Lows in the 30s and my chicks

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Ideally, the coop and the outdoors should be the same temperature and humidity. If the coop is noticeably warmer you might need more ventilation because warm air is moist air and humidity rather than temperature is the problem in the winter.

Where, in general, are you located (you can put it into your profile for easy reference)? Climate matters a lot.

Okay, I don't think its that much warmer. I can send you pics if you want. Maybe I will see if I can find a wall thermometer to hang in it. I will update my location. Sometimes I have trouble figuring out where to put things on my profile because I don't know how it appears. I will figure it out. I am in Copperas Cove TX. It is humid in TX and can get below freezing but never in the single digits.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Ideally, the coop and the outdoors should be the same temperature and humidity. If the coop is noticeably warmer you might need more ventilation because warm air is moist air and humidity rather than temperature is the problem in the winter.

Where, in general, are you located (you can put it into your profile for easy reference)? Climate matters a lot.

Maybe I just think its warmer because it blocks all the wind. It can get windy around here because it is pretty flat.

 

[3KillerBs]

I am in Copperas Cove TX. It is humid in TX and can get below freezing but never in the single digits.

So a really warm climate with 90F+ summer temps for a number of months, right? Probably drier than my climate here in the Steamy Southeast, but generally similar.

We hot-climate people can't have too much ventilation short of taking all the windbreaks down completely. This is my new coop, Neuchickenstein: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/25-from-welp.1494343/page-7#post-25018803

I based it on this coop in Texas: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

I do have an internal windbreak inside for my now-8-week chicks and may put up some draft shields for the main roosts for winter since NC gets storms from any and every direction.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

So a really warm climate with 90F+ summer temps for a number of months, right? Probably drier than my climate here in the Steamy Southeast, but generally similar.

We hot-climate people can't have too much ventilation short of taking all the windbreaks down completely. This is my new coop, Neuchickenstein: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/25-from-welp.1494343/page-7#post-25018803

View attachment 2905236
View attachment 2905237

I based it on this coop in Texas: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/

I do have an internal windbreak inside for my now-8-week chicks and may put up some draft shields for the main roosts for winter since NC gets storms from any and every direction.

View attachment 2905244

Wow that is awesome! Yes we get in the 100s during the summer. There isnt a whole lot of ventilation. Attached are the 2 spots we have.

 

[3KillerBs]

Wow that is awesome! Yes we get in the 100s during the summer. There isnt a whole lot of ventilation. Attached are the 2 spots we have.

My experience is that once it's over 90F I need either DEEP natural shade or 2-3 times the recommended ventilation to keep the coop under 100F. I ended up putting cheap picnic pavilions over the small coops before we finished the new one.

Can you replace the siding with hardware cloth over the door and the equivalent triangle on each end and between the windows and the roof on the high side?

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

My experience is that once it's over 90F I need either DEEP natural shade or 2-3 times the recommended ventilation to keep the coop under 100F. I ended up putting cheap picnic pavilions over the small coops before we finished the new one.

View attachment 2905272

Can you replace the siding with hardware cloth over the door and the equivalent triangle on each end and between the windows and the roof on the high side?

Yeah, he have absolutely no shade. We will cut some more vents this spring.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yeah, he have absolutely no shade. We will cut some more vents this spring.

You need ventilation in the winter too.

This diagram is from an article on cattle barns, but it illustrates the principle:

Chickens can tolerate dry cold readily down to 0F or below, but moisture + cold = frostbite. They generate their own moisture from their breath and their poop, which needs to escape out the top of the coop just as much in the winter as in the summer.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

You need ventilation in the winter too.

This diagram is from an article on cattle barns, but it illustrates the principle:

View attachment 2905294

Chickens can tolerate dry cold readily down to 0F or below, but moisture + cold = frostbite. They generate their own moisture from their breath and their poop, which needs to escape out the top of the coop just as much in the winter as in the summer.

Well..dang, okay. So do you think we need to add some ventilation then based on what the coop already has?

 

[3KillerBs]

Yes, because it has less than a square foot of top-level ventilation to let heat, ammonia, and moisture out.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Yes, because it has less than a square foot of top-level ventilation to let heat, ammonia, and moisture out.

Okay, what about windows? It has 2 screened windows. Can I just open those?