Hen house Ventilation - how much ventilation does your chicken house need?

Every chicken house needs ventilation, yes, even, in fact especially, in cold weather.
How much ventilation each hen house needs depends on several variables:
- Climate
o Is your climate hot or cold?
o Is the humidity high or low?
o Do nights get cool?
o Is it windy?
- Chicken house
o Is the chicken house located where it’s sheltered from winds or exposed?
o Is it in shade or direct sun?
o How insulated is it?
o What is the roof made of?
o How high is the roof (volume of air matters more than floor space)
o Do you use bedding that is naturally moist (like deep litter) or is the floor dry?
o How frequently do you remove the droppings?
- Chickens
o How crowded with chickens is the chicken house?
o What breed are the chickens? (big comb & wattles in cold / heavy breeds in hot)
Where to place that ventilation is vitally important. The Golden Rules are:
- include as many large openings as possible,
- and make them adjustable so you can open or close them as weather and wind direction indicates,
- always include high vents to allow warm moist air to exit,
- unless your climate is very cold, include some cross ventilation,
- but avoid drafts blowing directly onto the chickens,
- keep out the rain and other sources of water,
- and keep the manure cleaned out.
To see how I applied these principles when designing my new Ultimate Urban Hen house, see episode 4 in my series:
• Design and build my Ul...
For more fascinating facts, hints and tips about caring for your chickens, and the sheer pleasure of chickens, subscribe to my channel: Chickens in my garden - New Zealand
/ chickensinmygarden
Catch up with me on Facebook / chickensinmygarden

[@vivianallen9772]

I wish everyone who has chickens would watch this video. It’s amazing how many chicken coops don’t have decent ventilation, and I live in Texas, where it gets very hot. Thank you for all the good advise and videos! I’ve learned so much from you.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you 🙂 Keeping chickens in Texas must be rather challenging. But of course they are so worth it

[@templenaff5598]

I agree. I live in N Central Texas where last summer we had 90 days of 100+ degrees F. I was using frozen bottles in mesh bags in front of fans last summer and watching my hens fight for the center spot. I have 5 coops and I’ve added many ventilation windows at the top roof line of all of my coops.

[@AJsGreenThumbLLC]

Such an outstanding video! Thank you so much for sharing your expertise!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Aww, thanks very much! Have a great day 🙂

[@chickensinmygarden]

Aww, thanks very much! Have a great day 🙂

[@AJsGreenThumbLLC]

@@chickensinmygarden Happy Friday!

[@joellaoconnor1876]

You are so informative in all your videos. In response to the lady with minks they sell metal registers at hardware stores

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you so much 🙂

[@trishignao8191]

We are building our new coop right now. We live in Florida so adequate ventilation is a must. This is what my husband needed to see.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Glad to help 🙂 Best wishes for a wonderful coop!

[@user-rb6xj1nf2e]

The whole video was perfect very informative. Thank you very much.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thanks so much. Have a great day 🙂

[@franksilveira9531]

This must be the best explanation I have ever heard congratulations. Great job, simple to the point so that everybody can understand.👍👍

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you very much 🙂

[@lizzybarbosa6857]

Wonderful video! So informative. Many thanks and regards from a new subscriber in the Ocala National Forest in Florida, USA.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. And thanks for watching and subscribing. I hope you find my videos useful 🙂

[@oxman7]

I just want to say that I have a commercial free range unit in the UK, and you covered the bases there as comprehensively as anyone I'vd spoken to. I'm quite new to the game and it can be stressful making decisions that can affect the entire crop. I definitely always had the feeling that even 8 and 9 degree temperatures at night are acceptable in order to maintain decent air quality at the minimum ventilation setting. I get concerned sometimes that maybe I'm letting the house get too cold, but I think the birds can handle it. Bad air quality is my greatest concern. Nice work on this one.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. How are you managing the bird flu restrictions? Do you have to keep your chickens inside at the moment?

[@oxman7]

@@chickensinmygarden Yea the bird flu situation is crazy this year. We've had them in for several months, but they are going back out on tuesday so getting them reintroduced to the light coming in and the air movement changing as the side of the house basically opens. Thankfully we (in Northern Ireland) have had very few cases of bird flu, but mainland UK and Europe have been terrible. Think USA is even worse.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Oh happy day on Tuesday! 🌞🐥🐥🐥

[@oxman7]

@@chickensinmygarden Yeaa it'll be nice to see them out again!

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

Very helpful thank you! I believe the Gable vents about 10 ft high at the top peak of the coop seem adaquate. I use the deep litter method in the winter. I am putting up a hygrometer on Thursday though. Great information as always! Thank you! I look forward to seeing your new design videos! I wish I could share mine with you. Especially when we get the fenced run around my largest garden plot. I will only plant in there chicken safe fruits, plants, herbs, and veggies. Then after the growing season, I can open the inner gate on the run and let them compost it for me. haha. That is the plan anyway.❤

[@chickensinmygarden]

My design and build videos are all available. This is the first one kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYfIfptol5KGpdU There's a link to the second one in the description below the first one, and so on for the 5 videos. There are some other videos in my playlist about housing chickens which you might find interesting kzbin.info/aero/PLZkmuqBJd8WT6tXWaOW_-khp4YXq-yYdi Your setup sounds awesome. 🙂

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

@@chickensinmygarden My apolgies I didn't know it was already done. We moved out of the suburbs a couple of years ago to a country home with no cumbersome rules, no codes, no control. You made a really country looking yard in your new place. You are so creative!

[@chickensinmygarden]

It was sensible for us to move to town as we are getting older (my husband is 70 already) but I didn't want to give up my chickens or my garden. We were very lucky to find this house right in town (10 minutes walk to shops and cafes) with a garden space on the sunny side. And unexpectedly it's quieter than our country place most of the time.

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

@@chickensinmygarden That sounds amazing for you! Glad you could take your little piece of the country and make it better for you. :)

[@lauraalmasan3930]

Excellent video

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you

[@k.quilter2735]

This video is very entertaining and informative. Thank you. I enjoyed it..

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you for watching and for your lovely comment 🙂

[@user-sv5jm3of4q]

Good video and explanation, thank you!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you 🙂

[@tabuoey]

super informative. lots of things i didnt know!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. Glad to hear from you 🙂

[@PLJS2018]

Really informative!! Thank you!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you, I appreciate that 🙂

[@fionafitzpatrick489]

So informative thank you so much. New sub PA, USA.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you and welcome 🙂 I hope you find lots of my other videos useful too 🙂

[@janzoo1111]

Great video!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you 🙂

[@richardkut3976]

Vents add cost. There easy to install after purchase.

[@albacorao]

Very good video. One more time.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you 🙂

[@catlinhollow]

I love your teaching style and unusual-to-me accent. I could happily listen to you teach just about any topic 😊. Thanks for the info. I have hot humid summers and biting cold winters, so finding the right balance has been a challenge.

[@chickensinmygarden]

That's kind of you. I think my accent is a fairly typical New Zealand one. I suspect the balance for your climate will include some adjustable parts - even here I put a polycarbonate cover over the south (cold) side in winter and leave just the hardware cloth window for summer nights. The cover just hooks over the door and clicks on via a magnet so it's quick to do. Best wishes 🙂

[@markmooney5662]

Brilliant vid with such useful info .... My hens seem happy but I think a bit more high ventilation is a good idea. I clean out the poop daily but I surely miss some ..... best to be on the safe side....thank you and God bless. Gilly wife of Mark in Norfolk UK

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. I'm glad the video was useful 🙂

[@perfstaas7188]

Veeeeery gooood : ) Thx : )

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you 🙂

[@peterdavid2381]

Hi, again a very informative Video 👍👍👍 I wish you and your family a nice chrismas time from Germany 🎄 Peter 😘🐓

[@chickensinmygarden]

Danke 🙂 And Frohe Weihnachten to you and yours 🌲

[@peterdavid2381]

@@chickensinmygarden 😃👋 You know some german....?😳

[@chickensinmygarden]

Just enough to order zwei bier bitte and such like 🍺

[@peterdavid2381]

@@chickensinmygarden 🤣

[@dianeveilleux6452]

Who did the illustration work?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Me 🙂 (Sheryl)

[@carolinevanwinkle3755]

Why not add a fan on one side with vent on other side. Run it during summer 24/7 and 3-4 hours during winter

[@georgebigalow977]

I think that idea is great if there is no air exchange between the outside and inside. (Stale Air) otherwise I would let adequate openings and wind naturally circulate.

[@zg2803]

I am so confused on what to do. I'd like to know if there is an actual vent you can buy that can open and shut rather than a window for example. There are minks and weasils around. We planned to cover the holes with hardware cloth, but I recently read an account of someone that caught a weasil eating through the hardware cloth on camera. Where we live it can get down to -12 Fahrenheit in the winter and over 100 in the summer. I have a lean-to shed that's slightly open on the east and west side near the top rafters, but only a few inches. I was thinking about adding holes on the north and south sides as well for more ventilation but we do get bitter cold winds sometimes in the winter. Would that still be okay?

[@chickensinmygarden]

There are certainly adjustable louvre vents available in some places. I think you're looking for something like this www.google.com/search?q=vent+adjustable+louvre&client=ms-android-samsung-gs-rev1&ei=v6BhZLGAA9622roP76GKiAI&oq=vent+adjustable+louvre&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAMyBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMggIABCKBRCGAzIICAAQigUQhgMyCAgAEIoFEIYDMggIABCKBRCGAzIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABOgoIABBHENYEELADOggIABAWEB4QDzoKCAAQCBAeEA0QDzoHCCEQoAEQCkoECEEYAFDfCVj8G2D8IWgBcAF4AIABhgKIAfUMkgEDMi03mAEAoAEByAEEwAEB&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#imgrc=PrYlAYq45vl29M&scso=_0qBhZOXqM6rf2roPmNi5-AI_31%253A1644.952392578125 But those slits might be so big a weasel could get through. Hardware cloth on the inside as well might be a good idea. Your environment is very challenging. I would probably consider the wind patterns - does the cold winter wind come from the North? If so, avoid openings on the North side. Is one side sheltered by nearby forest or buildings? If so that's where you put your biggest areas of ventilation openings. I doubt if a few holes would provide much in the way of ventilation - anything too small for a weasel to get through won't let much air through. You're going to need some kind of grid material that's gnaw-proof. Then make your ventilation openings big enough to keep the house dry when the chickens are inside breathing and pooping, and that will depend on how big the house is in all three dimensions and how many chickens are inside.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Here are a couple of calculations you can do to get a ballpark idea of whether you have enough ventilation already. - Divide the area of the floor of the chicken house in square feet by 10. For example a house that's 6 feet by 12 feet is 72 square feet, divided by 10 is 7.2 - Now compare your answer to how many chickens you have. - Choose the larger number. That's the minimum number of square feet of ventilation you need. If you're thinking about holes, it's helpful to know that a 2-inch diameter hole has a surface area of about 3 square inches. Compare that to a hole that's 1 foot by 1 foot - which is 1 square foot, which is 144 square inches! You need 48 holes to give you 1 square foot of ventilation.

[@chickensworld9649]

Happy new year 2022🥳🥳🥳

[@chickensinmygarden]

And best wishes to you for a wonderful 2022 🙂

[@memorablemoments462]

Happyyy new year to everyone 😘🥳🥳

[@MsBizzyGurl]

8:00

[@cringewave5807]

1:53 why is that hydrogen sulphide could in the shape of india? lmao

[@chickensinmygarden]

😀 Just a random blotch. Interpretation is in the mind of the beholder 😉

[@oscartheduckwhisperer978]

Great video 👍 I have just posted my first chicken video would you check it out?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Great first video. I agree with many of the other commenters- you can sometimes force laying a bit but it's not healthy in the long run - that's why commercial egg farmers dispose of their hens at just 18 months old - the poor things are worn out. I have subscribed and look forward to following your KZbin journey. Good luck

[@oscartheduckwhisperer978]

@@chickensinmygarden thank you so much I also love you videos they are great! 😁

[@Raspukek-fu8un]

yesь. i get it. chook hous needs dokhuja vetilationa.