# Ventilation



## Love My Chickies (Jun 25, 2021)

Hi! These are the two ends of my coop. I live in the Houston area where it's quite often in the 90s or even triple digits, which is why it's completely open on both ends. My question is how much do I need to cover for winter to keep my babies draft free but still have enough ventilation? We are planning on screwing plywood on the bottom third or so. The tops of the door/wall will be open for ventilation.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Use clear plastic, that way they can see out. I even used shower curtain liners once because they were so clear. 

What direction does your wind come from? That would be the end to close up if it's the end where the wind comes from.


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## imnukensc (Dec 5, 2020)

Hard to say since we don't know which way the wind/weather comes from in your situation, but I would probably cover the end closest to the roosts. I would do more than a third on that end. Leave the pop door open for lower ventilation and cover the rest high enough so that the tallest roost is a foot or more below that. Looks like that would give you at least a foot or so of ventilation above the roosts which should be good for flow through ventilation. I wouldn't cover the people door at all.


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## Love My Chickies (Jun 25, 2021)

Thank you! The roost side is west. The screen door is east. I leave the small door open in the day but I don't trust my run enough to leave it open at night


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## imnukensc (Dec 5, 2020)

Love My Chickies said:


> Thank you! The roost side is west. The screen door is east. I leave the small door open in the day but I don't trust my run enough to leave it open at night


In that case, I would not cover the area next to the pop door.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Nail a tarp to the door? I don't actually have a big door on my chicken coop like you do I only have a small one.
I have a little window vent where the air can come in so they can breathe some so my chicken coop usually stays a good temp in the winter, NOT in the summer though obviously, way too hot. Hope you'll find a way on what to do.
Fingers crossed!🤞


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

Use clear plastic


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