Thoughts on my ventilation setup?

[lutherpug]

I don't think my coop is ventilated well enough to remove moisture as I had a mild frostbite issue during the recent cold snap. Admittedly, it was -10 with wind chills closer to -20 but I'd like some opinions on what I've got versus a modification I'm considering.

You can see the outside of my coop in the first picture below. It is loosely based on the Wichita Cabin Coop type of design with the coop/run as a single structure. The door to the run is hardware cloth so there is some air flow into the run. The second picture was taken from inside the run facing the coop. For reference, the door to the run in this picture would be behind me. You can see the ventilation I have at the top of the coop that leads into the run. I do not have any additional ventilation in the coop. So, my question is should I add some at the same level on the opposite wall in the coop. Will this be sufficient for it to work properly? The roosting bar is below the level of the ventilation. Thoughts?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi.

You look so cute standing in front of your little house, all bundled up!

I know the general recommendation is 1 square foot of ventilation per bird. Seems like as long as there isn't too much draft, it would be good to open up the other side of the top. But that is just my understanding, I don't have actual experience in that kind of cold weather. I know many on here do with no heat or frost bite, so hopefully you will hear from some of them.

 

[junkman56]

Maybe you can consider putting vents under the roof overhangs on both sides of the coop,and maybe one down low at floor level for fresh air to come in while the moist air goes out the upper vents. my upper vents are about 6" wide and as long as I could make them.,and the low vent is about 6" wide and about 18" long. you can see them in my coop pics. they may help you somewhat.

you can never have to much ventilation, but you don't want direct drafts on the chickens....

I have vents up high and one at floor level, and I keep my water in the coop all the time. so far I have had no problems with moisture or frostbite.
surely people with more knowledge will chime in

 

[lutherpug]

Thanks for the replies!

I thought about ventilating under the roof overhang but it would present several challenges that I'm trying to avoid...

On the two sides of the coop with the overhang I have windows covered in hardware cloth that are bolted shut for the winter as well as a large door for cleaning. Between these obstacles and the studs/framing, it would be a major hassle to attempt ventilation on these walls. Trying to avoid it at all costs

That picture of me cracks me up. What you can't see is my non fenced in yard that blends into all of my neighbors yards in the heart of suburbia. As if they needed more proof that I'm nuts. Some love the hens, others not so much.I cannot wait to put up a privacy fence this spring!

 

[junkman56]

Thanks for the replies!

I thought about ventilating under the roof overhang but it would present several challenges that I'm trying to avoid...

On the two sides of the coop with the overhang I have windows covered in hardware cloth that are bolted shut for the winter as well as a large door for cleaning. Between these obstacles and the studs/framing, it would be a major hassle to attempt ventilation on these walls. Trying to avoid it at all costs

That picture of me cracks me up. What you can't see is my non fenced in yard that blends into all of my neighbors yards in the heart of suburbia. As if they needed more proof that I'm nuts. Some love the hens, others not so much.I cannot wait to put up a privacy fence this spring!

all of these vents are open 24/7 365 and so far I have not had any issues with frost bite or to much moisture in the coop
and the temp. has gone down to 8 degrees at night

this my floor vent


this is in the front of the coop under the roof overhang
I had to cut them between the wall studs. plus the window on the left I leave open about 6 inches
and keep the window on the right closed, the roost are near that window.



this the rear of my coop under the overhang

 

[aart]

Mild frostbite isn't bad in those temps.

Would like to see pics of inside of coop itself, side eaves area from outside and inside, and back of coop from outside.

How big is coop itself....... and how many birds in there??

How do you water....... and clean/remove poops??

Are you measuring the temp and humidity in coop?

 

[lutherpug]

Mild frostbite isn't bad in those temps.

Would like to see pics of inside of coop itself, side eaves area from outside and inside, and back of coop from outside.

How big is coop itself....... and how many birds in there??

How do you water....... and clean/remove poops??

Are you measuring the temp and humidity in coop?

-The coop itself is 5x6. The run is 6x10-half of it runs underneath the coop.
-Currently 3 hens but we're introducing 4 babies so the total will be 7 chickens (6 if my rooster suspicion pans out).
-Water and food are in the run, coop only has nesting boxes and roosts. They have a bucket waterer and several feeders as my RIR is a bully.
-I can measure temp in the coop, not humidity. Temp mirrors outdoor temps in my experiences so far but I haven't looked every day, only when it was really cold.
-I had been removing poopy bedding and adding new bedding but am planning an overhaul of the coop today, actually. Planned modifications are-

1. Take out the ladder roosting bar and install a 2x4 roosting bar across the back wall of the coop. (Same wall as the ladder roost)
2. Install a poop board with sand below the roost.
3. Maybe move the nesting boxes to below the poop board? I need to play with this.....
4. Add ventilation as previously discussed, I think....
5. Weatherstrip the summer windows to ensure no drafts as they're not completely air tight.

You can see from the pics that I have a great overhang on the walls where I don't want to add ventilation and almost none on the wall where I do. We can always figure out a way to add some cover, I guess. The wood up there now is just cedar fence planks so no matter what we do, those are getting replaced with an actual piece of wood that we can cut into without it shattering.