Another Ventilation Question

[KCAmelia]

Hello, thank you for taking the time to read this.

These are pictures of my coop. I live in Missouri in the US. Until recently, I thought I had enough ventilation in my coop. But, I have more birds now, and We have recently had our coldest temps in a while, down to -9 F overnight and down to 0 F for several days around that low. All of my girls with straight combs have minor comb frostbite. My EE roo does, too. I feel terrible. Right now we are having a warm up, so I am trying to modify my coop, if possible, to prevent any more injury.

Some info: I do not hear the coop. They have a heated water dish in the run. I use a poop board and have 20 chickens. Their coop is 4’ x 8’ x 4-6’ tall, back to front. I know that is small, but they are never shut in the coop. I’ve left the pop door open even in the cold. They have a 12’ x 8’ predator proof, covered run with wind proofing on 2 sides where their feed and water are. So no water in the coop. I scrape the poop board daily, although some is frozen on now. the bedding is straw and 12-18 inches deep. The birds all roost in the south side of the coop. The front of the coop faces west, so the pop door and window pictured face west. The vent that is covered with plastic in the photo is the one right at bird level next to the roosts. The others are all open. I can open the window fully (remove the blue foam), but I’m concerned that would be too low above them. Does anyone think it would be okay?
They

have our garage as windbreak on the north and our six foot fence on two sides.
For most daylight hours they are out in our backyard where they have oodles of space; they are only confined to the coop and run during dark. Please tell me that I do not have enough ventilation. If you can suggest a way to ventilate more without putting a draft directly on the roosts, please do! My ideas now are to add venting to roof, cut the top off of the people door, cut out corners of sides of coop, etc. my husband is not excited about any of those, so I need support! And if I just have too many chickens to keep in such a small coop, tell me that, too. I would rather cull my flock than keep them in poor conditions. I’m just new to this. Thank you!

 

[Welshies]

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?

 

[junebuggena]

Any vents that are at least a foot above/away from roosting height can be left open.

 

[aart]

@aart , what is the optimal humidity percentage in a coop that is in a cold climate?

There isn't one.
All you can do is get is equal to outside, can't get it any lower than that.
No one temp and/or humidity will make frostbite happen...or not happen.

 

[KCAmelia]

Thank you, welshies. I would never try to win for the sake of winning. I’m sure he and I both just want what’s easiest and best for the birds at this point! And it is minor, I think. Just tips or surface spots. The BR in the pic, if you can zoom in, is a good example of how they all look.

Junebuggena, thank you. Do you mean one foot above their heads while roosting or one foot above the actual roost (where their feet are)? I’m going to go look while they are in there to see how high their heads really are.

 

[Welshies]

There isn't one.
All you can do is get is equal to outside, can't get it any lower than that.
No one temp and/or humidity will make frostbite happen...or not happen.

Very true, but humidity levels that are too high often cause issues. The lower the humidity the less the risk, although it could still happen. I have found any colder than -4°F and my frostbite risk goes up considerably, because they aren't outside during the day and closed up. It's management practises more than anything and varies climate to climate. There is never one "magic number".

 

[KCAmelia]

Aart, that would be too easy, a simple humidity plus temp formula! I will try the hydrometer.

 

[Welshies]

Aart, that would be too easy, a simple humidity plus temp formula! I will try the hydrometer.

Yep! The hydrometer can be a good way to try and match outside humidity. It has worked for me in the past.

 

[junebuggena]

Thank you, welshies. I would never try to win for the sake of winning. I’m sure he and I both just want what’s easiest and best for the birds at this point! And it is minor, I think. Just tips or surface spots. The BR in the pic, if you can zoom in, is a good example of how they all look.

Junebuggena, thank you. Do you mean one foot above their heads while roosting or one foot above the actual roost (where their feet are)? I’m going to go look while they are in there to see how high their heads really are.

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.

 

[aart]

The hydrometer can be a good way to try and match outside humidity.

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.