It has been a very hot summer here. We have had 22 days of triple digit temperatures. The coop is located under a pine tree and gets very little direct sun, but it still would get up to 100 degrees inside during the day. The girls would nearly have a stroke when they would go in to lay their egg. I cut out a 9x21 inch window on the East and West walls. I thought it would help move air and cool the inside. It did not.
I tried to find a small air conditioner that would cool the small space. I did buy one that I thought might help during the night when they were roosting. It was advertised as a "personal cooler". The air within six inches were slightly cooler, but that was all it could do.
Plan B was a box fan. It doesn't "cool", but it moves the hot air and gives a little comfort for the girls. It helps.
The coop originally had one nest box. After the new additions started to lay, at least one more box was needed. I made and installed one on the other side of the coop. Once they were all laying, everyone wanted to use the new box. And no one used the original. So I pulled out the original one and replaced it with two, side by side. They still prefer the other box, but when it is occupied, they will use the duplex.
The coop will be painted to match the house in the near future. It's way too hot to tackle that job now. When the weather is cool enough to remove the fan, that is when I plan to paint. The garage needs paint too.
