with 114 heat index, had to make some emergency modifications...pics

[ChickieNikki]

yesterday, one of my 6 week old birdies died from the heat (she crawled behind the curtain i had nailed up to block the nest box, which is on the west side of the dark blue coop, and she must have gotten overheated and died---i feel awful...), so we decided that our coop needs more than ventilation in summer, it needs ENORMOUS amounts of airflow...it's a dark color and southfacing, and what with the 114 heat index we've been having lately, our little babies need some breezy air through their coop until the fenced yard is complete!

SO...

with the remaining side panels from my son's old crib, we created shutters for the pop door (AKA window) and people door, so there will be an east-west breeze through the coop (which is *almost* done, save for some finishing touches/custom painting/signage!)...see what we rigged up!

ETA pic of people door on west facing side...

They're SO much happier, they don't just lie there and pant anymore, they play and flutter and dust bathe again, so I think it's made a huge difference! We've had the door and window open now for a week, maybe a bit more, round the clock (except in storms, of course), and they're SOOOOO happy with the increased airflow, especially at dusk, when they're roosting, and the temps drop (to 80 instead of 87!) and the breeze blows in!

 

[Heelers&Chickens_OhMy]

I love your coop!!

The blue and white is what does it for me I think - very quaint!

I have been reading about heat and ventilation and your chickens look good even in 114* heat...I feel ya, summer highs are approaching +110 in Phoenix and I - or any other phoenician for that matter - are not looking forward to it!

 

[g_a_brand]

love your shutters

your coop is so cute!

Sorry to hear about your little one

[

If You Can Dream It , You Can Do It.]

 

[EweSheep]

You can install a box fan to hang on the outside of the window with the bars in place. That will do in a pinch in very hot days.

 

[Hypnotist_Collectr]

Looks beautiful. We're still building ours, and will not have the cash on hand for a run for a couple weeks after that. I had worried about having mine sitting in a house w/o a run, as the heat is supposed to be in the hundreds here, too... I will take your ideas, pretty much open up all sides of our coop until it cools down.

Your coop looks great.
I didn't know you were allowed to have a coop up against your house? I had pondered putting ours against our bedroom wall, so if anything got to them at night, I'd hear it... but, since we're doing the undercover chicken thing here (we're 4000 sq ft shy of being zoned for them), it'd be too close to my neighbor's house...

 

[cmom]

Your coop is lovely.......

 

[annek]

Question on the roof, those aren't clear panels to let the sun in are they? If so, that will be way too hot with the sun beating down on it. Can the chicks get out of the coop if it gets too hot, do they have a run?

Cute coop, I wanted dark but we are down south and it is too hot as it is!

 

[Scott]

I really like the blue with white trim... nice job.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

That's a nice coop.

I would line the bed slats with some hardware cloth. By looking it doesn't seem to be predator proof.

Nice job!