Another Ventilation Question

[smseverson]

One foot above the roost. They hunker down on the roost, so that 1 foot measurement gives you several inches to spare above their heads, once they are situated for the night.

This is good to know junebuggena, it makes me feel much better about opening up the top vents on mine that you mentioned in my post earlier.

 

[blackdog043]

I scrape the poop board daily, although some is frozen on now.

Get sweet PDZ and put a 1/2 inch thickness all over your poop board. Use a cat litter scoop, to scoop your poop daily. No more stuck poop and it helps with the ammonia smell. Sweet PDZ can be found in the horse section at Tractor Supply.

 

[Welshies]

A hygrometer just measures the humidity...it won't change it.
A hydrometer measures specific gravity...probably most often used for brewing beer and/or distilling booze.

Ohhh! I didn't know that. Oops.
And I knew the hydrometer (now hygrometer thanks to you) didn't change humidity.

 

[KCAmelia]

I appreciate knowing it is hard to avoid minor comb frostbite at extremely low temps. Thanks for the hydro- / hygro- correction. I think I will remove the foam in the window since one foot above the roosts is good. You’re right; they definitely hunker. That’s a good chunk of ventilation space to add! Still hoping it won’t get that cold again, but at least I’ll be ready! And I like the sweet PDZ idea, too. Sick of fighting the poopsicles!

 

[Welshies]

I appreciate knowing it is hard to avoid minor comb frostbite at extremely low temps. Thanks for the hydro- / hygro- correction. I think I will remove the foam in the window since one foot above the roosts is good. You’re right; they definitely hunker. That’s a good chunk of ventilation space to add! Still hoping it won’t get that cold again, but at least I’ll be ready! And I like the sweet PDZ idea, too. Sick of fighting the poopsicles!

Good luck! If you ever have fierce winds but need ventilation, use plastic to overhang and redirect the wind so you get ventilation but no drafts... shower curtains work great!

 

[Gramma Chick]

I believe you have too much ventilation Vents should be only on one side . Close all the others You have a Draft

 

[Welshies]

I believe you have too much ventilation Vents should be only on one side . Close all the others You have a Draft

There is never too much ventilation! OP would be able to feel a draft. Better more ventilation and a slight wind blowing above the chicken's heads where it doesn't affect them, versus them freezing their lungs shut.

 

[jreardon1918]

Last night was our coldest night of the year. Got down to -2F inside the coop. The humidity got up to 59%. I did half close the two front windows. No frost or condensation on the windows. I have a temp/humidity sensor inside the coop. At 7am I opened the windows. The humidity has lowered to 56%. The actual outdoor humidity is 50%. The seven chicks all seem happy and healthy.

 

[Chullicken]

You did the right thing in covering the vent right by the roost. Drafts are not equal to ventilation.
Please do not use this information to win a fight with hubby.
You should have one square foot of ventilation per 10 square feet. I would keep the vents open. If there is frost gathering anywhere, add more. Keep water and warm foods out of the coop.
How bad is the frostbite? Minor frostbite is bound to happen once temps get to -4°F or lower. It's normal, and as long as it's only affecting the tips, it's totally okay. If your girls are comfortable and acting normal I would not make any modifications. I would wait, and place a hydrometer in the coop. I don't know what the optimal percentage of humidity is, but I'm sure someone can help- @Blooie @junebuggena @aart , what is the optimal humidity percentage in a coop that is in a cold climate?

Roughly %20 and lower would be ideal.

 

[KCAmelia]

Gramma Chick, I do worry that the pop door open down low may cause a draft in combination with the upper vents and window I open for ventilation. Does anyone think that would cause a draft on the roosts? Is anything low supposed to be open? I did think ventilation was okay on all sides above the roosts, though. The roosts are on the other side of the coop, so I guess I was thinking any wind that blew in the pop door would head out the open vent across from it.