Chicken newbie and loving it!

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sourland said:
Hello, and welcome to BYC. Perhaps a baffle inside the coop entrance or a piece of plywood leaned against the opening would help. A picture of the entrance would help with suggestions.
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Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow

Technically chickens need 1sq ft per bird of vent space in your eaves. They are heavy breathers, produce a lot of moisture breathing and pooping. So not only does this moisture need to escape out the roof but the ammonia from the poop needs to be removed too. Venting works best if vents are placed on the opposite eave from the other vents. This said, on super windy nights, you can block off a couple of your vents to slow the air movement that is sucking out the heat. My coop vents are similar to yours, I stuff rags in the pockets which are easy to remove when not needed. But always allow some air to move, never keep the coop tight as a drum. It will cause respiratory issues and eye burns from the ammonia. Moisture will fall as frost freezing their combs and feet. But they still need a bit of fresh air in the winter.
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.

I have an offset gable roof with soffit vents and paired gable vents and ridge vent so there is a clear path of air flow.

For a mono-pitch roof, you can block the worst of the wind blowing through by cutting cheap furnace filters to wedge into the space. This still permits air flow but blocks the wind.
 
Hi! I'm in Idaho, too! I am like an hour and a half south of Coeur d'Alene.

If the drafts aren't directly on the chickens, the open air is good to help prevent frostbite. We don't button up our coop or reduce ventilation (the whole top part of the walls are ventilated with hardware cloth) and we got down to -28°F last year and no one got frostbite. When we've tried to reduce the drafts (covering the holes with feed bags) we've gotten frostbite.

Thanks for joining! Welcome to BackYard Chickens!
 

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