First time chicken owner getting ready for winter

[Northerncreature]

Hi!

After years of resisting, my husband and I got four chickens (Lohmann Browns) about a month ago and now our whole life revolves around them

We had a coop and a run made for the chickens. The coop is insulated, but I have a feeling there (still) isn’t enough ventilation. The house only came with only one ventilation hole cut in it and I’ve since added 7 more holes (7.5cm/3 inches diameter), but the glass on the coop door still gets condensation. The glass is single pane and the coop also has a window (double pane) that does not get wet. I have a poop board and collect the droppings every day, the bedding is straw pellets and is very dry. There is a a nipple waterer inside the coop as well.

I live in Estonia and we just had our first cold nights, the chickens are not too happy about the cold and our winters are also very humid in general. I’m not planning to heat the coop, but am very worried about the humidity and frostbite.

Should I just make more ventilation holes until the condensation disappears or will that make the coop too cold?

Here is our coop with the ventilation holes I made circled, the other holes are on the opposite wall to create cross-ventilation:

 

[Jenbirdee]

hello and welcome! I went through the same kind of thing with my duck house and continued drilling more holes in it for a few years until I thought there was enough. I think the rule of thumb is one square foot of ventilation window per bird.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Yes it needs more ventilation. But with no roof overhangs at all and a mono pitch roof line your options are very limited. If you could fashion some kind of awning on the front and back of the load bearing walls that ran the full length of the walls then cut about 6 in of the siding off the top and cover it with 1/2" hardware cloth, that would offer a fair amount of ventilation. Your roosts would have to be positioned such that the height of the chicken's heads was well below the lowest vent opening.

 

[Nomadicus]

Hello and Welcome to BYC. Glad to have you here with us in this fun and poultry loving community.

 

[Northerncreature]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and advice

I took some pictures of the inside of the coop. We have a turn and tilt window and I’ve been thinking it’s only for the summer. But I opened the window just now and the temperature inside the coop rose a tiny bit (or was that because I was in there breathing warmth?).

Should I keep the window open during the day (or even at night)? And should I lower the top roosting bar so that the chickens wouldn’t get drafts from the window?

And of course the chickens got interested

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I would suggest you remove the dowels and replace them with a 2x4, 4 side up for roosts. Chickens do best in cold climates if their breast feathers cover their entire feet, being kept warm by the breast meat. Feet can and do become frost bitten in cold weather and they can lose toes because of it. Other than that, nice coop!

Welcome to our community!