- Thread starter
- #21
Patchgirl
In the Brooder
Thank you for your helpful reply. I was thinking this was the case. Will brainstorm with husband some ways to add more ventilation. Neighbor right behind me does well with 15 chickens in his 4x8 but has a fan vent in roof. We have a solar powered fan vent in garage. May have to look into that.A 6" circle is 0.19 square feet. An 8 inch circle is 0.35 square feet. From that subtract for the bars of the louver (and the wires of the hardware cloth, if it has any). Two such circles is enough for about a half a chicken at a minimum.
Opening windows will add more ventilation. But, um, hm, chickens don't stop breathing during the storms. They actually need ventilation the most when it is cold (well, or very hot). Dry chickens are ok in cold, even down to 40 below or so. But damp chickens start losing body parts to frost bite at only a few degrees below the freezing point.
Chickens put out a LOT of moisture (more than most other domesticated animals). And it is warm moisture so it rises. But as it rises, it cools. And cooler air can't hold as much moisture. With enough ventilation, this doesn't matter because the moisture is carried away before it cools enough to not hold the moisture. Without enough ventilation, the moisture that the cooling air can't hold settles back down on everything - including the chickens.
Putting the ventilation above the roosts works the best. Putting it below the roosts is better than not putting it anywhere.