do I keep vent's open?

[countrygirl57]

The temperature is slowly going down, especially at night. It's 0-4'C or 32'-40'F.

Should we be keeping the roof vents open at night. I've heard chickens remain healther.

Our coup is 8'X10' with 24 young chickens 20 wks old. The coup is insulated. Also do I need to put vaseline on their combs yet?

 

[CityChook]

I keep my vents open until the daytime high temps don't reach 0F. As long as the vents are up high and not blowing cold air on the birds, you're golden. You need those vents open so that warm, moist air can escape and fresh air can replace it. Yes, your chickens will be healthier and your coop will not be stinky.

As for the vaseline, I can't advise on that as I've never done it. I'm sure someone else will chime in.

You can always do a search on "ventilation" in the blue bar above. There is a ton of information available on this wonderful site.

 

[rcentner]

I have read that the coop should be kept around 34 degrees F (about 0 celsius) at night and they don't need it warmer than that. So I have the vents open now cause it has only dropped to around 30 at night here and they are adjusting very well to the cooler temps. I have heard that if the birds are cold, they will make it obvious.

 

[countrygirl57]

thank you so much! I didn't know about the search engine.

 

[patandchickens]

Absolutely. CLose the vents, and you get frostbite at fairly mild temperatures due to the humidity it traps inside the coop. (edited to clarify: point being, leave them OPEN. There may be a few super-cold or super-blizzardy days per winter when you close them entirely, but most of the time you want them open. The fewer chickens you have per area of coop, the better you can get away with sometimes closing the vents)

If your coop is well-ventilated and dry, you should not have to worry about vaseline-ing combs til it is *considerably* colder than it is now! Just keep an eye on them.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[telepiste]

What about loosely covering the vent with a towel? I figure that would allow sufficient air exchange but prevent a nasty draft.

Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[Rennie]

Quote:
Not really ..but it seems a simple but effective idea logically ..

 

[CityChook]

If the vent is up high, there won't be a draft on the chickens. I know it doesn't make sense, and my DH thought I was NUTS for making him drill holes in his newly finished million dollar coop masterpiece, but it works. The warm air leaves, yes -- but it takes moisture with it, and that's the goal.

BTW, I am barely able to keep my coop at 34 degrees NOW and it's not even November. My coop averages around 10-15F in the winter and that's with added heat.

No experience with putting towels in front of the vents. I just leave them open until the highs don't come above 0F

PS - that search function is your friend

 

[rcentner]

I would be worried about the towel getting wet and moldy, I tried to cover a vent with some old rags and they collected moisture so I removed them before any mold happened.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
My experience is that putting a towel over a vent will prevent much or all airflow, except on real windy days when ventilation is not such a problem *anyhow* (because of the popdoor and air leaks)

Put the vents up high, preferably up under the roof overhang, and if it's real windy only leave the downwind ones open, and realio trulio it does NOT create a draft. Two dozen chickens in 80 sq ft will produce a *lot* of humidity and if you do not get rid of it (even at the expense of the coop getting colder, which is ok) then you will have frostbite problems (and, if you run a lamp to prevent that, mold problems).

Pat