Ventilation ?

[littlegip]

I am really confused by all the proper ventilation. I have added a pic of my coop it is a 8x8 converted shed. My husband wants to add a ceiling and insulate it. It gets very cold here in south eastern Michigan. The shed has soffit ventilation now that works very well, but will be blocked off by new ceiling and insulation. Does anyone have any suggestions for me.

 

[jenjscott]

I know it seems counterproductive to insulation, but there has to be some exchange of air to let the humidity escape. Ventilation should be above the level of the roost and on two sides of the shed to provide "circulation" You could put two small holes in the two of the walls just below the ceiling and cover them with soffit vents. Just make sure they are above the heads of the roosting birds. They can tolerate the cold much better than the humidity, and they put off a lot of that. Of course, the number of birds and the type of bedding can affect how much ventilation you need also.

 

[littlegip]

Thanks for the reply. I think we are going to follow your suggestion of two vents on different walls than the roost and nesting area. We have 12 birds a mixed flock and use the deep litter method of pine shavings.

 

[marshmallowpeeps]

OK, I saw the above mentioned article.
But I still am not sure. Everyone says, well ventilated but not drafty. ???
How does one know the difference? My homebuilt thrown-together-out-of-old-barnwood coop has windows that shut loosely, not tight at all, and slight (1-2 in) gaps along the top under the roof here and there. There's plenty of room for air to move in and out through these gaps, esp when the wind blows which is most of the time. And the chicken door is always open, the people door has lots of gaps like there are around the roof.
So what is draft and what is ventilation?

 

[jenjscott]

Yours sound drafty. Basically, drafty is if the air can move across the chickens at roost on its way through. Ventilation draws the air in and allows it to escape without having to blow across the chickens. A lot depends on your weather also. The colder it is, the more important not to have drafts.

 

[jrossetti]

You should check out Patandchicken's ventilation page: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

That will explain everything you need to know.