Okay, the LF coop faces SW, So the windows are SW, and the silkie coop is on the north side of the barn, so the window faces East. I was going to keep the window open under the run in the silkie coop, and put a tarp over the run if the north winds get bad. I have plastic on the LF run's N and NW side. So the back and the end of the run basically.
I had two chickens that perched in a bush end of fall, all of winter and very beginning of spring. the wouldnt come inside so I let them sleep out there. They loved it. Weird chickensSo...draft I think, is wind blowing right on you. Ventilation is good air exchange without being right in the line of the moving air.
Someone else chime in but that's how I understand it.
Now that being said, I have to imagine chickens roosting in the trees running wild somewhere. I imagine that many chickens have weathered the winds blowing directly on them throughout the ages. They probably try to situate themselves so that they are on the downwind side of the tree trunk, a wall, or whatever, but I'm thinking that a moderate amount of breeze probably won't hurt them to much.
When I look at your first photo I like how the windows are situated so that there is one that isn't right in front of the roosts. I would likely leave that one cracked open if the wind wasn't howling in there like during a storm.
I often leave the whole door open on mine unless there is a very cold wind and it's on the wrong side (North). I do close it at night, however. I just try to be sure that when it's windy out that they have somewhere to get out of the wind which sometimes requires me to close everything but the pop door. My only window is also on the North side and almost directly in front of the roosts but I often leave it cracked at night.
The main thing is not to create a closed-up, environment where humidity is building up. A breeze is preferred to high humidity.
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Part 2
The "open air" coops have a fully open wall on the side away from prevailing winds. For most people that will either be South, East, or Southeast.
In the "Woods" open air coop (not all open air are woods) During the summer, there are windows up in the top "monitor" that are opened up. But during the winter, the only part that is open is the whole front and everything else is closed TIGHT. Those houses create an amazing ventilation situation. The book below shows diagrams with how the air flow works. The roosts are on the wall farthest away from the open front.
If my coop door were directed the correct orientation, I'd probably leave it open all winter during the DAYTIME and maybe all night as well - unless there was a change from the prevailing winds for some reason. The measurements - depth, height, need to be right for the open air coops to work well. But I'd love to have that kind of set-up.
I leave my doors open (during the daytime) as much as possible even with it oriented incorrectly.
This book is a very interesting read.
http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Air-Poultry-Houses-Open-Front-Healthier/dp/097217706X
I ordered it and read through it to get the concept so that if I do future housing I can think in those terms when I set things up. Although I don't think I'll ever build a Woods style coop, knowing the principle has helped me when thinking things through like ventilation.
I also read about them on JackE's thread on byc. It was funny how within the first page people were advising him to close up the front! They had no clue as to what the principle washttps://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter
That makes the point beautifully. They WANTED to be outside - even in the winter.I had two chickens that perched in a bush end of fall, all of winter and very beginning of spring. the wouldnt come inside so I let them sleep out there. They loved it. Weird chickens
I am so jealous! Beautiful coop. Thanks again for your advice.I should probably clarify that if I leave the door open on my coop, there is an inner framework wall that is fully hardwarecloth wired so it is fully predator-resistant.
This is the North side of the coop. Window and door both on north.
Sometimes they're both open and sometimes only one depending on the winds.
You can see the frame/wire walls in the next photos. I clip the doors open all summer long and part of the winter. When you first walk in there is a "people area" where the kiddos can't go. I have some shelves and stuff in there and can access the eggs on the people side too.
I am wondering about all of these Marek's scares here lately. I'm wondering mainly if whoever posted about the heat and humidity is right in saying that it is perhaps not Marek's, but mold that is causing this. (Was that even on this thread? Anyway, the point still stands.)
I found it helpful to see videos when I had a Marek's scare not too long ago. There is a VAST difference between what I had seen and what Marek's does. I don't want to embed the videos here, but here are the links to them:
The typical 'one leg forward, one leg back' position:
Paralysis in a bird with Marek's (notice how the bird is standing, just not using one leg) :
The first half of this video has birds with paralysis typical of Marek's. Notice how they have absolutely no control of one or both legs (the second half of the video shows you how to vaccinate in a hatchery setting, dunno if that's of any interest to y'all):
I was able to rule out Marek's disease not only from these videos but from reading many, many descriptions of the disease. My bird was weak in the legs and would not stand--but she was fully able to walk all the bedding out from under her when she was in a sling and still had the ability to curl and uncurl her toes.
I never found out what she had. I made the mistake of not having a necropsy performed on her. I was heartbroken at the time, though, and wasn't thinking clearly. If I had it to do over, I would definitely do the necropsy--as others have said, better to know for sure what the cause was. I strongly suspect that she got into something she shouldn't have, though, as that bird was always into things.
If you're wondering about my bird, this post summarizes all of her symptoms and what I would do differently if I found another bird in the same condition: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...out-dizzy-cant-walk-wont-eat/50#post_10080551
Aww, I think as humans we worry too much about them. They obviously know what they need.I had two chickens that perched in a bush end of fall, all of winter and very beginning of spring. the wouldnt come inside so I let them sleep out there. They loved it. Weird chickens
