Arrgghhh! Analysis Paralysis: Coop ventilation/ insulation?

[Moosehead]

Ok, newbie chicken rancher questions, but can't seem to find the answers on the forum anywhere and I am going nuts trying not to make this more complicated than it needs to be:

We live in Northern Michigan, where, obviously it can get pretty cold for prolonged periods in winter. I am going to insulate the wall/floor/ ceiling of the elevated coop with some solid panel insulation I have lying around since I don't want the occupants to freeze solid during those cold nights. We will put a small lamp in the coop also. Is this overkill?

The second question: So, now with all this insulation and effort to cut drafts out- obviously we need to ventilate. Where should the vents be- top between rafters or down near the floor? I know they need to be away from the nesting boxes and roosting bars. If I put them up top, then any heat from the light will be lost... increasing my electricity costs and not benefiting the chickens much, but in a house design this is where they would go....... Anyone got any thoughts?

Draft minimization vs Ventilation: up or down (or both)?
Insulation?

What d'yall think? Help me before I start building in thermal breaks between rafters and headers.......!

 

[patandchickens]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I don't know if you've run across my ventilation adn cold weather pages but if not you might want to take a look at them as they are highly relevant to your issues (see links in my .sig below)

Quote:
Insulation is not overkill, sounds perfectly reasonable. Whether or not to run a lamp... I would suggest you have an outlet available for it but just wait and see what happens. YOu may well find that you seldom or never have to actually use it. If you DO use it, you might consider doing as much else as possible to minimize how MUCH heat you use (see my cold coop page for discussion of some options)

Make sure to cover over the insulation panels with thin plywood or panelling or soemthing liek that, at least where chickens can access the insulation, otherwise they will eat your insulation

The second question: So, now with all this insulation and effort to cut drafts out- obviously we need to ventilate. Where should the vents be- top between rafters or down near the floor? I know they need to be away from the nesting boxes and roosting bars. If I put them up top, then any heat from the light will be lost... increasing my electricity costs and not benefiting the chickens much, but in a house design this is where they would go.....

Top of the walls is best, preferably tucked up under a goodly roof overhang. See my ventilation page for further discussion.

You do NOT want low-down vents open during wintertime. You also don't want a crossbreeze in wintertime, so make sure you have enough high vents on the usually-downwind side of your coop to suffice for your ventilation needs (of course, a crossbreeze is good in *summer*)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[Kittymomma]

I was just going to post a link to Pat's ventilation page, but since that has been covered

I'll just say--

 

[Moosehead]

Thanks guys, I'll check out the link. Glad you do not think I am being eggs-cessive! (I know, bad chicken humor....)

 

[CityChook]

I'm in the frosty north too. I insulated my 6x8 coop: walls and roof. It's best to have ample ventilation, up high, and design it so it's closable. I have ridgecap/soffet vents that are left open 365 24/7 and then I also have two A/C intake vents up at the peak of the gables. I have plywood sliders on these vents so that they can be closed up if a snow storm is coming in from the east, although that is rare. I also close them up when it gets to -10F and below. I have noticed a slight difference in the stinki-ness of the coop when these vents are closed up, so I only do it temporarily until the hard cold snaps.

You will definitely want to have electricity in your coop. You will need an outlet for a heated water dish to keep water fluid. I have a hardwired heat lamp over the roost. I wish I had hardwired a second lamp as well -- I could have used it for actual light (which you might also want) or a second heat lamp. I only have to run the second lamp for about 2 weeks over the season and only turn it on when it gets to -15F. I run a light bulb on a christmas light timer to get 14 hours of daylight, as well as provide some additional heat in those early morning hours when it is so darned cold out.

I did not insulate my floor, but my coop sits on the ground. I do, however, use 6-9 inches of deep litter and that is surprisingly insulating as well. If you decide to go with deep litter, which I recommend, you want to make sure to build your pop and human doors about 6-9 inches off the floor so that shavings don't fall out each time you open the door. I raised my pop door but left the human door at floor level and then put a 1x6 in front of the opening. That way I can remove the wood and sweep all the shavings out easily.

Pat's page is excellent and she has a great deal of knowledge to share.
If I can be of help, please feel free to PM me. And welcome to the BYC!

 

[hennyjenn]

When we lived in southern Ontario, the winters were cold and humid, and our coop was well insulated and we put a heat lamp on the chickens. Turned out it was overkill. Here is central Indiana, the winters typically aren't as cold (thought this last one was pretty chilly), and our coop is not insulated (though we do use the deep litter system) and I only put the heat lamp on if it is forecast to be colder then -5'C. We had thirteen birds in an 8x8' coop last winter. I've seen some great pics of mini shelters built over the roost out of reflective emergency blankets - I might try something like that this winter to reduce the use of the lamp. We're also adding more bodies this year, too. How many chickens you will have in the coop can be taken into consideration, too.

Don't sweat too much about the design of the coop. Having built two, I've learned there is always something new you learn and want to incorporate!

 

[Fort Orpington]

I'm in Colorado. It gets fairly cold here but not as bad as the northern states/rustbelt. My coop is not insulated. The walls are 7/16" OSB with 1" cedar boards over that(think pole barn look, but over standard stud/sheathing construction. Roof and floors are 3/4" OSB with corrugated tin on the roof, and vinyl on the floor. My ventilation consistis of open gable vents at both ends covered with 1/4" hardware cloth. Probably 3 sq ft of vent area on each gable. I made panels that fit inside to close the western gable vents during the winter as that is the direction the wind comes out of. The chickens are fine down to 10*F no problem in the coop. I have 9 Buff Orpingtons in a 6 1/2 x 8 ft coop. Below that temperature I think they start to get uncomfortable and frostbitten combs start to become an issue. If it drops below 0*F we put a single 60 watt bulb out there to help keep it warm. We don't get too many nights that are sub 0*F in the winter, I would guess less than 5. Our lows are normally more in the 10-15*F range. The chickens put out quite a bit of heat by themselves and I think if you have enough chickens for the size of your coop you'll need no extra heat. I couldn't tell you how much warmer it is in the coop just from chicken heat as I still need to put a thermometer in there. We'll have more chickens next winter and I believe it will help keep it warmer. If you've got chickens bred for the cold, heating them with a lamp isn't really of any benefit unless its really, really cold. 20*F or 30*F is nothing to a chicken, ours will go outside in that and scratch around and enjoy themselves.