about insulation

[CityChook]

Wellllll, I don't know a darn thing about air exchangers or thermal envelopes and other such technical things, but what I can tell you is that if you don't insulate your coop, it's going to need to be small enough for 4 little chicken bodies to heat it up on their own - which is pretty small. And then, you're going to have to worry about your ventilation blowing cold air on your birds. And then you're going to have to clean it *a lot* because it's going to get stinky faster. And then, if it gets cold, or *snows* and you have to keep your chickens inside for a day or two or fourteen, then having a small space is an invitation for cabin fever and fighting.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

And don't think that running a heat lamp is going to save you money. It's not.

I just went through my first winter with my hens - and it was a long, cold, bitter winter here in MN - and I was extremely thankful for the insulation. There are many here who don't insulate, but I think those folks tend to have more than 4 birds. They do create body heat, but without the sheer numbers, it just isn't going to heat up their environment enough to guard against frostbite.

I was a disbeliever when it came to ventilation. I have fancy ridgecap/soffet vents and thought that would be enough. I didn't want to sacrifice the (hard to come by) heat for fresh, bitterly cold air. Pat was the one who convinced me - more like convinced my DH - that he was going to have to saw into his beautiful new coop for some more ventilation. We did it, grudgingly. And I'll tell you that on those bitter days when I closed up those new vents to try to keep the warm air inside, it got really stinky really fast. And it was darned cold, so you know most of that poop was FROZEN! Good ventilation is very very important, even at the loss of some of your heat. And honestly, the loss was barely noticeable when the vents were open vs. closed. But the smell inside was definitely noticeable.

Owning chickens is like owning any other kind of a pet - they cost money. If you aren't ready to spend the money/time it is going to take to provide for the animals in your care, then maybe it's best to wait. Those lucky folks in temperate climates don't have to worry much about weather and outdoor animals - but we do. Okay, I'm getting down off my soapbox now.

 

[Automatic coop door]

We throw away a lot of shreded paper at work. I thought if I was to insulate my coop I would collect all that paper and use it as insulation.

I like to use unfinished sawmill lumber for my coops, barns and sheds it is much cheaper and I like the look. I had planed(on the inside of the coop) to add a board of two at a time then pack the paper in. As I collected more paper I would add more boards. I live in the south so it gets into the single digits once or twice a year.

 

[morelcabin]

Well, I am in Northern Ontario and I don't have an insulated coop. There was a week this winter that I really realy considered it though:>) My birds were fine until we hit about -32 and then we went down to -39 for four days in a row. We managed, but I did lose one roo with a huge comb to frostbite. Two weeks later I lost 2 hens...I'm thinking they suffered post traumatic stress disorder of something

Right now it gets below freezing most nights, and most days are slightly above freezing, and I put day old chicks out there with aheat lamp a week ago that are doing fine.

But anyway, I have decided that I am not going to insulate, for me it isn't worth it, because I know people who have insulated coops who lost even more than that. I do believe Pat is right when she warns about metal sheds...and her ventelation page is an amazing source of good info.

 

[chick'n'run]

Quote:
hehe you spelled"ay" wrong, its EH!

But anyways, thank you everybody for all your help

 

[patandchickens]

Automatic coop door (it seems odd to be addressing someone as that

), shredded paper has a *little* insulation value when dry, but not very much, and as soon as it becomes damp, which it pretty quickly will, it glumps together and loses insulating value and becomes, instead, a mold/mouse/rot farm. I would not suggest doing it anywhere it can't be replaced every year. If you really REALLY want to use some sort of alternative natural insulation, I'd suggest wood shavings, which will do all of the above more slowly and to a lesser degree. Shredded paper from the office can be used for coop bedding if you don't mind it turning into nasty paper-mache, or composted.

Quote:
That does seem to happen, I believe because often the reason people insulate is because they are hung up on keeping chickens warm so the same people who insulate ALSO tend (on average) to be the kind of people who squnch the ventilation closed half the winter, leading to high humidity. So I do not think it's the insulation itself, in any way, causing problems ... rather it seems to be the management style that is often involved, you know?

JMO,

Pat