Poor Ventilation/Below Freezing temps

[maechicky]

Hi all!
So our coop does not have vent slots in it, and some of my single combed girls are starting to get frostbite. I live in very Northern Minnesota, and it’s been getting below -10 most nights. And it’s going to get colder. (I was spoiled as a kid and my dad built my coop- so we didn’t think to add vents in my new one!).

My coop is 8x12 and I have 6 hens. We have 3 homemade windows that are covered from the outside with a plastic shower curtain (for the draft). Same with the door frame on the inside. It’s uninsulated and the roof is sheet metal and is uncovered- I realize now it should be covered on the inside.

Anyways, today we put a small fan screwed to the top of the wall facing away from where the girls sleep. It’s pointed to the door. I can send pictures as well, but my question is- does anyone think this will help? I read on a big talking post about heat in the winter and if there is moisture that will cause the frostbite. It’s not feasible to put the vents in at this point, snow is on the ground and I don’t want to make them colder than they are. Any advice would be life saving! Thank you

 

[Rdh1223]

If one of the windows is opposite side from the prevailing wind I would leave it open/hardware cloth. On the prevailing wind side I would put a small vent down low. I dont think the fan is such a great idea, not install winter anyway.

I used coroplast sheeting as underlayment trying to save weight and from what i can tell its been enough (with ventilation) to prevent condensation from forming and dripping on my chickens.

That said it just doesnt get that cold here (single digits but not -10 lol), hopefully someone who has more experience in your climate will post soon.

Good luck

 

[Debbie292d]

A decade ago we had huge humidity issues here as average outdoor humidity is 70% so how to keep the coops below that was a challenge.

We took out one window and put an exhaust fan in it, and a vent in the human door.

We started using horse bedding pellets and have never stopped. They keep the coops dry and odor free.

We don't have open water in the coop as we use DIY 5-gallon nipple buckets. The coops are heated (safely) to around 40°F.

Now, it can be 80% humidity outside and our coops are in the low 60s.