AZ Coop-DeVille!

[CoulterMiniFarm]

I'm building this coop for our new flock. We had a 10 bird flock when we lived in VA years ago, but this will be a much smaller flock of just 5 birds. The coop I built in VA was really just an adapted dog pen that was on site when we bought the house. This is my first actual start-to-finish build.

The coop is 3.5' x 6' (interior). I had an idea of what I wanted but didn't have any plans, so it's been a design-as-I-build/build-as-I-design kind of thing. I built it in such a way that it can be taken apart fairly easily. if we ever move and want it to come with us, so thinking through that aspect of the design has taken more time than I thought. What I thought would be just a two day weekend build out of lumber I had laying around has turned into a week+ project with multiple runs to Home Depot. LOL. But so far, so good.

Next up on the knock-out list to finish up:
* Add the perch rod
* Primer the rest of the raw wood and paint the outside.
* Hinge the vent cutouts (which you can see in the pic) in order to be able to close them for winter. We're in the mountains of AZ, so we do get very cold nights and snow.
* Figure out a way to keep the crazy monsoon rains from coming in the vents.
* Add a layer of flex seal paint to the bottom of the inside of the coop.
* Add the ramp

Both the waterer and feeder will be suspended from the roof, making easy access to them as the roof is opened.

This has been a much longer process than I expected, but we're getting close! Should be done within a few days (I hope!). Would love any input you might have. Let me know if I'm missing anything.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How hot does it get in summer? You're likely going to need more ventilation than what you currently have, maybe same size cutouts higher up on the tall, long side of the wall

 

[nuthatched]

You need more, permanent ventilation, especially in winter to prevent frostbite.
Cut out the peak for ventilation and add ventilation under the eaves if possible. You also need more ventilation or windows for light, they are more comfortable with regular light cycles.

 

[CoulterMiniFarm]

How hot does it get in summer? You're likely going to need more ventilation than what you currently have, maybe same size cutouts higher up on the tall, long side of the wall

Thank you for the comment and help! It get's up to 110°+ in at times in the summer. However, the coop will be moved to the north side of the house where it will get the most shade throughout the day.

The corrugated roof is not sealed at the ends. I intentionally left it open at the base and at the peak (front and back) so there would be greater ventilation. I’ve actually thought of cutting a vent into the floor to create a “cooling tower” type of air circulation. Would that be enough? And do I need more natural light? They’ll be let out to run every day at sunrise and put up every night at sunset. That’s how I did it with our former coop.

 

[CoulterMiniFarm]

You need more, permanent ventilation, especially in winter to prevent frostbite.
Cut out the peak for ventilation and add ventilation under the eaves if possible. You also need more ventilation or windows for light, they are more comfortable with regular light cycles.

Thanks for the comment and help! As I replied to another comment, The corrugated roof is not sealed, so it’s open at the base and at the peak. I’ve actually thought of cutting a vent into the floor to create a “cooling tower” type of air circulation. Would that be enough? And do I need more natural light? They’ll be let out to run every day at sunrise and put up every night at sunset. That’s how I did it with our former coop.

 

[nuthatched]

Thanks for the comment and help! As I replied to another comment, The corrugated roof is not sealed, so it’s open at the base and at the peak. I’ve actually thought of cutting a vent into the floor to create a “cooling tower” type of air circulation. Would that be enough? And do I need more natural light? They’ll be let out to run every day at sunrise and put up every night at sunset. That’s how I did it with our former coop.

They do need more ventilation than that, that's not enough unfortunately. You need at least 1 squarefoot not sure how a vent in the floor would help cooling. It's not all about cooling, they also need ventilation from ammonia fumes.
They do need natural light, adequate ventilation will likely solve the light issue.

 

[CoulterMiniFarm]

They do need more ventilation than that, that's not enough unfortunately. You need at least 1 squarefoot not sure how a vent in the floor would help cooling. It's not all about cooling, they also need ventilation from ammonia fumes.
They do need natural light, adequate ventilation will likely solve the light issue.

Ah! I get it. I have exactly1 square foot of ventilation right now with the vents alonee, and then another 1 or 2 square feet from the corrugated ceiling. Is that 1 square foot per chicken?

As for the the floor vent, adding a floor vent would add another .5 square feet of raw ventilation, but it would also create an active air current in the summer by pulling in cold air from the bottom as the warmer air escapes the top (that's the cooling tower effect). It would move much more air in the summer than just having stagnant vents, but wouldn't create as much air movement in the winter (it would create some movement, but not much). How much more ventilation do I need?

 

[aart]

then another 1 or 2 square feet from the corrugated ceiling.

How did you measure this?
Seems not quite right.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you for the comment and help! It get's up to 110°+ in at times in the summer. However, the coop will be moved to the north side of the house where it will get the most shade throughout the day.

The corrugated roof is not sealed at the ends. I intentionally left it open at the base and at the peak (front and back) so there would be greater ventilation. I’ve actually thought of cutting a vent into the floor to create a “cooling tower” type of air circulation. Would that be enough? And do I need more natural light? They’ll be let out to run every day at sunrise and put up every night at sunset. That’s how I did it with our former coop.

The shade will help immensely.

A floor vent will probably help with circulation of air but you still want more up top to move out as much hot air as possible.

I like a lot of natural light in the coop simply because it makes it inviting to the flock especially at sunset without having to add artificial light. Maybe the current vents let in enough light at the moment, or maybe they won't if the unit sits in the shade, but it's not something I can gauge from a photo.

Ah! I get it. I have exactly1 square foot of ventilation right now with the vents alonee, and then another 1 or 2 square feet from the corrugated ceiling. Is that 1 square foot per chicken?

Recommendation is 1 sq ft per chicken in moderate climates. Many folks in hot climates opt for 2-3 sq ft per chicken, hence the open air concept where you have an entire wall in wire mesh, or coops that are mostly open ventilation around the entire top.

 

[CoulterMiniFarm]

How did you measure this?
Seems not quite right.

I just did the measurements. That was optimistic.

The corrugated roof is 3/4" tall by 77" long. That's works out roughly .2 square feet of actual air flow "space" when you account for of the wave of the panels. So I have about .4 square feet of ventilation with both ends of the roof. Coupled with the rest of the open spaces I have around the eves (I designed the roof for maximum air flow due to our heat), and here's how my current ventilation space works out:

open space on the sides of roof: .55 square feet
open space on the front & back of roof: .63 square feet
Side Vents: 1.1 square feet
Corrugated roof: .4 square feet
Total right now: 2.68 square feet (not nearly enough)

Main door: 2.6 square feet when opened.

I can fairly easily add up to 3.5 feet of additional ventilation on the back of the coop and still provide reasonable protection from our crazy monsoon rains that spring up. That would give me 6.18 square feet of ventilation for 5 hens. With most of my ventilation being in the top 1/3 of the coop, I still feel like I need lower ventilation in the floor level/in the floor. However, I can only get maybe another .5 to 1 square foot there, realistically.

That would give me 6.68-7.18 square feet of ventilation for 5 hens (over 8.5 square feet with the main door open). What do you think? Would that be enough? Over half of the coop will be in the shade all the time, but because of our heat, do I need to squeeze out more ventilation?