Coop Humidity in Winter

[gtaus]

Is this going to be an issue in a few weeks? As temps drop and winter becomes snow rather then mixed with rain, won't your humidity also drop? That's what is expect in NH and I'm guessing pretty true in Northern MN too.

I suspect that as the temps drop below freezing and stay there, that the humidity will also drop. In this transition period, we get high humidity freezing rain with temps around 32F, but temps dropping lower at night.

 

[gtaus]

It's the same here.
This is when frostbite often happens, high humidity and near freezing temps...
....maybe more so than when the temp are much lower, but it's drier.
It's the times of 'thaw' after long cold spells and copious snow that I see the FB happen....and condensation on inside of coop, even with lots of ventilation.
I've pretty accepted that FB is going to happen, I can't really prevent it.

Yes, my concerns exactly, with high humidity and nighttime temps dropping below freezing. Bad combination and not much I can do about it. At least coop is not building up condensation on roof or windows.

 

[aart]

Had a situation here several times during thaws where condensation formed on the north under roof of a 'standard' roof construction (1x boards, tar paper and asphalt shingles). We had feet of snow and very cold temps for weeks and weeks, then thaw came and temps rose to near 40°F, but the foot+ of snow on the north roof stayed put and kept the all the roof layers cold enough to do this for a couple of days:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/

 

[RoosterML]

@aart I suspect lack of ventilation.. take the roof off !!! Problem solved

 

[RoosterML]

Happy thanksgiving!!

 

[Trevorusn]

If it is feasible, you can Vaseline the larger combs and wattles. If ventilation is the problem it gives you time to work on it. If not, might become a winter practice for you. Helps keep my larger combs and wattles protected here in southern NH, even though my coop is well ventilated when they are outside during the day it can get pretty FB inducing weathewise some days.

 

[NHMountainMan]

If it is feasible, you can Vaseline the larger combs and wattles. If ventilation is the problem it gives you time to work on it. If not, might become a winter practice for you. Helps keep my larger combs and wattles protected here in southern NH, even though my coop is well ventilated when they are outside during the day it can get pretty FB inducing weathewise some days.

There are many that claim that this doesn't help, and I can't confirm that, but I can 100% confirm that Vaseline helps prevent frostbite and windburn on humans. I used to do a lot of winter hiking along the presidential range - and a layer of Vaseline really made a difference at -20 with 75mph wind (and proper equipment)

 

[Trevorusn]

There are many that claim that this doesn't help, and I can't confirm that, but I can 100% confirm that Vaseline helps prevent frostbite and windburn on humans. I used to do a lot of winter hiking along the presidential range - and a layer of Vaseline really made a difference at -20 with 75mph wind (and proper equipment)

I used it the moment I saw frostbite on a comb. It was mild but also very early in the year for it to occur. I now use Vaseline when temps dip and the deep chill sets in after a raw day and so far I have seen no new occurrences. As you know, we have had some lousy windy, wet, chilling nights this month. Really wish I found out about Vaseline's many uses years ago when I would camp up by Sandwich during Presidents Day weekend.

 

[Cazook]

remember that humidity is relative to temperature - 80% at a cooler temperature will hold less moisture in the air compared to when the temperature rises. sharp temperature drops are the worry as the water will precipitate out from the air. but if your ventilation is good and the coop floor is dry (droppings have a lot of moisture, so removing them daily helps a lot)

 

[gtaus]

remember that humidity is relative to temperature - 80% at a cooler temperature will hold less moisture in the air compared to when the temperature rises. sharp temperature drops are the worry as the water will precipitate out from the air. but if your ventilation is good and the coop floor is dry (droppings have a lot of moisture, so removing them daily helps a lot)

My current outside temp is 15F and the humidity is at 81%. I guess I never paid any attention to winter time humidity outside. The problem we usually have is inside the house that gets too dry from our forced air heat and we have to put humidity back into the air.

It appears that my coop ventilation is adequate. I also use the dry deep litter method with about 8 inches of wood chips. I have yet to see any build up of droppings. But, every day, I throw scratch all over the bedding inside the coop and the chickens peck and scratch the wood chips. I think that helps prevent a build up of droppings. So far, there has been no bad smells in the coop, but I have extra wood chips ready to throw into the coop if needed.

I have no need to clean out droppings on a daily basis. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find any chicken droppings in the wood chip litter. The droppings seem to vanish. Maybe that will change when the temps stay below freezing and the droppings will freeze as fast as they hit the litter. If that becomes an issue, I have more chips to throw over the frozen droppings.

From what I have learned from others in my local area, nobody cleans out the coop until spring. So extra litter is thrown over the old litter as needed all winter and there will be a big spring cleanup when the weather warms up. My plan is to use the winter coop litter in the chicken run and let it age a bit before taking it out to the garden. Or, I may compost some of the litter in my compost bin(s).