Ventilation - what are the basics?

[loopycoops]

Good idea

 

[aart]

Second, if this site is accurate, https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/australia/tasmania ,

Is this accurate @loopycoops ?
Seems like an awfully narrow range of temps:

 

[linguini]

If the range of temperature is like @aart suggested above, a fixed design following all the guidelines/advice given by the experts here, your birds will be happy!

If not, you may want a design that allows you to adapt to the air/wind flow according to the weather.

Where we live, we have days in single digit in F (rarely below 0, but it happens) in winter, and over 100 F in summer. And quite a lot of windy days. (from over 10mph regularly to over 50mph to storms). Airflow plays a critical role in providing comfort to our chickens!

We have hardware mesh with wood frame panels that I can use to replace an entire or partial walls of the coops for extra ventilation/airflow in summer, and I use make-shift overhangs to keep strong wind from causing drafts inside the coop in the winter.

Also, gadget/devices help ease my mind - blue tooth remote digital hygrometer comes in handy. Something like this, not too expensive:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0872ZPQSJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

@3KillerBs has a very informative figure showing how airflows in summer and winter in a cow house, that's my bible for winter airflow control!!

Best of luck! Tasmania seems like a beautiful place!

 

[3KillerBs]

@3KillerBs has a very informative figure showing how airflows in summer and winter in a cow house, that's my bible for winter airflow control!!

 

[loopycoops]

Is this accurate @loopycoops ?
Seems like an awfully narrow range of temps:
View attachment 3000417

Hi there!
Where we are it gets a lot colder in the winter, say about -2c to 5c on the low end. Other than that there is a fairly narrow range of temps...

 

[ellen60]

All Livestock need ventilation. From cows to chickens. The idea is to keep your barn, stable or coop dry and draft free. Top venting is the way to go and if in very hot climate large wall openings covered in hardware cloth.

Animals create a lot of moisture. Heat rises and so will that excess moisture ridden and ammonia filled air. 1 square feet of venting per chicken is for passive venting. If you use convection venting it's minimal by comparison. The easiest way to accomplish proper convection venting is to design a single slant roof of 4/12 or 5/12 pitch. Have small openings along the top of wall under bottom and top roof slant. Or you could leave the 2x3 or 2x4 rafter spacing open covered with hardware cloth to keep predators out. That's far more vent than you need but easy to accomplish.

In a nutshell with that pitch of roof the natural sucking in and pushing out of air (convection) will be the proper velocity to mix with stale and wet coop air along roof line and push it out. Too steep of a pitch will create a curtain of air flow that won't mix well. And of course too flat of pitch reduces flow of fresh air needing larger openings. Like using the rafter opening size is needed. In reality the size of openings needed with proper pitch is 1" drilled hole per linear foot. Number of birds, size of coop and other factors would determine the mathematical (yes there is a calculation) minimum opening size needed. I say this just to give you an idea of how little openings are needed to ensure a dry coop. Keeping to the minimal side is preferred by me as I'm in a cold climate and want to retain some of the heat generated by the birds. You being in a warm zone, not hot but certainly warm for livestock have no concern of minimal venting and should think moderately to compensate for summer.

With coop door open days and not caulking your joints there is plenty of air being drawn in without adding a lower vent.

Hi, I like your post.
My shed is a 12 x 16 gambrel with attic.
I built my 1st coop inside 5 x 12, has 2 windows and 2 vents. Both vents are up high above their heads when they are on roost.
We just added a 2nd coop attached to this one separated by door with hc on it. Different breed in here.
Same dimensions.
However, outside the north wall of this portion of this coop is a low overhanging awning with garden tools under it. This is the wall that the roost had to be on.
The pop door is on south side, a window is going in above pop door.
Question: Can I vent through wall to other coop w hc and with vent next to window?
It is meant to be a severe winter here, -20 below. Farmers Almanac says it will even hit -40 in January.
7 chooks in coop 1,
6 in coop 2.
Covered outdoor area for all day use.

 

[3KillerBs]

Hi, I like your post.
My shed is a 12 x 16 gambrel with attic.
I built my 1st coop inside 5 x 12, has 2 windows and 2 vents. Both vents are up high above their heads when they are on roost.
We just added a 2nd coop attached to this one separated by door with hc on it. Different breed in here.
Same dimensions.
However, outside the north wall of this portion of this coop is a low overhanging awning with garden tools under it. This is the wall that the roost had to be on.
The pop door is on south side, a window is going in above pop door.
Question: Can I vent through wall to other coop w hc and with vent next to window?
It is meant to be a severe winter here, -20 below. Farmers Almanac says it will even hit -40 in January.
7 chooks in coop 1,
6 in coop 2.
Covered outdoor area for all day use.

Welcome to BYC. I'm not sure I'm understanding what you're asking.

Have you seen my ventilation article? The key thing is to provide adequate airflow without putting a draft on the chickens (a draft being air movement strong enough to ruffle the birds' feathers).

By rule of thumb you should have 7 square feet of ventilation in coop 1 and 6 square feet of ventilation in coop 2 -- but that's just a rule of thumb. The test is to have the temperature and humidity the same inside as out.

Here are some useful articles on severe winter weather:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Passive ventilation is not the same as convection. "Rule of thumbs" are for passive ventilation. Open sided coops are a southern thing. Woods style coops for the North rely on a lot of depth, more than 10 ft from the "vent" wall to the roosts.

It boggles the mind why the 1 square foot of venting per chicken is repeated so much when there are so many of us in the North. Convection venting is superior. Single slant roofs are the easiest to apply it. Small vent along soffit lower and upper end of roof. The same effect can be achieved with gable roof with vents both sides of peak and small vents along soffits. Pull the air in through convection. Air flow is a function of roof slant. 3/12 or 4/12 pitch work best. Too steep a roof line and the air does not mix with coop air, too shallow a pitch and you need larger vents.