Quote:
It's just not heat that you've gotta deal with, but moisture, too. I say it's got *way* to little ventilation for both heat and ventilation reasons.
Best wishes,
Ed
Yes and I believe you. I said that I was going to make a removable screen for the left barn door and leave that door open. The screen would be about 15"X40". That still wouldn't be enough ventilation?
Thanks again for pointing that out.
A 15"x40" screen should give you adequate ventilation in the summer since you will be replacing the fixed plexiglass window with a mesh window. That much ventilation should be good enough for heat issues and will create a bit of flow-through ventilation (I'll hold my tongue on recommending more...living in the south I tend to believe you can't have enough ventilation like a window opposite the 15"x17" window would be nice. Oops, sorry about that!
)
I am afraid that you will still have a moisture problem in winter....unless you're planning on leaving that 15"x40" screen installed permanently. You need more ventilation up high so you can close off the vents at roost level and let the warmer (moisture laden) air escape out of the vents. Putting the vents up high should help to keep drafts from hitting your roosting chickens. If you don't vent out the moisture adequately there is a real danger with frostbite due to the elevated humidity level. Plus the higher moisture level promotes mold and mildew, respiratory disease, moldy/damp food and litter....imagine living in a cave.
My primary issue down here in south Alabama is HEAT which I intend to handle with large expanses of screened windows (semi-walls). In the winter time I will cover *some* of these windows and still have the permanent ventilation. I'm shooting for at least 1 square foot of permanent ventilation per chicken. This past winter was the exception, rather than the rule, in regards to cold temperatures and even then the chickens could handle the temps well. I would think your situation is similar, though you probably have a bit colder normal winter time temperature...thus my prodding for more ventilation. With what you have planned (replacing the small window with a screened one and one of the doors with a screened door) I think you'll be ok for heat...but, for the size of coop you have I would think you'd need 6 to 8 square feet of permanent ventilation area.
Here's some food for thought:
A 3" circle has ~7.07 square inches inside of it.
A 2 1/2" circle has ~4.91 square inches inside of it.
(Somebody check my math here!!!
) Therefore, you have ~47.90 square inches, or ~0.33 square feet, of permanent ventilation out of your 8 round holes. In my opinion this is inadequate, but....that is just that, my opinion.
If you haven't already you might want to check out Pat's
"Big Ol' VENTILATION Page "
Best wishes,
Ed
