Humidity Level

[gregc_backyardchickens]

Quote:

I'm not sure where they came up with that number, as it's a little on the dry side. 60-80% is normally what's recommended. Keep it too dry and airborne dust becomes a problem, keep it too moist and you start having problems with condensation in the winter, moist litter blowing off ammonia, and markedly greater bacteria growth in the coop. Last winter I kept our layer barn at 80% through manipulation of the exhaust fan run times. That conserved the most heat without keeping things too wet. If the humidity rose to 85% the conditions were miserable in there and the windows were so wet that it looked like somebody had sprayed them with a hose. 80% kept things cozy without excessive moisture.

This is something I've worried about too. You can find all sorts of warnings about ventilation and humidity but not so much in the way of hard facts.

Our coop is a two decker. At night with ramp up we have 4 hens in a space about 4x4x6 feet. I have two min/max temp and humidity sensors; one inside the coop and one recording the outdoor temp and humidity. The humidity in the coop tracks the outdoor humidity down to about 50% at which point it seems to level out and hold steady. The temp in the coop stays 3-4 degrees warmer than the outside temp, until theo utside temp drops below 20 F, at which point a hundred watt ceramic heater kicks in. The girls seem happy and healthy.

What surprised me was how little ventilation it took to reach this "equilibrium". One louvered vent about 4x24 inches is all it takes (I started the winter with 4 vents, 3 of which have since been closed off and insulated). In order to keep the humidity above 50% on those really dry New England winter nights I'd have to run a humidifier since I don't think I want block off any more ventilation.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Whoa there! Unless I'm really misunderstanding this, the issue about humidity is to keep it down in the winter, not keep it up! As I understand it, your chickens are more likely to get frostbite in cold humid air than cold dry air. I've never heard of anyone running a humidifier in a coop...low humidity seems to be what everyone is trying to get.

 

[junglebird]

We have wet winters. Most nights are mid 30's, rare nights will go down to 14º. Winter is when we get ALL our rainfall. So, the temperature/humidity monitor in my coop often reads up to 98% ... same as outside. (ETA: for example, earlier it was 89% humidity both, inside and outside of the coop. Now that the freezing fog has dissipated, it's 70%. Inside our home, in the heat conditioned air, the rate is 27% which is way too dry. In fact, the weather station has a little frowny face displayed for this dryness. lol)

My coop is in the end of an unheated hoop house, and there is almost always condensation on the plastic. On the rare warm and sunny days I open the whole thing up and air it out. The hoop house is ventilated, and not drafty. Its typically the same temperature inside as outside, or up to 5 degrees warmer, depending on how sunny the day was. I haven't worried about the condensation, because their open air summer coop, which has a plastic roof and 3 sides, also has condensation on it, too.

I'm doing the deep litter method, and its moistness/dryness seems constant and appropriate to me. The crumbles in the feeder never seem affected by moisture. I use a thermostatically controlled infrared heat lamp over the waterer to keep it from freezing.

 

[rancher hicks]

Personally I would not want a high humidity level. This is where breeding of disease starts. Chickens can deal easier with the dry cold than damp. I would not suggest anything more than 40% . I have seen ice crystals on the inside of my coop and that concerned me, though I should say that last year I had waterers inside the coop and this year I have only nipple waterers that sometimes freeze so I have regular waters inside the run which I fill every morning.

A good rule of thumb is if your can smell amonia or it feels damp. I can't find anything to the exact level. You also need to becareful of mold. This can kill chickens just as easily as diseases.

Further you want to keep all drafts away from the birds. My coop has an open soffit on the south side or a 12' length and of course is not sealed or insulated. Much of your humidity will come from the birds themselves, just as you get it on the inside of your car.

I can't recall reading anything about what level is safe though.

Rancher