carlaashdown
Songster
We live in SE Georgia where it is normally hot and humid. It's been abnormally cold and windy for a couple weeks, but naturally we still have the humidity. We can handle the hot, we know what to do, but this cold and damp is different.
It is cold and windy today. Tonight, it is going to be 24 with 20+mph winds, so the wind chill will be in the teens. (temps are Fahrenheit)
My coop is a 10x12 converted shed with several large windows as well as ventilation we added in the roof peaks. This ventilation works well for us in our normal climate.
Currently, the inside temp is the same as the outside temp. So, at night it's been 30 outside - inside temp is the same.
No drafts, no unsealed holes. There is no condensation inside - walls, ceiling, or windows. The floor is suspended, wood, and I have it covered with vinyl flooring for easy clean up. I have about 4 inches of pine shavings on the floor. I cannot smell any ammonia. Their roost is about 4.5 feet off the floor with a poop tray underneath that I clean daily. I use DE and PDZ on the poop tray, but have added dry shavings daily to help with the cooler temps. Since the roost is near the wall - which is uninsulated metal - I hung curtains a week or so ago as a barrier between them and the wall, so they wouldn't be directly up against the cold metal. Behind the roost only, not the whole coop. Just used what I had to be frugal, since we don't normally need to winterize much, and it won't be up there long.
Seven chickens, big walk-in coop space with high ceilings.
I have been closing the windows and the pop door. Windows are the same height as their roosts. Pop door is, of course, on the floor.
*I'll post a picture of the roost, window, pop door relation.
This morning, I have two chickens with mild frostbite on their combs. Obviously, that is moisture related and likely due to our humidity combined with the abnormally cold, windy temps. I can't change the humidity. I keep the coop clean and dry.
My question: Should I keep the pop door open to increase circulation from the floor up to the roof vents? What else can I do?
It is cold and windy today. Tonight, it is going to be 24 with 20+mph winds, so the wind chill will be in the teens. (temps are Fahrenheit)
My coop is a 10x12 converted shed with several large windows as well as ventilation we added in the roof peaks. This ventilation works well for us in our normal climate.
Currently, the inside temp is the same as the outside temp. So, at night it's been 30 outside - inside temp is the same.
No drafts, no unsealed holes. There is no condensation inside - walls, ceiling, or windows. The floor is suspended, wood, and I have it covered with vinyl flooring for easy clean up. I have about 4 inches of pine shavings on the floor. I cannot smell any ammonia. Their roost is about 4.5 feet off the floor with a poop tray underneath that I clean daily. I use DE and PDZ on the poop tray, but have added dry shavings daily to help with the cooler temps. Since the roost is near the wall - which is uninsulated metal - I hung curtains a week or so ago as a barrier between them and the wall, so they wouldn't be directly up against the cold metal. Behind the roost only, not the whole coop. Just used what I had to be frugal, since we don't normally need to winterize much, and it won't be up there long.
Seven chickens, big walk-in coop space with high ceilings.
I have been closing the windows and the pop door. Windows are the same height as their roosts. Pop door is, of course, on the floor.
*I'll post a picture of the roost, window, pop door relation.
This morning, I have two chickens with mild frostbite on their combs. Obviously, that is moisture related and likely due to our humidity combined with the abnormally cold, windy temps. I can't change the humidity. I keep the coop clean and dry.
My question: Should I keep the pop door open to increase circulation from the floor up to the roof vents? What else can I do?
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