My hen house is wet INSIDE!!!

[Jos Hens]

We recently weatherproofed our beautiful henhouse with Clearseal (as recommended). Just the whole of the outside, not the inside. Since then the inside of the house has become wet. We lay paper on the removable tray then cover that with woodshavings. After a spate of bad weather it was wet inside - the newspaper was sodden and the walls felt damp.

To test how waterproof it is we have now covered it completely with plastic sheeting (builders stuff so completely waterproof) - no water can get in at all. We have also lined the removable tray with plastic sheeting. We laid newspaper over the plastic and then wood shavings in top of that.

We did all this last Saturday and it was dry until yesterday lunchtime and again the newspaper was wet. Note that underneath the plastic the tray was completely dry! Do you think it could be the birds causing the damp/wetness - perhaps condensation?

We are at a complete loss as to why this is happening - any advice would be appreciated - we are new at all this hen malarky!!


Here is the link for our hen house http://www.framebow.co.uk/chicken-coop-hen-arch-coop.html


The manufacturers (Framebow) are also stumped!

 

[Marigold]

Hi Jos and welcome to the Forum. What a beautiful design your coop is- I hadn't seen them before. It looks ideal for your girls.
I'm surprised the manufacturers were stumped, when they heard of the problems you were having, and what you were trying to do to cure the problem, as the solution is probably very simple. I would bet that you are right when you say the birds themselves are causing the problem - or rather, that lack of ventilation is causing the water vapour that they gve off overnight to condense on the surfaces of the coop and make everything soaking wet. In a coop with insifficient ventilation the air gets extremely humid, from their breathing as well as when any dampness in their feathers dries off, and the laws of physics say this has to condense somewhere, hence the wet you are finding. In addition if the birds don't get enough fresh air overnight, they breathe in each others fug, and germs can get passed around, especially respiratory diseases, to which chickens are prone if not ventilated well.
The solution is simple. Open all the vents, and assuming the run is safe from predators, the pophole as well. Chickens do not need to be kept warm at night, their own feathers do that, and they generate plenty of heat for themselves if they go to bed well fed and have a dry coop. If the coop gets warmer than the outside air, they will feel the difference when they go out in the morning, just as you would if you set out of a heated house without a coat.
Last year we thrashed this question out very thoroughly, and you may like to have a look at this very long thread - its at http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5388&hilit=Condensation+in+coops
Oh, and remove all the plastic sheeting as well, of course.
How many hens have you got in there, and what kinds are they? Do they get out of the run Into to the garden during the day?

PS edit; I've just had another look at the coop and though it says 'inbuilt ventilation' I can't see any vents on the side or front, other than the pophole. Are there any round the back? Not sure how you'd get a flow of air through there.

 

[Jos Hens]

Oh Marigold, thank you so much. I have 7 hens - 5 beautiful Orpingtons (all buff except one lemon and one black) and two hybrids. They have a very large garden that they free range around in the day and then they also have a pen which is about 25ft square - securely fenced and electrified. We open the front of the house run in the morning and then later give them free run around the garden.
This afternoon we have been to look at the house and have taken the plastic sheeting off. We have unscrewed the very top panel (along the top) and lifted it with 1inch wooden blocks so the ventilation has improved significantly. We also realised why this didn't happen last winter - we only had three hens in the house!
We'll monitor it over the next couple of days and will let you know if we have succeeded in sorting out the problem. Thanks again.

 

[Marigold]

I'm glad you can see a way forward. Another thing which would help, of course, is if they could go to bed dry in wet weather. One way to get them to do this might be to provide a cover for the top of the run, and at least one side, the one the weather was coming from, and shut them in there for an hour or so before roosting time, to dry off outside before going in the coop. You need to cover the side(s) as well as the roof as the rain will blow in sideways otherwise. You don't need the expensive cover the coop manufacturer offers, try a Monotex clear plastic tarp from here http://www.tarpaulinsdirect.co.uk/tarpaulins/tarpaulins/monotex-tarpaulin

which are very strong, let light through, and are easy to cut and fix. Of course it may be they they have dry shelter elsewhere in what sounds like a lovely setup for them.

 

[Jos Hens]

Good idea about keeping them dry before they go up - it has been particularly wet here during the last month or so which I am sure doesn't help. We are getting some perspex cut to size to fit the panels on the side of the run so that they have a bit more shelter - the front of the run has until recently been covered with an old roller blind! We're also going to fit a panel at the back of the run which is where the wind mostly blows through. I will keep you posted and hopefully my lovely girls will have a dry nights sleep. Thanks again for your advice.

 

[Marigold]

Yes, those beautiful Orp ladies do have copious 'skirts' to gather the rain, don't they?

 

[Jos Hens]

Well, the good news is that having raised the top of the hen house - it was completely dry this morning - even the walls were dry!! Success at last. Wishing everyone thanks for your help and have a great weekend. Jo.

 

[Jos Hens]

February 2013 - just to correct any misunderstanding, Framebow/Greenhill Joinery did not recommend the use of Clearseal on my hen arch. It was recommended by another supplier. Framebow/Greenhill Joinery have been extremely helpful in helping me to sort out the problem I have with my hen arch. JC 20/02/13