Humidity in the coop issue...

[roz]

Hi Everyone,
I dont know what to do about the humidity level in our coop. It has been really rainy here in MA lately, and we have a temperature/humidity gauge in the coop that is reading in the 90% range for humidity all the time right now! My girls all seem to be acting healthy, and the ones who were laying eggs are still doing so and another one just started for us on Sunday, but I've read how bad humidity is for chickens, so I'm concerned. We have a 4 X 6 coop off the ground with one person door, one chicken door, and an egg door the length of the 6 foot side. It has vents at the top running along the two 6 foot sides. I keep the people door and chicken door open all day to hopefully help air it out, but obviously it isnt doing any good. I have a nice thick layer of pine shavings in there that I clean out once a week, and I sift out poop every couple of days as well. We have 10 chickens of various breeds...a couple of very small, one is big and the others are just in the middle size wise. Is there something I should/can do to lower the humidity?

 

[oldchickenlady]

I don't think the humidity matters much until it is really cold, then their combs can freeze if the moisture is too high. When it gets cold the relative humidity in the air will go down. However, moisture from the chickens expirations (breathing) will contribute to the moisture in the coop, that is why ventilation is so important. If you have adequate ventilation and keep cleaning out the poop like you are doing, I don't think the humidity is going to be an issue. However, I am basing this just on what I have read here on the BYC site, so...I still think you are going to be ok if your vents are large enough.