How much more ventilation do I need?

[TwoCrows]

Great that you got the moisture under control! If you start to see more build up, you need more vent space. My coop is 6x8 feet. The eaves in my coop are completely open on either side, covered with 1/4 inch hardware cloth. I have a slanted roof. So the high side stays completely open all winter, even during a minus 5 degree night. However the low side I will block off half of the vent space in the winter. On really windy cold nights I will close of 3/4 of the vent space on the low side, but I never close them all. I am not trying to heat the coop, but slow down the air movement. And there is quite a bit of it at the ceiling. My birds roost 1 foot off the floor. But it is quiet down there. My slanted roof is very high on one side. There could be a hurricane going up up there at the ceiling, but my birds are roosting in quiet air. So get as much air moving up there as you can. There is so much moisture being produced when they poop and breath all night long. And it is very important to get that stuff out of the coop at all times, especially during cold nights. You don't want this moist air freezing and falling back down on the birds as frost, giving them frost bite.

Just remember, at least 5 square feet per bird in the coop at all times.

 

[Blooie]

Hmmm, I have plenty of ventilation....3 windows, gaps where the roof meets the walls, an exhaust fan up high (running for summer cooling, but just left open for winter venting), three 12" vents that can be opened or shut depending on the prevailing winds and which way the day's blizzard is coming in, a big gable type vent at the top of the east wall, and the pop door left open. The access between the pop door and the run is a "tunnel" enclosed at the top, east and north sides, with the west side being the wall of the coop and the entrance facing south. So air enters the coop from there without wind, snow and rain blowing directly in. But the one thing I didn't think of was lowering the roost for the winter. Problem is if I do that it puts the roost lower than the nest boxes, two of which are hanging on the wall. All of the venting except the pop door is located higher than the roost. The coop is 6' high at the back where the roost is located and 8' high at the front. (Don't ask - slip in communication between me and hubby and I wasn't about to ask him to re-do it!) Lowering the roost makes so much sense, but I'm worried that they'll take to using the nest boxes at night. I'd like to do that but not sure how to pull it off.

 

[EagleEyes]

So, is lowering the roost bar for the winter something that would be better for the birds?
Mine is 30+ inches from the top of the bedding which is a good 8" deep.

 

[TwoCrows]

The reason for keeping the roost bar low for ventilation purposes keeps the birds out of the moist air that is rising to the ceiling and the birds out of the draft that is up there. So it depends on how tall your coop is. If you have a tiny coop that is elevated off the ground and only stands 4 feet tall, you are going to need to keep your roost bar as low to the floor as possible so that there is as much room between the birds and the vents. If you have an 8 foot tall coop, you can keep the bar up a couple feet from the floor. Of course if you keep heavy breeds, you want to keep your bar no higher than 2 feet to prevent injuries from heavy landings. My birds are very heavy and so I keep my bar about 1 foot off the floor.

If your coop is on the ground, the lower the roost bars, the warmer it will be for the birds. The floor is going to retain more heat than the air or walls above the birds.

 

[Blooie]

Thanks,TwoCrows! I guess I'll go out after it finally breaks 35 degrees here and see what I can't figure out.

 

[Lizzydrippin]

Thanks for the great advise. I will be lowering my girl's roost slightly. Can I also add what a great site this is and how helpful it is.

 

[EagleEyes]

My coop/hen house is 6' sq on the inside and about 5 1/2" tall with a slight slope. My roost was 34"off of deep bedding and now it's 24".
The east/2'X4' window faces the run and is protected, sides and top. The pop door is just below it. I plan on those being open untill the bitter cold arrives, then I'll adjust and maybe close the big window all or part of the way.
Looking from the run

 

[TwoCrows]

Very nice coop and run!!!

Is that your vent at the top of the top pic? If so, I would lower your roost bar more. Cold air can pour in through that vent onto the birds. Cold air sinks and if they are roosting right there beneath that vent, it may cause moisture to build up on the birds. Warm air meeting cold are makes moisture.

Or, you might make a blocked off area of that roost bar so they can't sleep at that end. As long as they are farther away from that vent, you could probably leave the bar as is. Just keep the birds from roosting at that end a couple feet in.

 

[aatx]

I thought I would mention again, I have changed the roosting bars since the picture was taken to being 2x4s with the wide side facing up and all at the same height at 2 feet off the floor, sort of looks like a platform for a mattress. I have another question, I have 21 chickens right now, and plan to get more in the spring, since my coop can comfortably hold 44. So at 1 sq foot of ventilation per chicken that is a ton of ventilation so my question is why close the windows, is it because they are lower than the ventilation I should put in? The way the roosts are now the windows are about 2 feet above the roosts. Also where I live in WA, it can get quite cold in the winter could the recommended 1 sq ft per bird be too much for the really cold days, should some or all the ventilation have the ability to be shut?

Didn't you say your coop was 8 x 12? That is 96 sq ft. If you go with the "norm" of 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, your coop would hold 24 birds. I would think the 21 chickens you have in there right now are all that you would need. More space is always better. Where did you come up with it holding 44 birds?

 

[KrystalRose]

Didn't you say your coop was 8 x 12? That is 96 sq ft. If you go with the "norm" of 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, your coop would hold 24 birds. I would think the 21 chickens you have in there right now are all that you would need. More space is always better. Where did you come up with it holding 44 birds?

Crap sorry, I got my math wrong. We started with a 8x22 building (which would give the 44 number I originally had in my head) then we took 6' of space for "my room" where I collect the eggs, keep the feed, and brood chicks leaving the coop area at 8x16 not 8x12. Which would only give me then 32 chickens worth of room. Which I don't plan to go over 30 anyways. Thanks for the correction, I had to ask my hubby who corrected me on the size. We had several design changes as we were building and I got the final sizes confused. To further confuse me we designed my outside run to be the size for 44+ birds if figuring 10 sq ft per bird. Again my bad on remembering and math.

The reason for keeping the roost bar low for ventilation purposes keeps the birds out of the moist air that is rising to the ceiling and the birds out of the draft that is up there. So it depends on how tall your coop is. If you have a tiny coop that is elevated off the ground and only stands 4 feet tall, you are going to need to keep your roost bar as low to the floor as possible so that there is as much room between the birds and the vents. If you have an 8 foot tall coop, you can keep the bar up a couple feet from the floor. Of course if you keep heavy breeds, you want to keep your bar no higher than 2 feet to prevent injuries from heavy landings. My birds are very heavy and so I keep my bar about 1 foot off the floor.

If your coop is on the ground, the lower the roost bars, the warmer it will be for the birds. The floor is going to retain more heat than the air or walls above the birds.

As another idea, I have large breed chickens and my roosts are 2 feet off the ground. I have a klutzy rooster that hasn't grown into his feet yet so we built a chicken ramp up to the roosts for him. Some of the girls use it some don't. But it makes me feel better about avoiding those heavy landings you mentioned.