Chickens deplete oxygen in their coops quickly due to their high respiratory rate. They also produce large amounts of carbon dioxide, and the air needs to be regularly replaced with fresh, oxygen-rich air.
A well-ventilated barn should have enough intake and exhaust openings to provide six to eight air changes per hour. This can be achieved through a variety of methods.
Chicken Coop Ventilation
Ventilation removes dampness from the coop, which is especially important in cool climates. Chickens generate scary amounts of water vapor through breathing (the same way a mirror fogs up when you breathe on it) and pooping (chickens process much more water than they urinate). This all makes the air in your coop humid. According to chicken coop and horse barn builders, ventilation is crucial. It allows this humidity to escape, keeping the air clean and preventing disease.
It also helps keep your coop from getting too hot in summer. If it gets too hot, chickens will suffer heat stress and may die. Even small amounts of bad ventilation can make it too hot, so good ventilation is important for most climates.
You want to add enough ventilation so there are at least six to eight air changes per hour. You can accomplish this with passive (open windows) or active (fan-powered) ventilation. You want to add vents up high on your coop walls, preferably above the roosts. This maximizes air exchange without introducing drafts that can harm your flock in winter.
Horse Barn Ventilation
In summer, air must frequently move in and out of the barn to cool the horses and remove heat. This means there must be a significant amount of side-wall openings for ventilation. In winter, the priority is to move air into the barn rather than to create drafts since horses are sensitive to draughts. The temperature of incoming air determines its moisture-holding capacity, so the design of the inlet system must heat the incoming air to enhance its ability to wick or “sponge up” respired moisture from the horses.
Horse barns that use natural ventilation accomplish this by opening up sides and the ridge to utilize the two forces behind natural ventilation: thermal buoyancy and wind. Generally, this means that the warmer barn air generated by the horses’ body heat rises to be exhausted in a peak vent or chimney along with any active gases and respired moisture.
Horse Stall Ventilation
The ideal horse barn design promotes natural airflow throughout the building and through individual stalls. Horses spend much of their time in stalls and require constant airflow, a cooling breeze in hot temperatures, and protection from dust and pathogens to keep them healthy.
Effective ventilation also dries manure and bedding, preventing the horses from absorbing bacteria and other contaminants. It also combats fly irritation by reducing the humidity in barn air, which makes it unsuitable for flies to breed.
Ideally, you want to provide fresh air at the eave of each stall and large warm-weather openings that windows or doors can open. It’s important to have airflow from the floor upward because studies show that dust and ammonia concentrations are highest in the lowest three feet of a stall. Circulation fans mounted in the barn rafters or stall windows can help move fresh, cool air into stalls.
Horse Barn Roof Ventilation
The ideal horse barn promotes natural airflow through features like high ceilings and vents, windows that open in each stall and sliding doors. It’s important that these openings not be blocked by hay, bedding, tarps or other materials.
Fresh air eliminates ammonia, carbon dioxide and vapors from feeding and cleaning, reduces dust, and minimizes temperature fluctuations and humidity. Ventilation also helps prevent condensation, which causes dripping on horses and tack; can cause wood framing to rot; promotes mold, fungus and pests; and ruins insulation.
In the summer, natural ventilation removes heat and provides a cooling breeze over horses. But during the winter, it’s more about avoiding drafts that chill horses and create discomfort. The solution is to use low vents in the walls that admit cool air while directing the flow away from the stall. However, the location of these vents presents installation and safety challenges. An alternative is to add a dome with a fan to the barn’s roof.
