Coop ventilation, drafts and roost height question

[PDX_chickie_baby]

My family is new to chickens. We bought 5 chicks but are building the coop for 6 chickens. The breeds we got are on the larger side, with the Bielefelder being the biggest. The coop is 4 ft x 6 ft with the 3 nest boxes adding a couple square feet. We’re not going to keep food/water in the coop. We have 3 weeks to get it ready for the chicks. I’m trying to figure out how much and where to add ventilation and roosts.

Current ventilation:

• ~4 inches across the top of the front and back of the coop. Works out to about 2.67 sq ft.
• 1 sq ft pop door that will be closed at night
• 32 inch x 22 inch window. The window is hardware cloth covered with a wooden shudder that we plan to open/close to regulate temperature in summer.

Plan for roosts and ventilation - does this make sense?

• Add ventilation at the highest point of the coop—a 6 inch by 4 ft rectangle at the front and two triangles on the side (see one of the triangles in the drawing above). This should give me 3.33 sq ft give or take a bit, which gets me to the 6 total sq ft of always open, passive ventilation for 6 birds.
• Add 2 high roosts just above the cleaning door. They would be about a foot above the top of the nest boxes and 14 inches below the new ventilation. They would be level with the existing ventilation at the back of the coop.
• Add 1 or 2 low roosts just above the nest boxes to give the chickens another, maybe less drafty option.

Questions:

• Will the chickens move down to the lower roosts if the upper roosts are too cold in the winter? Should I plan for enough roost space for all six chickens to be high and all six chickens to be low?
• If the ventilation starts 14 inches above the chicken’s heads on the high roost, is that enough to keep the chickens out of the draft?
• Is there any point to adding the high roosts given that they’re at the level of the existing back ventilation? Will that be too drafty? The coop backs up to bushes and trees, so there is a wind break.
• Should I add the second low roost? It would be hard to reach and clean.
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[Lady of McCamley]

Adding additional ventilation at the top is important. The 4 inch at the ends is not enough.

Lower those roosts. 41 inches is too high. Chickens, especially heavy breeds, do not like to fly up onto roost like birds do. They prefer a hop. I'd keep the roosts down lower, about 2 to 3 feet above the floor. (My upper roosts just don't get used well at all). Also make sure your roosts are something like a 2x2. Chickens don't curl their toes like birds do to roost. They lay on flat feet sitting on the roost to keep their toes warm at night (very important in cold climates).

And you absolutely don't want the roost across from the drafts from ventilation. You want drafting air above the birds, not at body level.

Others who are expert builders will give you more input.

LofMc

 

[PDX_chickie_baby]

Lower those roosts. 41 inches is too high. Chickens, especially heavy breeds, do not like to fly up onto roost like birds do. They prefer a hop. I'd keep the roosts down lower, about 2 to 3 feet above the floor. (My upper roosts just don't get used well at all). Also make sure your roosts are something like a 2x2. Chickens don't curl their toes like birds do to roost. They lay on flat feet sitting on the roost to keep their toes warm at night (very important in cold climates).

Thanks!

And you absolutely don't want the roost across from the drafts from ventilation. You want drafting air above the birds, not at body level.

How far above their heads are we talking?

Others who are expert builders will give you more input.

LofMc

Looking forward to it!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm terrible at measurements when I'm not actually looking at my coop, but you want the vents well above their heads...I think ours are about 18 to 24inches?

It's so the air circulates well, but direct drafts do not hit the birds.

LofMc

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is that 4 roosts in the plan? For 6 chickens, that's probably unnecessary. Assuming the roosts are going across the 4' width, 2 should be fine. I'd just do 2 low. If you make some sort of bracket on the ends where they can just slot in, you can remove them during cleaning and then slot them back.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

YES. Have the roosts movable. It's a pain to try to clean while bumping your head or twisting to avoid the roost.

LofMc

 

[Krugerrand]

Thanks!

How far above their heads are we talking?

Looking forward to it!

I like the research that went into this coop:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/

the rule of thumb on this website that coops should be a minimum of 3.5' high on their shortest side, a height that allows for a roost height of ~20'' and ventilation above the chickens’ heads.

 

[PDX_chickie_baby]

I like the research that went into this coop:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/

That is a great article! Thanks!!!

The shortest wall of my coop is 41 inches with the ventilation above that. So, if I allow 18 inches of height between the roost and the back ventilation, I can put the roost at 23 inches. I think that can go where my low roosts are in the plan, if I line up the bottom of the roost 2x4 with the very top of the nest box.

I might close up one of the nest boxes and add another cleaning door at the back.

Thanks!

 

[PDX_chickie_baby]

Is that 4 roosts in the plan? For 6 chickens, that's probably unnecessary. Assuming the roosts are going across the 4' width, 2 should be fine. I'd just do 2 low. If you make some sort of bracket on the ends where they can just slot in, you can remove them during cleaning and then slot them back.

Thanks! Movable roosts are a go.

 

[PDX_chickie_baby]

Thank you so much for all your help! I just put the chickies to bed for their first night in the coop.

I ended up going with a free standing roost that I can just pull out of the coop for cleaning.

It’s got about 7.5 feet of roost space and is exactly 23 inches high. That places the roosts above the nest boxes and 18 inches below the ventilation. (The nest boxes are covered now since the chickies won’t be laying for a bit yet.)

I added ventilation on the north side, which opens onto the covered run and is therefore protected from rain, and some on the east side. I’d planned to add a lot of ventilation on the east side, but my husband pointed out it wasn’t sufficiently protected from the rain. So, the east side has a combo window/ventilation opening where the bottom 12 inches are covered by plexiglass and the top by hardware cloth.

The chickens seemed into it!