Coop Vents?

[chicksinmn]

Hi!

We have 13 chickens in our basement and we are just putting the finishing touches on our hen house today. Yay!!

We live in Northern Minnesota, so it gets very cold here in the winter. We are wondering about ventilation - out coop is pretty tight now and we will be adding insulation before winter comes. Do we need to have some kind of vent in the roof or wall? In the summer, we can just open the window and door, so we are more concerned about winter time.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give me!

Hope

 

[ThunderStruck]

Good morning. this is what i did with mine. when i built my coop i incorporated hinged flaps that are about 6in x anywhere from 12 to about 24 in long. i then made them fully adjustable with the use of chains and hooks. make sure to put hardware cloth in the vent openings to keep out the preds. that way i can open and close and adjust as needed to take advantage of my micro climate and the different wind directions. right now i have them open max 24/7 as it got to 104 yesterday!

then in the winter they can be closed up all the way to keep my ladies nice-n-toasty warm and opened as needed. you didnt mention what size coop you have but im sure this would work with any size...hope this helps.

 

[Motherhenandflock]

We get pretty chilly in my area too, sometimes down to -30-40. If it's going to be real cold, we will run an extension cord to the hen house and use the brooder light, even with a 60 watt bulb, it provides warmth. The hens can huddle together and they stay warm. Sometimes combs can freeze though!
Make sure they can't pick at the insulation when you put it up.
I'd vote for something to vent out the condensation you will get in winter. Warm bodies, cold air= condensation.