To insulate or not to insulate?

[Mel281]

Hello,
We live in MN where this past winter, we had many days with a temperature below zero with a windchill of -20. We are getting 4 cold hardy birds and wondering if it is necessary to insulate the coop? Are there other safe ways to keep them warm on these bitter cold days?

 

[Hokum Coco]

Hello,
We live in MN where this past winter, we had many days with a temperature below zero with a windchill of -20. We are getting 4 cold hardy birds and wondering if it is necessary to insulate the coop? Are there other safe ways to keep them warm on these bitter cold days?

It is not necessary to insulate; If you do they will consume less feed.

My coop "is" insulated.
Mostly to provide protection from the heat in the summer (my coop is metal ). .

In Canada I am subject to -40º cold snaps. I do NOT heat my coop. Murphy's law says my birds will find out what -40 is all about when my hydro goes out. Regardless what you decide feed extra Corn over the winter you will not be sorry.

Or something like this may help also; You could even knit a hoodie for those extra cold days..

 

[blucoondawg]

I am in northern Wisconsin and we too had the extreme cold this winter, many nights of -25 to -30 below without the windchill. I have not insulated my coop, you certainly can and it will help it stay a little warmer inside as it will limit heat loss through walls and ceilings however if you have the required amount of ventilation it will still get quite cold inside in that kind of weather. I will not insulate and close up a coop tight and ad heat, that will pose a problem with dampness then you will have troubles as that is what causes frostbite.

I am going to make a few changes to my coop before next winter, I am going to add more roost space as well as put in a hinged or removable hover over the roost area, this will act to reduce the space around the roosting birds and their body heat closer around them while still allowing maximum ventilation to keep the coop dry as possible.

I had 1 bird get some frostbite on the comb it was my NH rooster and he got the frostbite due to fighting with my other rooster and getting his comb wet and bloody, my other birds with larger combs were fine so you should be ok especially if you have brahmas, wyandottes, easter eggers, etc with pea combs. Even my little Sicilian Buttercup rooster with the big crown comb was fine and they aren't considered a cold hardy breed, I didn't order him he was the extra mystery chick from Mcmurray, would have rather gotten a brahma or something but oh well.

 

[TheChickInn]

I live in Eau Claire, WI. We just had one of the worst winters I have ever experienced. We show our chickens, While our Silkies and Ameraucanas did well, some of our Marans got frostbite on their combs, despite using 3 heat lamps. We will be insulating and siding our coop this summer ( heat lamps are costly and dangerous). One of the most important things to remember if insulating, is to remember to make sure there is proper ventilation.

 

[blucoondawg]

I live in Eau Claire, WI. We just had one of the worst winters I have ever experienced. We show our chickens, While our Silkies and Ameraucanas did well, some of our Marans got frostbite on their combs, despite using 3 heat lamps. We will be insulating and siding our coop this summer ( heat lamps are costly and dangerous). One of the most important things to remember if insulating, is to remember to make sure there is proper ventilation.

Isn't that the truth, when I had my chicks in the brooder my electric bill was up 30 dollars per month from running that darn heat lamp, that is the big plus side of having a broody hen, not having to mess with the darn lamp, I screw mine up to the ceiling when I use it so it can't fall and cause a fire.

 

[jbher]

I'm in Hudson, Wisconsin and am in the process of designing my coop in sketchup. I plan to insulate the whole thing - floor, walls and roof. I just don't want to wish later that I had done it and I really think I won't regret it. It should help keep it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I will have plenty of ventilation to avoid any dampness problems. Anyone see this today (the photo from NBC Nightly News)? Aren't we lucky (Minneapolis would be the Twin Cities obviously - Hudson is also considered part of the twin cities since we're on the border). But I know ALL of Minnesota and Wisconsin had the same horrible winter this year!!! By the way, I read we even "beat" Alaska for days below freezing!!

 

[jbher]

Oh and one more we can all relate to LOL... This one is especially funny and yet so true.

 

[christinamae5]

We live in the Black Hills of South Dakota. While I just got my babies today, my parents have had chickens for some time now.... They have a thermometer in their coop and with about 20 chickens, the coop was +20 degrees inside with temps being -20 outside with windchills at -40 and -50. Their coop is not insulated and they did not have any other heat source. Chickens produce ALOT of heat by themselves- and while they did feed them cracked corn in the winter to help, it was cheaper and safer than using a lamp or insulating the coop.....Just my experiences (or theirs!) Hope this helps...

 

[Blooie]

Here in Northern Wyoming we have 4 seasons, Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Getting Ready for Winter. We are looking forward to August 15, our first and only day of summer.

We are building our coop right now. The morning we raced to the post office (at 6:30 am on February 24) it was 17 below zero. We are insulating our coop, sides and roof. We are going to use the deep litter method because a) we need the addition to the compost and b) it will help give off a little heat as it decomposes. We will not be using a heat lamp - entirely too dangerous as far as I'm concerned, and if our ventilation system isn't as well thought out as we hope the buildup of humidity in there would cause real issues. I imagine we'll be doing some fine adjustments, but hope that we won't end up making those adjustments during a -20 week.

We will only be housing 6 chickens over the winter, so the hover system that bluecoondawg mentioned intrigues me. It sounds like a really good addition to our plans.

 

[sheetmetaltom]

it was pretty cold on long island ny this year. plus we had a number of days when it was 40 one day and -10 with the wind chill the next. about 50 odd inches of snow. wasn't pretty. my coop is small.(this spring im making it bigger), even on the coldest nights they slept in the doorway or on the outside roosts. they didn't seem happy being locked up. so I let them do what they liked. I guess it worked because in jan, at 4 1/2 months old they started laying and haven't stopped since. 8 chickens, get about 3 to 31/2 dozen a week.