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Calcimator

Poultry House Ventilation Calculator

Calculate minimum, transitional, and tunnel ventilation CFM requirements for poultry houses based on bird count, weight, and house dimensions.

Inputs

ft
ft
lbs

Results

Minimum Ventilation

28,125 CFM

Tunnel Ventilation

192,000 CFM

Transitional Ventilation112,500 CFM
Min Vent Fans Needed2
Tunnel Fans Needed9
Air Exchanges/hr (Min)10.5
Air Exchanges/hr (Tunnel)72
Floor Space per Bird0.8 sq ft
House Floor Area20,000 sq ft
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter the house length and width in feet to calculate the total house volume.
  2. Input the bird count and average bird weight in pounds to determine heat and moisture load.
  3. Review Minimum Ventilation CFM for cold-weather moisture control and Tunnel CFM for hot-weather cooling.
  4. Check Min Vent Fans Needed and Tunnel Fans Needed to plan your fan bank layout and staging.
  5. Use Air Exchanges per Hour (Min) to verify your ventilation system meets the 4–6 exchanges per hour minimum.

How the result changes with Bird Count

Bird CountMinimum VentilationTunnel Ventilation
10,09011,351 CFM192,000 CFM
35,06539,448 CFM192,000 CFM
65,03573,164 CFM192,000 CFM
90,010101,261 CFM192,000 CFM

What each input means

House Length
Interior length of the poultry house in feet.
House Width
Interior width of the poultry house in feet.
Bird Count
Number of birds currently in the house.
Bird Average Weight
Average live weight per bird in pounds.

What each result means

Minimum Ventilation
For moisture/ammonia control in cold weather (1 CFM per 4 lbs).
Tunnel Ventilation
Full tunnel mode for hot weather at 600 FPM air speed.
Min Vent Fans Needed
Based on 48-inch fans rated at 23,000 CFM each.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    House Length = 500, House Width = 40, Bird Count = 25000, Bird Average Weight = 4.5 = 4 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Minimum Ventilation
    Minimum Ventilation
    28125 = 28125
  3. Calculate Tunnel Ventilation
    Tunnel Ventilation
    192000 = 192000
  4. Calculate Transitional Ventilation
    Transitional Ventilation
    112500 = 112500
  5. Calculate Min Vent Fans Needed
    Min Vent Fans Needed
    2 = 2

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