Ventilation in the chicken house and the health of the chickens

Temperature and humidity are important microclimatic factors that the farmer should constantly monitor. They are crucial for the health of the animals and thus for the production results.                      

The sources of humidity in poultry houses are… first and foremost the hens themselves, which produce huge amounts of water vapour. Damp feed, steaming faeces, damp floors and air coming in from outside all contribute to the fact that the humidity in a poultry house can be enormous. In addition, the humidity depends on the efficiency of the ventilation systems or the type of bedding.

How can you tell that the ventilation in a poultry house is inadequate and something needs to be changed?

First of all, the first impression when you enter the house is important – if your breath catches when you open the house door in the morning because a bad, unpleasant smell hits you, this is an indication that the ventilation is clearly too poor.

If you also notice that mould or mites, which prefer a warm and humid climate, are developing in the poultry house, this means that there is far too little oxygen in the poultry house. This can lead to rheumatic diseases, rickets, and skin fungus. Another sign that the poultry house is too stuffy are fogged windows. It is also advisable to observe the behavior of the chickens, which are more or less affected depending on the humidity and temperature in the house.

When the temperature is low, but humidity is high, hens’ body heat loss increases. Low temperatures combined with high humidity cause a sharp drop in production. In addition, they lead to dampening of the hen’s feathers and thus reduce heat insulation – the body’s resistance then decreases and the birds become more ill.

There can also be high temperatures and low air humidity, and this is by far the most common situation. Intense evaporation from the surface of the skin and mucous membranes, which occurs in low humidity but high temperatures, causes them to dry out and crack, and this promotes the development of microorganisms. Decreased appetite, increased body temperature, lower feed intake and therefore reduced body weight and an increase in the number of collapses in the hen flock can then also be observed.                                                                                                                                               On the other hand, when the temperature is high and at the same time the humidity is high, the birds have limited opportunities to lose body heat due to impaired evaporation. Under such conditions, hyperthermia can occur, especially during summer periods.

So how can you make sure that you protect your chickens from such situations? What can you do to make the ventilation in the chicken coop as good as possible?

First of all, you should use gravity ventilation, which requires at least two openings, preferably on opposite sides of the coop. One opening serves as an air inlet, the other as an air outlet.

The body heat of the chickens causes the air in the coop to have a higher temperature than the outside air. The warmer air absorbs moisture, rises due to its lower weight and then “escapes” from the poultry house through the air outlet. Due to the resulting suction effect, the colder, “heavier” air moves through the air inlet and falls to the floor, and an air exchange takes place in the poultry house.

Windows with adjustable opening to avoid draughts, removable ventilation flaps or nets in doors can be very helpful here. It is important that when windows, flaps or doors are open, the resulting space is secured with nets to prevent predators from entering.

Is it possible to support gravity ventilation with anything?

Of course, you can! One of the best ways to do this is to use a temperature controller in your mobile poultry house, which helps to keep the temperature in the poultry house stable with the help of a thermal actuator that opens the window and a fan.

The operation of the actuator and the fan is very simple, and very effective.

The two devices start working when the temperature set on the control unit is lower than the temperature in the poultry house. The thermal actuator then opens the window to lower the temperature in the poultry house. However, if this does not help and the set temperature is not reached, the fan will switch on after a few minutes and the temperature should drop quickly.

These two devices work both together and separately, as they each support gravity ventilation in different ways.

Remember – a bad microclimate in the poultry house stresses the animals and makes them sick faster. The flock becomes restless and increased losses, feather pecking and even cannibalism can occur. Good ventilation is therefore particularly important and there should be as few draughts as possible. For this reason, when buying a poultry house from the very beginning, consideration should be given to how to provide the hens with the best possible ventilation.

Perhaps it is worth paying attention to the solutions described above? In our opinion, it is definitely worthwhile, as we use them in our mobile poultry house KROPPER and can recommend them to you with a clear conscience!