Rainy and windy :-/ to open the coop or not open the coop???

[BECCS2014]

My 8 week old RIR chicks are out in the coop. It's a damp windy blustery day here in Maine. Wondering wether I should open the ridge vents and leave the doors shut for the day. Or open the doors and let them do their thing. Concern is the wind blowing the rain in through the doors and making a cold damp mess of the coop.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Keep the rain out of the coop but otherwise let them do their thing. Let them choose.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know why you would ever close a ridge vent, though when it is covered with snow in the winter it's not doing you any good.

I have no idea what your coop looks like, how many doors you have, where they are positioned, what they look like, which way the wind is blowing, any of that. You do want the coop to stay reasonably dry, though if you have really good ventilation a little damp should dry out OK, especially if you stir the bedding or just throw food on it and let the chickens stir it for you. But a wet coop is a dangerous coop.

If you have an option, open a door on the downwind side to minimize the rain coming in. Smaller pop doors are better than full-sized human doors too. They let in less rain.

 

[BECCS2014]

The ridge vent on mine is in the front facing side, it's a saltbox, my coop is still a work in progress.

 

[jetdog]

If you build vents like this that are hinged on the top you can regulate how much air is coming in, just adjust with a length of chain and with the trim boards being wider than the hole it keeps the rain and snow out.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It's a nice rig but IMO still needs more ventilation. How many birds?

 

[BECCS2014]

12 RIRs. The coop is approximately 7ft by 7 1/2 feet inside. I totally agree on the ventilation needing to be increased. Nights here have still been in the 40s, but improving. We added some big vents on the front if the coop and some welded hardware cloth vents to the side this morning, the ladies seem to like it. When the weather improves the boarded up side doors are going to be interchangeable solid doors and full vent panel doors, that we can switch depending on the weather.