Humidity Help!

[Stretchrun]

I live outside of Boston and this is my first year with 6 Rhode Island Red hens. They seem to be faring well in the cold weather but I'm hoping someone can tell me a way to check the level of humidity in the coop. When the temp gets up about 32 and the snow melts, our air gets really wet and heavy in general and I'm wondering if there's a way to keep the air in the coop as dry as possible, besides the ventilation cross breeze up top. Bedding maybe? Right now it's Koop Klean bedding and I moved the heated water dish to the outside run.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I like this one for checking the temp and humidity. There are digital ones but who wants to change batteries at 12 degrees out.
Something to remember is you will not be able to lower the humidity any lower than it is outside. I have been experiencing a very humid winter for where I live. It is a bummer that it is so wet out. I just keep the bedding dry and remove any poo from the night. It seems to help a lot. I noticed a 10 percent drop in the humidity after I did a full clean of my 8x14 coop that holds 20 hens.

http://www.amazon.com/Springfield-9...33&sr=8-7&keywords=humidity+gauge+thermometer

 

[21hens-incharge]

Oh and I use pine shavings. When I go get it if the bag is heavy I choose another lighter bag. Heavy means wet.
The gauge I have is easy to read with just a glance.
Heating the coop makes it go up in humidity for some reason. I only used heat when we went in the negatives and I had molting hens.

Lots of people on here with great information. Enjoy those chickens.

 

[RonP]

How big is your coop?

How much ventilation do you currently have?

A well ventilated coop will have just about equal humidity inside and out.