[infowarrior]

     Opened up this morning and noticed there was quite a bit of mould up the walls and doors of my coop.  My coop hasn't got any vents in it as it's a converted shed but there is a couple of holes where a little amount of air can get in.  Will this affect the lung health of the chickens and is it worth putting bigger vents in?  Anyone else had/got this problem?

                                            Cheers.

[helens-hens]

I would definately suggest more vents. Hens produce plenty of heat and moisture (when exhaling) during the night and it would affect their health if there insufficient fresh air.

Vents should be at a level above the hens when they are roosting as neither should they have any drafts.

Hope this helps.

[ehs284]

Oh dear,
Yes you need more airflow; not just the holes at the top, but places for the air to get in. Are the holes on one side? If so, perhaps just adding holes on the opposite side at high level will give you enough ventilation. If this is already the case then extra low level air inlet is needed. As said, drafts are a problem so make a "Tobin's tube" - the air inlet hole has a box or tube around it which bends at 90 deg and the air then leaves at lower speed higher up. In plainer English - just a box around the hole with an open top above the level of the hen's heads.
Try and kill off the mould spores asap. Bleach will be OK and is not toxic, but needs some time to get rid of the fumes