I've tried a clear roof on our coop, and here's what I experienced last winter. The coop does heat up during the day, but loses the heat almost as soon as the sun goes down because there is no insulation. We live in a mild winter climate (Texas), so it's no big deal here. But you may find with your Vermont winters that you want to keep the coop a bit warmer than outdoors during those long Vermont winter nights (I know, I grew up in St. Albans).
You can try rigging up some insulation panels to go in or on the roof at night. Right now (for the opposite reason, too much heat), I'm putting a piece of reflective foil insualtion on top of my coop's roof during the day to try to keep the heat down a bit inside the coop. It works, somewhat.
If your coop is in daytime sun in the summer, even in Vermont, you may find it gets too hot in there for the chickens. Do keep an eye on that, because chickens can actually die from heat if they get locked inside a too hot coop.
When I build a new coop this fall, I'm going to go with a conventional, shingled roof and insulate it.
You can try rigging up some insulation panels to go in or on the roof at night. Right now (for the opposite reason, too much heat), I'm putting a piece of reflective foil insualtion on top of my coop's roof during the day to try to keep the heat down a bit inside the coop. It works, somewhat.
If your coop is in daytime sun in the summer, even in Vermont, you may find it gets too hot in there for the chickens. Do keep an eye on that, because chickens can actually die from heat if they get locked inside a too hot coop.
When I build a new coop this fall, I'm going to go with a conventional, shingled roof and insulate it.
