Ventilation

[smchick]

Is it better to have an exhaust fan or have vents in your coop? I live where it gets cold during the winter so don't know what would be best. I do have a resin coop so cutting into it takes a little bit more of planning on how to do it if that makes sense.

 

[nuthatched]

Big vents, you need them when it's cold as well. 1sq per bird, at minimum

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Is it better to have an exhaust fan or have vents in your coop? I live where it gets cold during the winter so don't know what would be best. I do have a resin coop so cutting into it takes a little bit more of planning on how to do it if that makes sense.

Vents, vents, vents, vents.

It’s very counter-intuitive to those with serious winters, but year-round ventilation PROTECTS against frostbite. A buildup of humidity in the coop in winter due to insufficient ventilation sets up for frostbite. Also, inadequate ventilation results in buildup of ammonia fumes, which lead to respiratory problems (and stink.)

Place this permanent ventilation ~18” above their heads as they roost (they generally duck their heads as they sleep) to avoid drafts. (Ventilation = good, drafts on bodies = bad.)

 

[smchick]

This is probably a dumb question but how many vents to keep open during the winter? If it is 10 degrees with all the vents open make it too cold? The coop is 4x7.

 

[DobieLover]

I keep a little more than 23 sq ft permanently open. The lowest my flock has seen is -23F.
As long as the roosted birds are draft free they will do much better with copious amounts of ventilation for fresh air and the removal of moist stale air.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I also have a little resin storage building that I use for a brooder coop for chicks. I've just made arrangements with a friend who is a cabinetmaker to install some louvred, screened vents in it all the way around. I'm getting ready to order the vents, varying sizes, 18x6 to 22x6" . It gets cold and wet here too. But don't forget, chickens are BIRDS. If sparrows and cardinals can survive your winters living in trees, chickens surely can, living in a building. As long as they have ventilation and don't get wet. That's my opinion anyway.