Ventilated but Free of Drafts

That cannot possibly do an adequate job of removing ammonia and moisture.

You can test this by both your senses and appropriate equipment. If you can smell ammonia you need more ventilation. If you go inside the coop and feel that it is warmer inside than out you need more ventilation. If you use a hygrometer to measure humidity and get a higher reading inside than out you need more ventilation.

I suggest that you contact your local Ag Department and inquire into the minimums for commercial chicken keeping. Most backyarders attempt to do better for our birds than commercial operations do. :)

This is BackYard Chickens definitive article on chickens in cold climates: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/
Thanks. I will read the attached post. I want to know in advance of the required minimum vent area in winter climates (when weather gets to be in low teens or even single digit) because I don’t plan to have shutters on the vents in the gables.
 
Thanks. I will read the attached post. I want to know in advance of the required minimum vent area in winter climates (when weather gets to be in low teens or even single digit) because I don’t plan to have shutters on the vents in the gables.
That's impossible to calculate.
Better to have more ventilation than needed, and cover some up if necessary,
than to have too little and have to cut more holes in the middle of winter.
Remember...Flexibility.
You're dealing with live animals, the weather, and site variables.
 
That's impossible to calculate.
Better to have more ventilation than needed, and cover some up if necessary,
than to have too little and have to cut more holes in the middle of winter.
Remember...Flexibility.
You're dealing with live animals, the weather, and site variables.
thanks, that’s very good point. However, on my two vents on gables I don’t have the room to have shutters. So I am seeking info from people in cold climates how much they have. I understand that sites variables as well the litter management effect on the need for ventilation....
 
my coop space is 12x12 feet and there is an opening on the east side of coop that is 2x8 feet. i also have a 1x2 foot gable vent on the south and north end with a fan running in the middle of coop all day. the gable vent is slightly above the roosts and the “window” opening is slightly below. however, realize that if the chickens don’t go in the coop and stay outside, they’ll roost in a tree. so, i would make sure you have plenty of ventilation and not worry so much about draft. I built roosts around 6-8 feet high. i just wouldn’t place the ventilation in direct flow of the roosts but chickens are survivors. you almost can’t screw up with chickens
 
my coop space is 12x12 feet and there is an opening on the east side of coop that is 2x8 feet. i also have a 1x2 foot gable vent on the south and north end with a fan running in the middle of coop all day. the gable vent is slightly above the roosts and the “window” opening is slightly below. however, realize that if the chickens don’t go in the coop and stay outside, they’ll roost in a tree. so, i would make sure you have plenty of ventilation and not worry so much about draft. I built roosts around 6-8 feet high. i just wouldn’t place the ventilation in direct flow of the roosts but chickens are survivors. you almost can’t screw up with chickens
my window opening is permanently open and same as the gables
 
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.
Great advice. I have openings under my eaves on one side (about 4 inches) as well. I also put holes on each side of the coop with covers so there is a little "cross flow". I covered these this winter and I also put a reptile ceramic heat lamp in my coop. I believe this saved my chickens lives (when it was -26 outside, it was still 20F inside and I ran the reptile lamp 24/7 pointed towards their sleeping area. Just enough warmth to take the "edge" off. My coop is insulated R15 walls and R10 roof, so there are no drafts- I read the best thing is keeping them dry and out of drafts.
 
That’s a good question and, as usual, there are different ways to answer. I’ll assume you know why you need ventilation and no breezes hitting them. I purposely said breezes, not drafts. A draft is when you hold a candle next to a window to see if there is a tiny bit of air movement. That’s not what we are talking about. We are talking about a breeze strong enough to ruffle their feathers. That kind of draft from a window is good. It moves bad air out and good air in.

I don’t know where you are so I don’t know what kind of temperatures you are dealing with so I can’t get real specific.

JackE likes to push the Woods Coop design. That’s a very specialized design where the front is pretty much open and there is another opening up high so you get any breezes in the lower opening and flowing out the upper opening while the back of the coop where the roosts are sees only gentle air movement. That works up in Canada if it’s built right.

In the winter if you really have cold temperatures to deal with, I really like openings up high over their heads when they are on the roosts. If you have more than one opening up high and a breeze is blowing, that goes over their heads yet creates enough gentle turbulence to stir up the air and replace bad air with good. On a calm day, whether you have one or more openings, you still get air movement. Warm air rises. Warmth is being generated inside the coop from their body heat, breathing, warm poop, thawed or even heated water, and if the coop is on the ground the ground is warmer than the air during a cold snap. That warmth is enough to create air movement with just openings up high.

Another reason for openings up high is that, if it is not frozen, their poop generates ammonia as it decomposes. Ammonia is lighter than air and is hard on their respiratory systems. Since it is lighter than air, gravity forces ammonia to rise and replaces it with heavier fresh air from outside, even just with openings up high. You do not need openings down low to get air movement.

Your biggest danger from the cold is not them freezing to death, it’s frostbite. Frostbite is possible anytime the air temperature is below freezing, but with good ventilation and no breezes hitting them chickens can handle temperatures below zero Fahrenheit without getting frostbite. Mine do. A big contributor to frostbite is dampness, excess moisture. Ventilation gets rid of excess moisture. People as far south as Georgia have caused their chickens to suffer from frostbite by closing the coop up too tightly while some chickens sleep in trees in upper Michigan or even in Canada during the winter as long as they can stay out of breezes. It’s hard to get too much ventilation as long as you keep breezes off of them.

I don’t know what your coop looks like or your climate. Openings at the top of walls under overhangs can move a lot of air. Gable vents, roof vents or cupolas are good. Ridge vents work great as long as you don’t get enough snow to block them.

Whenever you create a hole in your coop remember predator protection.
I have a question - our coop has two big windows (obviously with chicken wire to protect from predators) and they are below the top roost where three of my four like to perch. Like a ninny - I installed a vent 12x12 leuver - on the bottom half of the coop this summer to get a cross breez from the windows but since, have read that all the ventilation has to be above them. We DO have about an inch gap (intentional) just below where the roof meets the walls that goes all the way around plus we have 12 holes that are 1 inch in the eve. One of my hens (and I am assuming my adolescents once I introduce them) sits on a lower perch closest to the run so i keep that window closed because it has hit freezing here and that window is right next to her (below the other ladies) Since I am not in a position to knock down my coop and start from scratch - should I board up the 12x12 leuver vent I put in the bottom of the wall? Should I keep the other window shut too since it is below perch level? Your help and guidance would be great
 

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