Coop Ventilation

[catcliche]

Hi BYC! I live in Ireland and we've been working on building ourselves a chicken coop and run for 4-6 chickens.

Here's a photo of our setup, we were originally going to use an old dog run, but due to space and safety concerns we're building them a run (hardware cloth going in soon). But I did notice our chicken coop was very warm and getting moldy inside, and that's with no chickens in it yet! I read more into it and it seems that we need way way more ventilation.

I just doodled this on my phone in a few seconds, but would something like this work for adequate ventilation, and we could just put hardware cloth there? The chickens won't be roosting up that high, but it can get quite windy so I'm worried about it coming down on them. We would be doing the same thing to the opposite side of the coop as well. We would appreciate all the advice we can get!

 

[CherishedFowlGuardian]

Tag @U_Stormcrow and @DobieLover

 

[21hens-incharge]

Is that a clear roof material?

If it is the coop will become a greenhouse.

Yes to more ventilation but I would like to see the inside where the roof meets the walls. It may be an easy add to put vents there.

The red lined proposed vents would be difficult to protect from rain.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, if the internal framing doesn't get in the way, opening app those top eves will help with your ventilation issues. It won't cause draft on your birds since you are basically building a pass thru above their heads. Again, assuming the fram8ng doesn't interference

 

[catcliche]

Is that a clear roof material?

If it is the coop will become a greenhouse.

Yes to more ventilation but I would like to see the inside where the roof meets the walls. It may be an easy add to put vents there.

The red lined proposed vents would be difficult to protect from rain.

Here's a photo of the coop roof. We thought we were being smart, we just built a greenhouse as well so we used some extra panels for the roof! It was a sunny day yesterday and it was a good few degrees warmer inside the coop, I just went to get this picture on a cloudy day and there's basically no temperature difference right now. Here in Ireland it rarely gets warmer than 25 C, we also have the option to cover the whole run with a tarp if it's super sunny and warm on a certian day.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Framing doesn't interfere -go ahead and open those triangles up like you sketched. Good fix

 

[DobieLover]

In addition to opening up the gable ends I would rip the top 3" or so of siding off under the roof overhangs.
I would put a solid pitched roof over the run, not a tarp. If you make the run predator proof with an apron around the setup and a solid roof on the run you can also leave the pop door open for a low cold air entrance to help promote circulation in the coop. Other benefits of this is the food and water can be kept out in the run and not get wet and the birds can go out to the run as soon as they come off the roost in the morning.

 

[Shadrach]

Good ventilation is about airflow. In Ireland you will be dealing with damp air much of the time. Your proposed cutouts are fine but there is a risk that you will just create a draught accross the top of the coop. A hole in the apex of the roof which is the highest point covered with a cowl to keep the weather out might improve the air flow.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am feeling like the roof trusses need addressed.

There isn't great or even good support to keep the roof from being ripped off by the wind.

Since the birds aren't in there yet now is the best time to address those.

Just one short video of how to build trusses.

 

[Sally PB]

but would something like this work for adequate ventilation, and we could just put hardware cloth there?

I'm glad you mentioned the hardware cloth. You'll hear a lot about "open ventilation" here on BYC. It's often not stated, but it's implied that the openings are covered with hardware cloth to keep out predators.

Don't use chicken wire.* Yes it's a lot cheaper, but while it can keep chickens in, it doesn't keep predators out.

*You didn't say you were going to, but in case someone else is looking for information and reads this, I wanted to make that clear.