Ventilated but Free of Drafts

[Deleon98]

Wait like instead of putting a wall use hardware cloth?

 

[aart]

Wait like instead of putting a wall use hardware cloth?

Yes. Many folks in hot regions have large overhangs on roofs but mostly mesh for walls.

Check out some of the threads in this search:
advanced search>titles only>open air coops

This is one of my favorites, down in Texas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/851343/barn-into-open-air-coop-conversion

 

[Bs Peeps]

I believe you'll want the open space of the vent louvres to be screened. They are open enough for rodents and snakes to gain access. Some are already screened, some are not.
You don't any openings allowing rats, mice, and any other critter small enough to squeeze in.

 

[pawl]

Wait like instead of putting a wall use hardware cloth?

I live in Kentucky and right now the outdoor temperature is 19 degrees Fahrenheit. The entire south wall of my coop is 1/4 inch mesh wire and the girls are just fine. I use a variation on the P.T. Woods open air poultry house... it is deep enough that breezes die out before reaching the back of the coop where the chickens stay... in the summer I open a window and it draws air through for a cooling effect... chickens need protection from wind and summer heat not the cold

 

[pawl]

Hello Everyone,

Could someone give me concise information on what a well ventilated coop yet free of drafts really entails?  I have a henhouse that has two roosts, two nesting boxes and two little doors. Above one of the roosts there is a whole about the size of a coffee mug that the people before me used to have a heat lamp.  I don't want to use the lamp this year.  I want to seal up that hole since it is adjacent to the roost.  There is a large one inch gap about 6 inches long on either side of the floor by the little door.  If i seal all this up than how to I ventilate??  Thanks !!
Bubsiesmom

Chickens need to be free from drafts in the winter. Like wild birds, if they are allowed to experience the coming winter they adjust to the cold naturally and stay warm without your doing anything. My coop has one wall that is all screen and the girls are fine. It's 19 degrees outside but under their feathers they're toasty warm. If kept from drafts and moisture they thrive in cold weather... it is summer heat that people should really worry about

 

[Bs Peeps]

Look at it this way. You open a window in your house for ventilation - for air exchange - to let hot air out, to let cool air in, whatever the case. BUT if it's windy outside, you don't want that window in front of your desk open and blowing your stuff around. That would be a 'draft'. So you open other windows to keep your desk draft-free.
You want air exchange but not 'wind' in your hen house.

Hot air rises, cool air settles. Your birds' roosting bars are probably somewhere in between high and low.
Hot air rises but it also moves toward colder air. When you have an opening near the top as well as near the bottom, you will get air movement (exchange) but without wind (drafts). On hot days the hot air will rise and escape through upper ventilation. That rising and escaping will draw in the cooler air from lower ventilation. Even if the air isn't actually cooler, it will still move the air - exchange the air.

You don't want your birds roosting bars directly in line of any wind blowing in directly on them, as that will take away their body heat - like if you were sitting in front of a fan. At some point you will cool off to the point of being chilled. If you know it's going to be particularly windy, you can also just partially close or block of an opening to reduce windy drafts but to maintain air infiltration.
You don't want to seal up the hen house as the moisture from droppings as well as the moisture in their breathing MAY CAUSE FROSTBITE in extreme cold temps. You also don't want to seal up the hen house, at any time, to keep dangerous levels of ammonia from building up in there, from the droppings. Moist important reason for air exchange.
Good luck. Hope you figure out what works best for you and your birds.

 

[Aji Dulce]

What I have read indicates that you want ventilation, the higher up on the coop, the better, in order to reduce humidity levels inside the coop. You don't want drafts on the roost area, but ventilation is critical. there are some tips elsewhere on BYC. We have under the eaves on both sides of our coop (8 feet on each side) ventilated with just hardware cloth. About 4 inches just under each side. I've blocked those on the west side just above the roost, for winter. Otherwise they're open.

I'm still trying to determine how cold I'll "allow". We have a ceramic reptile style heater hooked to a thermal block so there'll be a warm spot when it drops to 35 in the coop....but I don't know how cold too cold is.

When considering how cold is too cold, I imagine you would have to consider your breed but think of this, chickens have been around for hundreds of years before electricity. And they are dressed in down feathers.

 

[miss pickles]

What is a inverted flower pot and light bulb trick?

 

[aart]

What is a inverted flower pot and light bulb trick?

A light bulb under an inverted terra cotta flowerpot....
....it's a 'heater' of sorts, can be a fire hazard risk as well as not particularly efficient.

 

[HennyPenny2019]

Think of being in a car with a bunch of people in cold weather without the heat on. Almost immediately the moisuture begins to build up on the windows. This warm air condenses because it is in contact with the cooler window or wall inside a coop. That is damp, and that is what happens in a too small, too tight of coop with chickens. Damp chickens are cold chickens.

You do not give the dimensions or the number of birds, but I suggest you go out and measure how far your birds are away from the wall or from the ceiling of the coop, they should be a foot away from the wall, and their heads need to be about 15-18 inches below the ceiling when roosting. This keeps the moisture away from them, and allows the ventilation to move out the wet, moist air, keeping them dry. Dry feathers are very warm, and they should get through well below zero (as in -25) with no problem with plenty of feed.

Most of us in the beginning, think we want to keep our chickens warm in the very cold winter weather. We have been taught since children to keep the openings sealed up tight to trap heat inside our homes. It seems so counter intuitive to open up the coop to keep it warm. Instead of thinking warm, think DRY. You need good bedding that can absorb moisture, and you need openings that allow the moist air to escape along with the ammonia. And you needs adequate space between the birds and the walls and the ceiling. Too small of coop will make for wet chickens.

What you need is protection from the wind, but still allow air currents, you want movement of air. Hence free of drafts but well ventilated, which took me forever to figure out, and I got a bit of frostbite till I did.

Mrs K

Great, helpful post.