (top down) now since I have 10 young birds in there for the next few weeks. Then it’ll be just the 3 (maybe 4) cockerels’ coop.
Thanks!

 

[Chickenclaude]

FYI...I had to replace the chicken wire w ss mesh to keep predators out...had raccoons reach in and pull out the heads of chickens..while they slept on a roost in the run...the openings are just too large.

 

[aart]

FYI...I had to replace the chicken wire w ss mesh to keep predators out...had raccoons reach in and pull out the heads of chickens..while they slept on a roost in the run...the openings are just too large.

@Chickenclaude did you mean 1/2" HC?

 

[MixedFlock23]

Yikes! My boys sleep in the coop (door shut/hardware cloth on all windows). The 2x4 welded wire & 1” chicken wire keeps them in the run by day and has kept predators out thus far. We don’t have any daytime predators other than hawks (this run is covered with 2” chicken wire and avian netting) and neighbors’ dogs, that I’ve seen. I’ve never seen a raccoon out during the day here, so my boys should be safe during the day too.