Ventilation without being drafty. HELP!

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

I dont think I can build anything air tight.. but I have never really understood "needs to be well ventilated, BUT not drafty" And I have heard that since my life began, as I have been around horses forever.

So. I have a metal shed. It is up. We are going to be cutting out windows and a door for the girls. During the nice weather they will be out in the run, with access into the coop unless I am cleaning it. In the winter, the plan is to have plexi glass sheets to put over the windows to keep the snow/cold out. The coop/shed will be insulated with the foam board insulation.

Should I also cut some space out at the front(over the doors) and back(to match) for ventilation? And leave those open? Just maybe rivet some metal up there to block the snow, but still allow for air flow?

 

[All about the EGG]

Someone here said it well...drafts=low, ventilation=high. Please correct me if I am wrong!

 

[patandchickens]

Drafty is a wind blowing on the animals. For chickens, it is mainly what the previous poster says -- put the ventilation high up on the walls (where it will work better anyhow, since the warmer and thus more humid air is near the ceiling, and removing moisture is the main point of ventilation). Just don't have a vent right next to or over the roosts (well, that can be fine for summer, but make sure it can be closed weathertight for winter without compromising total ventilation).

If your coop is somewhere exposed, even if the vents are high up it can get drafty at chicken level in high winds. (And potentially kick up a buncha dust from the litter, too). So you need to either be able to close the upwind vents and still have sufficient ventilation from other side(s), or have some sort of hood or baffle on the upwind vent so the wind does not come screamin' in so fast.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[LynneP]

...and be sure to cover vents with predator-proof covers...

We used a porch inside our barn with hardware cloth over much of it to create ventilation on hot days. The innder door is plexiglass to keep birds warm in winter.

We have horses too.


Link below...