This past autumn we ended up adding a couple of wall vents in my coop (one 12" x 12" that opens up into the covered run, and another 6" x 12" above the man door). I also have been leaving the top half of the man door open for ventilation, and I also open the window that opens up towards the run and is under the 12" x 12" vent; we flipped the window upside down so the screen was at the top. We have been having a lot of rain as well as some heavy wet snow, and there hasn't been any frost build up in the coop at all. The hygrometer has been giving humidity readings as high as 82% in the coop, but that's usually when it's 100% humidity outside. I guess what I am trying to say is that with proper ventilation, you shouldn't have any frost in the coop - if there is frost, there is too much moisture. In your case, I would start with one vent and see how that does, and add more as needed. Please see below for what we used as a vent cover (its the wall version, not the floor version). It's extremely heavy duty and no chicken predator will ever be able to breach it.
View attachment 1263783
We had to add some drill holes so it could be installed. It took my hubby about 15 minutes to install it. The grill can be painted to weatherproof it or just to change the color since it is an ugly brown. We have had many frigid days this past winter and while the coop was also very cold, it was dry on the inside and that is what is important for the health of my girls. The added vents will also help keep the coop cool this summer; I will probably add more depending on how high the temp gets in the coop. Whenever I want to close off the vent, I just use those magnetic vent covers to seal it. I hope this bit of info helps you!
@Marge Carlson
Hi Welcome To BYCI don't believe that the OP mentioned whether or not birds were vaccinated. Unfortunately, vaccination would not have any bearing on this particular situation. This is a very long thread, so it's understandable if no one reads it in it's entirety.
The cause of the loss of birds (eventually 11 out of 12 were lost - the rooster survived) was a Teflon Coated Heat Bulb in the coop. This emitted toxic fumes which killed the birds. Very sad indeed, but the OP has graciously shared this information with us so we can all learn and hopefully help others avoid this mistake in the future.
@jeepgrrl having plenty of ventilation year round is very important! Thanks for sharing.
The new girls are still doing well, but they are absolutely nuts compared to my previous girls.
we all love pics!!
