How does roof type affect humidity in the coop?

[gtaus]

First let me tell you I am qualified to bloviate on this subject because my husband worked construction for 19 years. So that makes me qualified. I do love architecture. Anyway, The reason you have lower humidity might be because your coop is on a trailer and not sitting on the ground. Keep the gambrel roof idea. I like it and if you have two you will have symmetry. You have a lovely coop.

I had not considered that having my elevated coop on a boat trailer might also affect the humidity inside.

Good idea to make another gambrel shed, on the ground, that matches the mobile chicken coop. Had not considered the benefits of that symmetry and the asthetics it would provide. If I do make another gambrel shed, I'll be sure to have the top as a loft for extra storage (bagged leaves for the winter, for example).

 

[jreardon1918]

That's an interesting variation on a gambrel roof. As I mentioned, my roof does not have eave vents, but does have some small vents towards the top of the ridge. Also, I don't have a ridge vent. When I checked into building in a ridge vent, I was told that in an unheated chicken coop, the snow would just cover the top of the roof and block the ridge vent anyway. As I look out at my chicken coop, the top of the roof is indeed covered with about 4 inches of snow.

I have a ridge vent and gable vents. Whenever it snows i use a roof rake to clear the snow. I think that helps the ventilation.

 

[gtaus]

I have a ridge vent and gable vents. Whenever it snows i use a roof rake to clear the snow. I think that helps the ventilation.

At my age, I always look for ways to decrease the work I need to do. I decided to go with the gable vents instead of the ridge vents because I did not want to rake off the snow on the coop rooftop. Our snow season can be as long as 6 months. My coop rooftop is covered with about 4 inches of snow, but the gable vents on the front and back side of the coop are completely free and open.

I suppose a ridge vent would really be nice for cooling in hot weather, but here in northern Minnesota, that's usually not a problem for us. A combination ridge vent and gable vents would even be better.

 

[jreardon1918]

The extra work removing snow is a pain. I thought i saw you had a ridge vent. Read too quickly . As to age, so far I am still up for this chore.

 

[aart]

I will try to get out a tape measure in the next day or two and send you the dimensions of my roof.

Did you build this from plans...or....?

 

[aart]

(each emits about the same amount of radiant heat as a 10 watt night light)

This is what gets outside the feather 'blanket'?
Wonders, how did they measure that?

 

[Howard E]

Quote lifted from a book on poultry husbandry, written by Professor Card, U of IL, circa 1960......chapter on optimal ventilation to retain heat and control humidity in poultry barns.

 

[aart]

One of the most hilarious examples was a version of the Purina coop built by non other than the experts on Good Old House. They did an excellent job of building what may have been one of the worst coop designs ever concocted.

Boy, that's for sure!!

 

[gtaus]

Didn't quote but what someone else said is correct.You have less humidity because of the elavatef wood floor .The big consern with chicken munure is the build of methane gas ,Any thing placed directly on the ground helps to hold moisture in the ground .The ventalation you have is adequate for you voulme of cubic feet of air space .If your coop were directly on the ground then you would need more.

I had not considered the fact that my coop is elevated off the ground that it would be less humid. I do use a dry deep litter wood chip bedding and thought that was the main reason the humidity remains under control. The gambrel roof type also provides much more volume of air up high compared to the gable roofs I have typically built on my sheds before. I was/am prepared to add more ventilation if needed, but don't see the need for more vents yet.

Ihope you have a moisture proof fabric to protect the floor ,Iuse rubber foofing to cover mine .Remove the frozen poo ,don,t cover it .Finly let me say what a good job you did .Very impressive.

I have a linoleum floor mat on the floor which goes up the sides of the coop for 12 inches. This is to hold my dry deep litter wood chips.

I can remove the frozen poo from the coop, but I thought the whole idea of using the deep litter was to turn that poo back into the wood chips. If I do remove the frozen poo, I'll throw it out into the chicken run so the manure can be used to help break down the 12 inches of leaves I put in there this last fall. That should make some good compost.

Thank you for the compliment on my chicken coop built on an old trailer frame. I did everything myself. It came out better than I had hoped. Not that everything is perfect, but it was certainly close enough for the chickens. I'm pushing 60, so a solo project like that is probably my last big effort. I used to work projects like this with my father, but he passed away last year and I still miss him, especially when I now work on projects that the two of used to do together. But I am thankful for the time we had.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

@aart, Here in blue is what I would envision the gable roof would look like.

View attachment 1986984

Just eyeballing it seems to be a very big difference. And this is why I am wondering if the roof type plays an important role in humidity control.

Roof design and pitch has much to do with humidity control. Too steep of a pitch and the fresh air inlet will not mix well with coop air before exiting top vents. A lower pitch will force the air to mix, collect more moisture, making for more efficient use of vents. They can be smaller.

The most efficient roof for air exchange is a single slant. inlets along bottom eave and outlets at top eave. Minimum 3/12 pitch is required. 4/12 or 6/12 pitch is excellent. 9/12 pich and the air is moving fast, creating a barrier-jet stream if you will so not mixing and moving out as much moisture. Low pitch makes the inlet mix well with coop air prior to venting out top end.

The ease of build and low cost of a single slant make them more attractive too. For pure aesthetics a gable can be made for more cost of material and labor. eave vents both sides and ridge vent or two gable vents.