Controlling Humidity question -

[vweers]

I finally got it down into the 50% so I got it figured out. I had a chicken expert come out awhile ago and she said I was fine size wise with the ventilation we had. So with the additional ventilation and some tweaking inside with the droppings, I think it is solved. It hasn't been very long since we cleaned it but it has been a week since I had cleaned out the droppings. I can't put in a poop dropping board so I have to clean it out of the bedding (which is pine shavings) every few days. I just was a little lax over Christmas and then the temps dropped so I forgot to do it. Just need to put some hardware cloth over the holes to keep out any pests. I will do that tomorrow. Sorry I didn't get back sooner, I have been super busy these last couple of days. Thanks for all your input. I knew it could be done just couldn't understand what I was doing wrong until I spoke with my chicken lady and remembered I hadn't cleaned up the extra poo recently. I try to keep on it but this holiday season has been crazy.

 

[lynnehd]

Is it drier inside than outside?

Perhaps I should have been more specific. I have no idea what the humidity is inside my coop, as I don't measure it. It might be exactly the same as outside.
However, even with a cold, wet rain/snow outside, my coop is dry; the underside of the metal roof is dry, no issues with frostbite, bedding is dry, etc.
I do have good ventilation with open eaves and ventilation panels in the sides, open pop door.
So I am satisfied.

I finally got it down into the 50% so I got it figured out. I had a chicken expert come out awhile ago and she said I was fine size wise with the ventilation we had. So with the additional ventilation and some tweaking inside with the droppings, I think it is solved. It hasn't been very long since we cleaned it but it has been a week since I had cleaned out the droppings. I can't put in a poop dropping board so I have to clean it out of the bedding (which is pine shavings) every few days. I just was a little lax over Christmas and then the temps dropped so I forgot to do it. Just need to put some hardware cloth over the holes to keep out any pests. I will do that tomorrow. Sorry I didn't get back sooner, I have been super busy these last couple of days. Thanks for all your input. I knew it could be done just couldn't understand what I was doing wrong until I spoke with my chicken lady and remembered I hadn't cleaned up the extra poo recently. I try to keep on it but this holiday season has been crazy.

Sounds like some additional ventilation and removal of poop which has a high water content has helped! Good job.
I use Stall Dry from the feed store on the bottom of my coop, and it really works well in a wetter climate (although your climate usually tends to be drier than ours in winter, things are wacky this year). It's similar to PDZ in concept. I do scoop the coop every day to other day.
You could also consider adding some PDZ under the bedding.

 

[TalkALittle]

It also sounds like the humidity inside was not, in fact, the same as that of outside as the OP had originally stated.

If it had been, no amount of additional ventilation or clean bedding would have made a difference.

Glad to hear the problem is remedied. Just goes to show how much and fast even a small buildup of poop can affect humidity levels in a coop.

 

[vweers]

I have used PDZ before but ran out. I need to get a few things anyways, so I will pick it up and use it again.

 

[jimbob86]

It would stand to reason that humidity would always be higher inside the coop than outside: the chickens are adding moisture and heat to tha air constantly, by breathing and pooping ....... this is why ventilation works at all- moisture moves from higher saturation to lower saturation ...... as does heat, from warmer to cooler