building small copp for 4 tricks and tips to keep them warm in winter?

[pefferlawchicken]

we are building small coop for about 4 birds , we live in ontario canada and its very cold winters, insulation is exspensive and we need alternative ways to keep them warm , plus if we get heat lamp how often do we use it ???? please help pics on canadaian coops welcome

 

[Chauntecleer's Keeper]

I think the heat lamp will be important. It will also add the extra hours of light you will need for egg production. I live in the south so our winters are mild, but if I needed to insulate I think I would use solid sheets of insulation. Down here you can find them at Home Depo or Lowes. It is a 4 X 8 sheet of insulation that is usually pink, and it is not flaky like styrofoam. I think this would work well. It would be easy to cut and attach. I do not think the chickens would peck it like white styrofoam. You could also pile hay bales around the coop too.

 

[patandchickens]

You can get styrofoam insulation for free if you ask around at stores (some goods are shipped with sheets of styrofoam as packing, the stores would usually rather give it away than throw it away).

Whereas a heat lamp will cost *significant* money on an ongoing 'forever' basis, ever winter.

Assuming you pick your breeds intelligently and design your coop well, you shouldn't need a heat lamp around here. Really.

If you *do*for some reason need to run a (lower wattage) lamp on the coldest nights, you will still be far better off having insulated and designed the coop to be as heat-retentive as possible.

Heat lamps can get EXPENSIVE, even aside from the fire hazard thing.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[gimme sum eggs]

Shredded newspaper and sawdust can be used in a wall cavity for very cheap insulation. I spent 3&1/2 years on our local fire dept and got to see firsthand the ingenuity of old timers. Back in the day, people used stuff like that for primitive insulation. I even came across an old house that had dried up (horse I think) manure in the walls to help insulate.

 

[mightieskeeper]

The old part of my fathers house used newspaper for insulation. I would take your paper shredder and make all the insulation you need. Can't get much cheaper than that! Free is the best word ever!

 

[patandchickens]

While you *can* use sawdust or shavings or newspaper for insulation, I really really wouldn't recommend it. A) mold farm unless your walls are absolutely leak- and draftproof; b) mouse farm; and most importantly c) considerably lower R value than styrofoam, especially once they get damp and/or the stuffing settles, as it inevitably does.

you can get styrofoam for *free*. High R value, doesn't settle, basically unaffected by moisture. Use styrofoam.

JMHO,

Pat