Humidity in winter, is there a % you'd like to keep the coop under?

[kelser01]

I just built a coop and had my chickens in it for the first Cool night. Im trying to figure out the vent combo to keep enough air flow to keep humidity levels down but keep them as comfortable as possible temp wise. Ive searched the forum and dont see a reference specifically to humidity % to try and stay under when temps are freezing.

So, is there a % everyone attempts to stay under?

Thanks!
Kelly

 

[swamy]

Giving this one a bump as I have a hygrometer going into the coop before our Iowa winter unleashes.

 

[JackE]

I go for ZERO %.
Jack

 

[swamy]

Not sure 0% humidity with snow on the ground is an attainable goal, is it? Seems like 20-30% would be doing good? Anyone else here?

 

[Crazy4mypeeps]

I asked this same question in another thread and someone pointed me to this link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=408023

Hope this helps.

 

[kelser01]

Quote:
Great thanks!

My outside humidity this morning was 70% and I dont expect to get it less than outdoors

Just wondering if I needed to put in a heater to lower the temp.

 

[Small Red]

I live in Sweden an we have humidity regulations to follow in our animal protection law.

They are as follow:

In a non heated chicken house the humidity shall not be more then 10% higher than the outdoor humidity. In other words, if the outdoor humidity is 60 its OK with up to 70% humidity in the chicken house.

If you have a heated chicken house that has a temperature higher than 10 Celcius (50F) the maximum humidity is 80%

If you have a heated chicken house that has a temperature between 0-10C (32-50F) the sum of temperature in Celcius and humidity % is allowed to be maximum 90 (here you have to do the math by your self

)

It is OK to break this rules in extreme weather conditions when it is impossible to get humidity down due to extreme humidity outdoors.

This rules is to ensure good living conditions for animals so even if they don't apply in America the still give a hint in witch direction you shall aim

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Thank you for posting that, Small Red!

 

[Mommato5]

I live in Northern Colorado and we just had a crazy storm that dropped 10" of snow on us and seriously cold temps! i was so worried about my chickies and searched these forums for hours looking for an actual solid humidity number to aim for. I did not find anything concrete.

What I can tell you is that my coop got down to 11* and 54% humidity and my girls were perfectly fine, not even a touch of frostbite. Actually, they didn't even appear cold, no fluffed up feathers, no sluggish movement. They were a LOT more hardy than I expected. Our winters get a lot colder than that (think week long temps below 0) so I plan on getting a heat lamp but we have another snow storm and teen temps forecasted for this Wednesday again. It is nice to know I don't need to worry about my girls.

 

[technodoll]

I've never been able to get my coop under 70 to 80% humidity in the winter, even with heating lamps and ventilation.

Most days it's about that wet outside, too, with loads of snow and freezing temps.

From December to April the flocks share a barn with our horses - from April to end of November they have their own summer coops.

The flocks seem to be fine, however when I move them back out to their summer coops in April after the snow has melted is when the respiratory issues start - no idea why