freaking cold
by John at 12/21/2004 01:32:00 PM
Today is the winter solstice if you are in the northern hemisphere, and to celebrate Jack Frost sent a frigid arctic air mass down through Canada and into my backyard on Sunday night.
Monday when I let the dogs out for their morning pee, it was 9°F outside, and getting colder. The wind chill (I later read) was -18°F. But what about the chickens?
The poor chickens had been in the cold all night. The heat lamp inside their coop was only able to generate less than a +10° temperature difference with the outside, so it was a not-so-comfortable 18°F inside. The chickens seemed alright (though a little extra squawky), and Junior even went so far as to lay an egg for us. The heat lamp just couldn't keep up with the heat lost to the outside air, especially when the wind was blowing through the ventilation vents near the roofline.
The vents are necessary because chickens are fast breathers, and have a high CO2 and water vapor output. Vents are there to provide adequate turnover of the air inside the coop. This is mostly necessary in the summer, but it is also important in the winter to keep down bad odors and bacteria.
Concerned that the chickens would have to put up with another extra chilly night, I designed some wind breaks to put over the vents - the goal was to allow sufficient ventilation without allowing the wind to blow directly through. They work like this:
Monday when I let the dogs out for their morning pee, it was 9°F outside, and getting colder. The wind chill (I later read) was -18°F. But what about the chickens?
The poor chickens had been in the cold all night. The heat lamp inside their coop was only able to generate less than a +10° temperature difference with the outside, so it was a not-so-comfortable 18°F inside. The chickens seemed alright (though a little extra squawky), and Junior even went so far as to lay an egg for us. The heat lamp just couldn't keep up with the heat lost to the outside air, especially when the wind was blowing through the ventilation vents near the roofline.
The vents are necessary because chickens are fast breathers, and have a high CO2 and water vapor output. Vents are there to provide adequate turnover of the air inside the coop. This is mostly necessary in the summer, but it is also important in the winter to keep down bad odors and bacteria.
Concerned that the chickens would have to put up with another extra chilly night, I designed some wind breaks to put over the vents - the goal was to allow sufficient ventilation without allowing the wind to blow directly through. They work like this:
After work yesterday, I built the wind breaks in my garage and attached them to the coop while the sun was setting. It was only about 15°F out. Last night was the test - I was able to get about +15°F heating, and this morning it was actually above freezing inside the coop. Junior gave us another egg, and Cookie did to.
Coming soon - all the egg data you can handle!
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