Sufficient Ventilation

[aart]

Quote: The temp changes with metal may condense moisture...but that moisture is already there, it doesn't create more moisture, just makes it visible.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

The temp changes with metal may condense moisture...but that moisture is already there, it doesn't create more moisture, just makes it visible.

Yes but I think the issue is the sweating. Instead of it being in the air now it is dripping onto the birds and bedding. Now that moisture is condensed out of the air, it's not like the air is going to become dry; more moisture will keep coming in with air flow, condense, and drip.

 

[RonP]

If you have sufficient ventilation, the humidity inside the coop should not be an issue.

Describe your existing ventilation, size of coop, and number of birds housed.

 

[treefrogging]

It is an old wood shed. I guess I haven't seen moisture, I just think it smells like there could be. I better clean it out soon...

 

[Howard E]

Yes but I think the issue is the sweating. Instead of it being in the air now it is dripping onto the birds and bedding. Now that moisture is condensed out of the air, it's not like the air is going to become dry; more moisture will keep coming in with air flow, condense, and drip.

The problems with moisture buildup inside chicken houses has been known for a long time. The moisture comes from the birds themselves. Their cooling radiator is their breath........so when hot, they pant. They also shed moisture in their droppings. So a populated chicken house is always wetter on the inside than out.

Some things were realized early on and having bare exposed metal roofs was one of them. A metal roof over a tight coop may result in so much condensation dripping down it will appear to be raining on the inside. But this is common with most livestock buildings, with bare, exposed, uninsulated metal roofs. I have a horse barn with exposed metal roof and it does just that if horses are left inside in the stalls for any length of time.

Another solution used in chicken houses was to put black roofing paper on the inside walls. This too was intended to shield the walls and exposed wood from all the moisture buildup and condensation inside houses.

The far better solution is to simply open them up with wide open ventilation methods to let all that moisture, CO2 and ammonia vent to the outside.