closing the pophole

[clucking chicks]

Please can an expert advise me aboout ventilation in my coop? Is it cold enough now to shut the little pophole or should I leave it open for the girls? I only have 2 ladies in the coop and I know they snuggle to keep warm so I am not sure what to do! (again!)

 

[Marigold]

There's a thread running in this section, (Condensation in coops) you might like to have a look at, we're all thrashing this one out at the moment!

 

[victorias poultry]

I shut my hens in every night, I have a 3 inch ventalation vent in the top of the hen house at the rear, which is protected from rain etc with the over hanging roof.

 

[chrismahon]

Our pop hopholes are almost always closed. The main coops have 6" x 20"" vent panels either side and these are closed fully or partially on the windy side in Winter only to keep them warmer. I am dealing with draughts at the moment -gaps around the doors and in the boarding at perch level which may cause the hens discomfort at night.

 

[Anonymous]

Good ventilation is more important than keeping them warm. Ammonia is a deadly gas and in high concentration can make your birds sick. I have had chickens roost in the trees until it got so cold the rooster was getting frost bit comb. Then I moved them to a garage that gave them protection from the wind and snow but, not the cold. Chickens come with lots of feathers and if fed well they will produce sufficient heat to stay warm. They fluff their feathers which traps air to keep them warm.

Heat is a bigger problem for chickens. If they are to lay and do well in hot weather they need shade, plenty of cool water and breezes if possible to keep them cool as they are not able to perspire or strip off extra clothing like people to stay cool.

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Sage Sparrow. Not all chickens have lots of feathers. Hybrids and Leghorns spring to mind immediately. At the other end of the scale you have Orpingtons. Our hybrids are with the Orpingtons (they cuddle up to them) and the Leghorns are now in the greenhouse.

If you clean them out regularly (we poo pick daily) Ammonian doesn't become a problem.

 

[Marigold]

Good advice there from Sage Sparrow. I think we have to avoid the feeling that, because we might find conditions cold in a coop overnight,the birds will feel the same as us. I don't think hybrids are poorly feathered, atm mine are better off than my Sussex, who looks like a tatty ex-batt because of moulting, and my legbar is also fine, although legbars are similar to leghorns. It would be a mistake to put chickens straight in the outside world in winter if they'd been used to living indoors, which makes problems for people taking on ex-batts at this time of year, but if birds have been living out all the autumn they become acclimatised to the change in the weather. I do think it helps to have some sort of windbreak round at least part of the sides of the run, I've found white plastic tarp very effective, and also my coop is situated so the open pophole is sheltered from direct blasts of wind overnight. Hens definitely don't like wind and appreciate shelter from it - they often use the perches at the sheltered end to hang out on windy days, or get under the coop, whilst on calm cold days they use the perch out in the open part of the run where they can see what's going on. The sheltered end is also roofed so it stays dry. If they have dry shelter, they can and do choose what's best for them according to conditions outside.

 

[Stanley]

Apart from our ex bats (who seem to be suffering a bit) our others have coped well, its still not too cold for this time of year but a few nights have really dropped, they dont actually have a pophole at all, they came with a converted shed, and theyve lived in that for 2-3years, but out bats have a chicken coop, which does have a pop hole, once id built it i accidentally left it open, and the inside had a puddle, and with the weather not making up its mind i close it at night, but i do get worried, also its been very windy here, and still is now, i dont want too much of a draft..

 

[Chuck]

It is good advice from Sage Sparrow.

Hybrids don't have less feathers and are as hardy as most of the 'pure' breeds.

My big concern with leaving pop holes open is the risk of a fox attack, or other predators. All coops can be adapted (even plastic ones) to make sure there is enough ventilation although from what I gather, there is very little build up of droppings to produce ammonia as most seem to clean out almost daily.

 

[cuwiar]

Without sounding totally dense can I ask what everyone's opinion is on, from a chickens point of view, the difference between ventilation and draughts??

In our coop there is a small sliding door at the top which I know I could open to provide ventilation.

At the bottom of the coop there is a slide out tray for ease of cleaning (not that I think it helps), where this meets the coop you can see a strip of daylight. I could bank this up with wood shavings to prevent it being draughty but is this not also providing ventilation!??

We have been shutting the pop hole at night for warmth and protection but do they need more ventilation?

19

Attached a picture of a coop a bit like ours so you can see where the slide out tray is and the ventilation window...

Apart from the one sliding vent there is no other purpose made vents, ours doesn't have the vents in the doors as the one in the picture does.

 

[chrismahon]

I struggled with the same question Cuwiar. When is a draught not a draught? -when it's ventillation of course!

Decided that ventillation is high level and draughts are around the roosting hens. So I have eliminated gaps in the planking , around the doors and the pop-hole and increased the size of the vents in the top. There are two large vents in the centre of each coop right at the roof level so there is cross flow of air but no leakage anywhere else. So they can adjust to just the one 'draught' and not have them all around them.

 

[Chuck]

cuwiar - I don't have many small coops as mos tof mine are in sheds or stables but if mine have a vent at the top like yours, I consider that to be enough and leave it open.

 

[Marigold]

In a shed or stable, the roof and air space is likely to be much larger than in a small purpose-built coop for a few birds, so each hen gets a bigger share of the available air space - a bit like how you can put more hens per sq. metre into a large run, compared with a small number in a small run. Ventilation and condensation in small coops is evidently different from in large sheds etc. Maybe some of the problem lies in manufacturers selling coops to first-time buyers that are really too small for the number of birds that they are supposed to contain. This is most certainly true for their attached runs which are mostly quite inadequate for day-long use by the number of hens suggested.

 

[cuwiar]

The 'run' that was effectively the void under the coop was tiny and ridiculous to say it was suitable for 4-5 large birds as the manufacturer stated. We have only put 3 birds in the coop and have significantly extended the run, so there isn't an issue with space. Have now noticed some damp in the corners of the inside of the run which I assume is a touch of condensation (not going off topic as I know there is another thread running on this). So, going back to ventilation, I feel at this time of year it is best for my set up to shut the pop hole at night and open the sliding vent perhaps half way to allow for ventilation. I don't feel the build up of ammonia is a threat as I poop scoop regularly and will try and block off any 'draughts'.

I hope this helps Clucking Chickens?