Reducing humidity

[Chickslady]

I’m not sure why the high humidity itself matters if moisture isn’t condensing inside. They need ventilation for the sake of ventilation but the humidity itself shouldn’t be a problem for them. Its almost always near 100% humidity in north Florida on the outside and it doesn’t have a negative impact on the chickens.

This is interesting and being new I’m always stressed out about it. But I believe here up north it’s the humidity in combination with the cold that’s the problem . It can cause frostbite and respiratory illness. Plus the feathers get wet and the chickens get cold and can’t fight the chill. That’s what I’ve learned so far. I wish I could just take my chickens down south for the winter . It’d be less stressful for the chickens and myself! Lol

 

[aart]

I’m not sure why the high humidity itself matters if moisture isn’t condensing inside. They need ventilation for the sake of ventilation but the humidity itself shouldn’t be a problem for them. Its almost always near 100% humidity in north Florida on the outside and it doesn’t have a negative impact on the chickens.

It's can be an indicator of inadequate ventilation.
Humidity inside and outside coop should be pretty close.

 

[aart]

thanks, we really thought we were butting this coop from an experienced chicken coop builder. His vision was nice.. we love the door too.The window is all it has for ventilation and it’s been a struggle since we got it. Learning something new everyday!

Yeah, that's sadly another common issue.
There are a lot of coops out there, both commercial and custom,
that are very attractive but are terrible designs chickenwise.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

It's can be an indicator of inadequate ventilation.
Humidity inside and outside coop should be pretty close.

Right, thus the reason I distinguished humidity from ventilation as issues. Humidity itself shouldn’t be a problem as long as its not causing condensation.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

This is interesting and being new I’m always stressed out about it. But I believe here up north it’s the humidity in combination with the cold that’s the problem . It can cause frostbite and respiratory illness. Plus the feathers get wet and the chickens get cold and can’t fight the chill. That’s what I’ve learned so far. I wish I could just take my chickens down south for the winter . It’d be less stressful for the chickens and myself! Lol

How much warmer is your coop than the outside air? Humidity usually protects things from frostbite. Humidity is often tied to warmer environments. North Florida is the transition zone between temperate and tropical. We have tropical conditions in the summer but we have freezes in the winter. We can get away with planting freeze sensitive plants in areas where bodies of water remain warmer at night than the outside air, which envelopes large areas in fog on cold morning. The warm fog makes a shield against below freezing temps. Its not quite the same with your chickens, but I would be surprised if high humidity areas with adequate ventilation are as cold as non humid areas. When I go a little ways up north to hunt, the dry cold always strikes me as being a more severe cold as the humid cold of the north Florida peninsula.

 

[aart]

Right, thus the reason I distinguished humidity from ventilation as issues. Humidity itself shouldn’t be a problem as long as its not causing condensation.

You're missing the point.
The OP has a ventilation issue, indicated by higher humidity inside than outside the coop.

When I go a little ways up north to hunt, the dry cold always strikes me as being a more severe cold as the humid cold of the north Florida peninsula.

Have you ever lived where it gets really cold(way below 32°F) for days and weeks on end, somewhere north of the mason dixon line??

I've found frostbite to strike most often just after a thaw,
when the humidity soars then the temps drops below freezing again.

 

[jreardon1918]

Thanks we bought this coop cuz we loved the look of it. Being beginners we didn’t notice obvious flaws until we had it delivered. It was new but needed work. The nesting boxes leaked the window only opens on the bottom, lack of high ventilation. We added the screen door ourselves which was wonderful in the summer. It’s the winterizing that’s been more work.. we’re going to add some high vents though there’s not much room,( maybe some holes) with someway to block wind, rain and snow from blowing in. It’s a challenge!

Can you add something like this to the window or door. Maybe the top half of the door. This would allow ventilation and reduce snow and rain inside.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

You're missing the point.
The OP has a ventilation issue, indicated by higher humidity inside than outside the coop.

I recognized that when I posted. Thus the reason I worded my post like I did. You just didn't read my post carefully.

I’m not sure why the high humidity itself matters if moisture isn’t condensing inside. They need ventilation for the sake of ventilation but the humidity itself shouldn’t be a problem for them. Its almost always near 100% humidity in north Florida on the outside and it doesn’t have a negative impact on the chickens.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I recognized that when I posted. Thus the reason I worded my post like I did. You just didn't read my post carefully.

Up here where I live we get negative temperatures often in the winter. Those temps combined with high humidity cause frost on combs, wattles and any exposed flesh which leads to frostbite.

If the coop is warmer on the inside than the air temp outside and poorly ventilated condensation happens just as it would on the inside of single paned windows in a human house.

Those of us living in these colder climates have found that leads to problems like frostbite for the chickens.

That is why we are stressing ventilation.