temp/humidity monitoring

[sals_chicks]

Hi All - Heading into my first winter with the flock, so I apologize in advance for my over-thinking. I should also add that I am a Data Analyst by day, so... this is kinda my thing.

I have had a hygrometer (one in the run and one inside the coop) to monitor indoor/outdoor temperature and humidity readings. Over the summer I was mostly monitoring for high temps in the coop, and making sure that my inside humidity was never higher than my outside, though on excessively rainy days, it would be about the same inside vs. outside.

Now, where I live it has started getting cold at night (below freezing), so I am starting to see my first sets of cold readings, and just wondered if anyone else has comparison data to share, or what readings would cause you to make changes to ventillation?

For the past week I am seeing that inside my coop tends to be between 5-10 degrees warmer than outside, and about 7-10% LESS humid that outside. This is with the deep litter method in place, and only 7 birds in my flock.

Questions for the rest of you that monitor these things...
1) Is your coop staying warmer than 5-10 degrees above outdoor temps? If so, what are you doing to make that happen? Should I be looking for higher inside temps?
2) Is a 10% lower humidity reading "good enough" or should I be looking for something lower than that to keep my flock from experiencing any frostbite issues?

Hopefully someone out there is a nerdy overthinker so I dont look completely insane.

 

[aart]

I watch the temp and humidity inside and outside the coop but don't record any data just like to measure things. I did record temps and kilowatts used for water heater one winter.

The thing that I have noticed over the years is that the temp and humidity is about the same inside as outside, with a twice daily lag, except in summer it gets hot as hell in the coop due no shade in afternoons and a westerly exposure.

You might find someone who has collected data to share, many folks don't even think of checking temps and humidity or have a clue about ventilation.

 

[K0k0shka]

There are a couple of things to keep in mind that will negate the need to monitor anything in the winter:

1. You don't need the coop to be warmer than the ambient outside temperature. Not in New England anyway, it just doesn't get cold enough here to be a problem for chickens (remember, people raise chickens in Alaska and Siberia and do just fine). Chickens have very efficient insulating down coats that will keep them warm; you don't need to add or maintain heat in the coop itself.

2. You need about 1 square foot of permanent ventilation per bird in the coop, including in winter and including in bad weather. If you do that, it will take care of any excess humidity, and will pretty much even out the temperature and humidity inside and outside the coop (which is fine). Make sure the vents are overhead above the chickens when they are roosting, so the wind doesn't blow on them, and make sure the vents are protected with wide roof overhangs, awnings etc. so that snow doesn't blow in. And keep them open.

You don't need to do anything else. The chickens need shelter from wind and precipitation, and lots of fresh clean air. They don't need warmth.

 

[sals_chicks]

I know I don't NEED to. But... I like to. Does that make sense? I like seeing that it is dryer and a bit warmer inside the coop I built. Isn't that at least part of the reason we build the coops for our animals to begin with?

I guess I just wondered if anyone else out there is watching these things in their own coops, and what my readings look like compared to others in cold climates. The app records the data for me, so I can scroll back through several months worth and see what my readings were. I think it's pretty cool for a couple super cheap devices!

 

[K0k0shka]

Being able to monitor things is definitely cool, and useful, in case there are dangerous spikes in any direction. I used to track it (though not record it) in the beginning, but mostly in the summer, because heat is just so much more dangerous to chickens than cold. It's because of my monitoring devices that I realized JUST how damn hot and humid my coop gets in the summer, despite all the ventilation and the coop being under a giant tree in permanent shade. Summer over here is just brutal. So that was very good information to have. That's when I took the human access door down and replaced it with a hardware cloth screen door for the summer months, and that's just what I do now - use the screen door in the summer, plus a couple of fans, and put the solid door back on for the winter.

So as long as you aren't actively adding heat, or restricting ventilation to create/maintain heat, there's nothing wrong with monitoring or seeing that it's warmer or drier inside.

 

[sals_chicks]

I might be the only one that feels this way, but I think the "standards" always seem a little over the top to me. I have a small (though well built) coop and 7 healthy chickens, and that ventilation standard would imply that almost an entire wall of my coop would need to be ventilation. I went with the "standards" for the amount of roost space too, and my chickens still all cram themselves to 1/4 of the space they have and don't even seem to realize they have a whole other roost.

Not saying that I wont need more ventilation, I am always willing to do whats best for the birds, just saying that since I have the technology, I am much more inclined to start where I am with ventilation (ridge vent, gable vent, and soffit vents) and add more as I need, rather than cutting a giant hole in my coop? Does that make sense?

Currently, my "humidity gap" seems to be staying pretty consistent even now that I've had my coop mostly closed up (chicken door is open during the day, obviously) for a week. And the bedding is nice and dry with no odor after 5ish months of deep litter... So that all tells me I am OK for now.

Oh - and no - not planning to add any supplemental heat. I know some people do add some additional insulation in their coop roof/walls during the winter months. I would love to know what temperature difference someone has seen with some additional insulation if they are providing that.

 

[K0k0shka]

Well, if you haven't had a winter with chickens yet, it might be too early to declare the standards "over the top". Moisture buildup from insufficient ventilation is a problem mostly in the winter, once the temperatures drop below freezing and that moisture condenses and freezes on their combs. So you wouldn't know yet if your coop will be fine with the amount of ventilation you currently have.

 

[aart]

I might be the only one that feels this way, but I think the "standards" always seem a little over the top to me.

You're not.
The 'standards', as the term is being used here, are merely guidelines that some treat as tho carved in stone and scientifically proven.
Most are decent places to start, or at least keep in mind.
Said 'standards' do not often take into consideration other factors that may give strong weight to their validity. Climate, and especially site specifics, can make huge differences in ventilation needs.

Recording, or at least accurately observing, temps and especially humidity can in fact give some really good feedback on the ventilation status of a chicken coop.

 

[K0k0shka]

The standards/recommendations are most important for newbies who don't know much about chickens, and need a starting point. Way too often they want to cram too many into too small a space, seal them shut and heat them for winter, because they don't know even the ballpark, let alone precise numbers. The numbers aren't exact science, but there's gotta be some kind of guidance to give people a sense of roughly what chickens need, before they've gained the experience to start playing with the numbers and coming up with good alternatives. Eyeballing and playing by ear only work if you have some underlying experience to work from, and if you don't, it can be confusing and frustrating. Like if you ask your grandma for a recipe and instead of exact measurements, she says "a pinch" or "a bunch" of this or that. Sure, to her it's clear what the main goal is and she can arrive there without strict precision, but to you, "a pinch" doesn't mean much and you'd rather have a real unit, at least until you get the hang of it. You know the saying - "learn the rules first, then break them". So you can break them properly

 

[sals_chicks]

Well, if you haven't had a winter with chickens yet, it might be too early to declare the standards "over the top". Moisture buildup from insufficient ventilation is a problem mostly in the winter, once the temperatures drop below freezing and that moisture condenses and freezes on their combs. So you wouldn't know yet if your coop will be fine with the amount of ventilation you currently have.

Correct, I wont know until I go through a winter... Which is why I am monitoring with a hygrometer and asking for advice and data to compare.......

I dont get why this is so complicated.