Moisture when winterizing??

[JackE]

Quote:
Well its a 2in gap the entire length of the coop which is 16ft long. Their enclosed sleeping area is 4ft long so therefore 2inx4ft. If everyone says that's plenty of ventilation then my question is answered. Baking soda popped in my head and i no it absorbs moisture so just wanted to see if anyone has ever tried it. Thanks everyone

How many birds you have in that sleeping area? That would give us a better idea if a 2"x4' gap is enough ventilation. Again, if you are noticing excess humidity/frost in there, you don't have enough.
Jack

 

[dsfrango]

Its 4x4x4 And there's 15 bantams and 1 standard. A few of them dont even sleep in there. I'm not noticing any frost, just a newbie to owning chickens in these freezing winter temps and want to know more

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I read that as 16 birds and 2/3 Sq. ft. ventilation.
birds die from bad air, not cold.

The trapped moisture in a tight coop is a great place for molds and respiratory disease like bronchitis and coryza.

 

[dsfrango]

Ok so I modified today to make a little more ventilation. I added a pic with the cut vented areas circled. Theres a 4ftx2in gap on the back side like stated earlier and now a 1 inch cut out 2ft long in the front. Theres no way thats not enough ventilation. The air goes towards the highet point which is the front there because the roof slants upwards from back to front. I can literally feel the slight air flow. I use only pine shavings because I know hay kinda holds moisture and i rake out the surface poo and add a little bit of shavings every few days.

A few of the birds dont sleep in there at night but on a roost next to that little door. So on average 10-12 of them sleep in there at night and as soon as light hits the come down the ladder and into the run

 

[1muttsfan]

That looks fine to me, especially if the pop door is left open.

 

[JackE]

It looks as if you boxed in the birds roosting area inside your coop. Unless I'm seeing it wrong, why would you do that? Take all that out and let them roost as they would any other time of the year. You are kinda forcing them into a small box. That's not a good idea.
Jack

 

[dsfrango]

Quote:
Yes, You are seeing it right....I figured a more enclosed coop inside the run would be beneficial.(shielding even more from the freezing temps and drafts) There are roosts outside of the box as you can see my little sebright perched on and above her head. They like to lay in there too.

 

[JackE]

Quote:
Yes, You are seeing it right....I figured a more enclosed coop inside the run would be beneficial.(shielding even more from the freezing temps and drafts) There are roosts outside of the box as you can see my little sebright perched on and above her head. They like to lay in there too.

It's not needed, But, whatever floats your boat. Goodluck with them.
Jack

 

[omegorchards]

You mentioned using baking soda as a desiccant to absorb moisture. This idea wont work. There is far far FAR too much moisture in the atmosphere for desiccants of any size to reduce the humidity in your coop. The law of osmotic gradient means that moisture will move from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration. So moisture will just keep moving right into your coop no matter what you do. The reason these little packs work in electronics packaging and such is that those are closed packages that don't allow moisture to move into the package. The packet dries out the atmosphere inside the package and keeps it dry. The only way to reduce moisture inside your coop is to provide sufficient ventilation to the outside. Remember that its drafts that hurt chickens in cold. It is very possible to prevent drafts and still have good ventilation. Here is a commercial soffit vent that will prevent drafts and allow ventilation. You can buy a duct elbow and attach it to the duct end to aim the airflow away from the birds. I use several of a similar design in one of my own coops. Good luck!

 

[dsfrango]

Quote:
Thank u VERY much for the explanation. I got some good opinions and advice from some other people but you answered the actual question I understand why it wouldn't work now. Thanks