Right now the humidity outside is 74%. Tomorrow to get as high as 99%. I only have windows for ventilation and the door of course. My roosts are pretty much even in height with the windows.
My humidity level got to 77 this morning and the coop was 32.4 degrees. It was about 28 degrees outside. It had warmed up and we had an icy rain so I assume it is pretty humid outside as well. I had opened the top of the window another inch before I went to bed as I saw it had gone from 60% to 68%. OP what was your humidity this morning?
We were suppose to have 90% today outside. Inside it was 85%. I cleaned the coop and put in fresh bedding. I added heat only to try to keep it a little dryer. Not for heat in the coop because its not that cold yet but thought it would keep the coop a little dryer. I am in the process of trying how to put drop boards in and what to use. It will be difficult with the perches being 12 ft long and the design of the coop for cleaning. When spring comes something def will have to be done. Ceiling vents or something. The windows don't seem to be the answer at this point. I can't imagine trying to clean this coop once a week in -30% weather but I guess you got to do what you got to do right?
I will do that. Maybe you can also give me some idea as to how to put up convenient dropping boards. The roosts are 12 ft long. It would have to be something that I can remove to be able to get under for cleaning the flooring. I will post pictures soon.
After a total new bedding replacement last evening and putting in heat I have been able to drop the humidity to 60%. I know this is a temporary fix and will need to do something for better ventilation and dropping boards. So I am temporarily fixed. For maybe a week anyway.
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Just curious, did you find any spots that appeared to be wetter/damper than the rest of the litter?....under the roosts?....around the waterer?
It seems counter-intuitive but raising the temperature in the coop can also cause the humidity to rise...warm air holds more moisture than cool air. Unless you actually have a heat lamp close enough to the litter to physically warm it (and dry it out) then the heat lamp really isn't doing anything other than making the electric meter spin faster. (BTW, if you have a heat lamp close enough to heat the litter up then I would be a bit afraid of fire.)
Dropping boards would be great...you don't have to catch all the poop, but what you are able to catch and remove will help to reduce the overall humidity level. If you use actual boards cut them up into manageable 4' sections. The dropping boards don't have to be fancy...they just need to work.
As for ventilation, you might look and see if there are any boards under the eaves that could be removed to allow for more ventilation. As Pat said...a picture would be helpful.
