How much ventilation should I have for the winter.

[Farmer_Phil]

So I'm here in Northern Ontario, Canada, it gets pretty darn cold up here. Like -30 celcius is not uncommon. I have a wooden 8x12 shed I've converted to a coop. I'm gonna be insulating it for the winter. I'm wondering how much ventilation I need, If i can close up the ceiling, and maybe put a vent. I guess I really need to know the balance between, keeping warm and air exchange. I also figure I'm gonna have to heat it somehow maybe. I'm hoping to have about 60 RIR's in there for the winter.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

That's a lot of birds for 96 sq ft. With good insulation all around you shouldn't need additional heat. Some south facing windows would help, but the birds themselves should keep it pretty toasty. I can only tell you what I've read, you need enough ventilation to remove the large amount of moisture generated by the birds while keeping the coop draft free. I'm not exactly sure how people put that into practice though.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

What about them roof vents that people have on their houses? I think they are designed for air/moisture to go out not in.

Good thing you brought this up, I had forgotten all about ventilation in the new coop! Ooops!

 

[speckledhen]

I agree with mac, that's quite alot of birds in that space. I have an 8x20 space and wouldnt put more than 40 birds in it at any one time. They'll definitely stay warm but you will need ventilation more with that many. Up high where there won't be a breeze across where they are roosting is best. I have a 8" section all the way across the entire 20' of the coop at the top of the wall that opens and has a board that I can raise or shut in sections, plus a small vent on the back, a window on the front and a window high up over the roost on the end of the coop. That long wall vent stays cracked at least a half inch most of the winter no matter how cold it gets.

 

[2mnypets]

We have two coops that are 8x10 and 10x10, but are sandwiched together with fencing between them. We have two west facing windows and one south facing window. In addition to these windows we have a vent window up top on the north side of the coop, and the built in brooder box in the main coop has a north and south window. Even with 6 openings for the coops, I find that the air is still pretty strong. We have 39 chickens, and I believe with 60 chickens like you were talking about, you might find yourself with a serious venitilation problem. I know that we still plan on adding on to the coop before winter sets in just so we have enough "elbow room" for everyone to be comfortable in as well as healthy. My rule of thumb is this... if you have a hard time breathing or smelling what is in the coop, you can guarantee that your flock will too.