Little Tikes Playhouse coop in the Winter?

We did use our playhouse as a coop but winter was coming and we decided it was too drafty and built a shed-coop for them. If you did patch the seams it could probably keep them warm enough.
 
We did use our playhouse as a coop but winter was coming and we decided it was too drafty and built a shed-coop for them. If you did patch the seams it could probably keep them warm enough.
Right. I thought the storybook cottage model would work better because all 4 walls are enclosed much more so than other LT playhouse models. When I received it, I was surprised at how much uneven draft gaps it had to be dealt with on all openings. If I saw it in person, I probably wouldn't have ordered it but none of my local stores carried it.

To answer my own initial questions, the poly walls are double walled, and they're pretty tough, but I still reinforced all openings I made just in case. The plastic walls don't seem to insulate as well as wood, but all of my chickens are cold hardy breeds. I'm going to acclimate them better this winter and only turn on flat heat panel when the temps dip in the negatives. I've read that chickens don't truly suffer until negative 20 degrees. So far the chickens are doing very well in the new coop, and the coop stayed completely dry even in heavy rain storms.
 
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Right. I thought the storybook cottage model would work better because all 4 walls are enclosed much more so than other LT playhouse models.  When I received it, I was surprised at how much uneven draft gaps it had to be dealt with on all openings. If I saw it in person, I probably wouldn't have ordered it but none of my local stores carried it. 

To answer my own initial questions, the poly walls are double walled, and they're pretty tough, but I still reinforced all openings I made just in case. The plastic walls don't seem to insulate as well as wood, but all of my chickens are cold hardy breeds. I'm going to acclimate them better this winter and only turn on flat heat panel when the temps dip in the negatives. I've read that chickens don't truly suffer until negative 20 degrees. So far the chickens are doing very well in the new coop, and the coop stayed completely dry even in heavy rain storms.
 
Did you ever figure out the answers to your questions? I just acquired a playhouse and I'm converting it into a coop and I'm dealing with the insulation problem myself. Spray foam insulation seems cost prohibitive. I was curious what you came up with.
 
We have a prefab coop and chicken math set in, now have 9 birds instead of 6. TS screwed up and gave us two Cornish cross (meat birds) that we decided to thin down and raise as pets. They don't roost. My neighbor had this exact playhouse and gave it to us after I showed her YOUR picture. We live in GA (same kind of climate). I just want to tell you - it is absolutely adorable! The Cornish cross don't do well with ramps or roosts so we are planning to out ours on a tile board. One difference I noticed is our fireplace actually is a small rear door - perfect size for them to waddle out to play. For a run we are going to do a white picket fence enclosed with hardware cloth. I plan to paint it to match our house -taupe with a black door and white shutters. There are significant gaps around the door ways and windows. It is unclear how you closed them in. Also in your photos I can't tell how you addressed the ventilation holes. Did you put hardware cloth up there? Our sink is attached. I'd like to get that out of there and put in a window box like you did. Any suggestions on how to do that?
 
We have a prefab coop and chicken math set in, now have 9 birds instead of 6. TS screwed up and gave us two Cornish cross (meat birds) that we decided to thin down and raise as pets. They don't roost. My neighbor had this exact playhouse and gave it to us after I showed her YOUR picture. We live in GA (same kind of climate). I just want to tell you - it is absolutely adorable! The Cornish cross don't do well with ramps or roosts so we are planning to out ours on a tile board. One difference I noticed is our fireplace actually is a small rear door - perfect size for them to waddle out to play. For a run we are going to do a white picket fence enclosed with hardware cloth. I plan to paint it to match our house -taupe with a black door and white shutters. There are significant gaps around the door ways and windows. It is unclear how you closed them in. Also in your photos I can't tell how you addressed the ventilation holes. Did you put hardware cloth up there? Our sink is attached. I'd like to get that out of there and put in a window box like you did. Any suggestions on how to do that?
I know this is an old post but how did the coop work in GA I'm making one too
 

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