Ventilation v Draught

[Lucylou]

Hi All,

Just wondering about this subject.

All chooks must have good ventilation in their houses but don't like being in a draught, so what constitutes a draught??? Trying to work out how big the ventilation needs to be per square foot of house or number of chooks in the house is a real headache :? Any ideas?

My house was converted from a small shed & now after 15 months of weather etc a few gaps have appeared & I'm not sure if I should try & close them up. (sounds like its me living in a converted shed :lol: )

Thanks peeps.

 

[snifter]

In hen houses, ventilation tends to be over the top of the birds. My old hen house was ark style and had vents running under the roof. Another had a small gap at the top above the door.

I'd not put anything below or the same level ventilation wise for them. Make sure its well over their heads. As for how much you needs, its not like you need a certain amount of air for each bird. After all, hen houses all hold differing amounts of chooks but are designed with set ventilation. Just an airflow over them is fine.

 

[Tim]

Totally agree with Snifter.

Most houses have a small vent each side at the top and the better ones have an adjustable vent on one side of the house that you can slide open / closed.

I always put the 'big' vent to the east or north because of the south westerly winds we get. With ducks, they actually have good night vision so get spooked by lights and even moonlight so I don't give their houses any big openings.

The way to tell if you've got enough ventillation is to open the door and smell once your chooks have been roosting for a couple of hours and see if you can smell Ammonia. It is a really distinctive smell, you will know it when you smell it. This comes off droppings - and if there is insufficient ventillation then your chooks will be breathing it in and it can cause damage to their lungs which will in turn lower their immune system, opening them up to disease.