Comparing my insulated and non-insulated coops

[Folly's place]

Wonderful report! Thank you!
Mary

 

[Howard E]

This pretty much mirrors information found in a poultry science book written in the 1960's. The gist of it was that the danger zone for frostbite, etc. starts to kick in around 0F and below.....(depending on breeds.......birds with large combs like leghorns being in greater danger than birds with pea combs.....). But the research also found that each adult laying hen generates about as many btu's of radiant heat as a 10 watt night light. That heat can either be retained inside the coop by means of insulation, or if no insulation is provided, the same heat will be radiated out into the atmosphere. But if insulated, the retained heat may be enough to raise the ambient temp inside the coop by 10 degrees F or more.

So in USDA temp zones 6 and colder (5, 4 etc), a grower may be able to take advantage of the heat generated by the birds to stave off the cold so as to avoid issues with frostbite.....even down to outside temps to -20F and worse. All with insulation only, and no supplemental heat of any kind......other than the birds themselves.

The trick in this plan, however, is to employ a careful balance of heat retention and adequate ventilation to ensure all the moisture generated by the birds is vented to the outside. Sounds like this coop has done just that!

 

[Howard E]

Keep in mind, however that unless temps fall much below 0F, there is no need for insulation.....at least for heat retention. Some houses with metal roofs may benefit from condensation control and to reflect heat from the summer sun.

A good test for ventilation, etc. is to park yourself inside the coop on a hot day in the middle of the summer. Same temp as outside? It better be. You should never be able to leave the safety of the coop, walk outside and feel cooler outside than inside. Otherwise, consider it not unlike the sweat box torture chambers as seen in B level prison movies.

If that is what you have provided, don't be surprised to find your birds roosting anywhere but in there. They are smarter than you might think.

 

[brksmith]

Perhaps an end of the insulation debate?

I built two coops, nearly identical with the exception that one is insulated and the other is not. I live in Northeastern CT. Both coops are identical in size and build, they each measure 6x8 with an interior peak height of 6'. Both have 2x4 16oc wall and roof construction and 2x6 floor joist also 16oc. Both coops have R-19 insulation in the floors. The insulated coop has R-13 wall insulation with the interior of the walls covered with 1/2" OSB plywood, the ceiling has reflective radiant heat barrier attached to the underside of the rafters. The uninsulated coop only has the R-19 insulation in the floors, no wall insulation, no interior wall, no radiant heat barrier on the ceiling. In the attached picture the insulated coop is on the left.



The insulated coop was built in 2015 while the uninsulated coop was built in 2017. I designed and built both coops. The insulated coop houses 10 chickens (3 buff orphingtons, 3 barred rocks, 3 new Hampshire reds, 1 black sex linked) while the uninsulated coop houses 12 chickens (4 speckled Sussex, 3 silver wyandottes, 3 black austrolops, 1 copper maran, 1 olive egger). Coops have the same windows, same automatic door, same ventilation, same roofing material, same number of nesting boxes, etc..



What I have found is that during the summer months the uninsulated coop runs about 2 degrees warmer than the insulated coop during the day but the uninsulated coops cools down much quicker at night and runs about 2-3 degrees cooler than the insulated coop as soon as an hour after sunset. During the winter the insulated coop is warmer during the day and night. The uninsulated coop is at ambient temperature during the day and generally 2-4 degrees above ambient temperature at night. While the insulated coop runs 4-6 degrees above ambient temperature during the day and generally 6-8 degrees above ambient temperature at night. I do not heat my coops at night. I have made sure that both coops are as draft-free as possible. Both coops have electricity and have heated waterers inside.



I monitor the temperatures in my coop with the Ambient Weather WS-3000-X3 Thermo-Hygrometer Wireless Monitor with 3 Remote Sensors. My coops are about 100ft from my house.



We had a brutal 2 weeks in late December through early January with nighttime low temperatures for several nights in a row of minus 2 to minus 8 degrees. The uninsulated coop got as low as minus 2 degrees on the coldest night while on the same night the insulated coop had a low temperature of +6 degrees. Regardless, all my chickens did fine with no evidence of frostbite.



I will let each reader of my experience draw their own conclusions on whether they choose to insulate or not. If I can help clarify any information, please ask.

Thank you so much for doing this research, and for sharing your results!

 

[brksmith]

This pretty much mirrors information found in a poultry science book written in the 1960's. The gist of it was that the danger zone for frostbite, etc. starts to kick in around 0F and below.....(depending on breeds.......birds with large combs like leghorns being in greater danger than birds with pea combs.....). But the research also found that each adult laying hen generates about as many btu's of radiant heat as a 10 watt night light. That heat can either be retained inside the coop by means of insulation, or if no insulation is provided, the same heat will be radiated out into the atmosphere. But if insulated, the retained heat may be enough to raise the ambient temp inside the coop by 10 degrees F or more.

So in USDA temp zones 6 and colder (5, 4 etc), a grower may be able to take advantage of the heat generated by the birds to stave off the cold so as to avoid issues with frostbite.....even down to outside temps to -20F and worse. All with insulation only, and no supplemental heat of any kind......other than the birds themselves.

The trick in this plan, however, is to employ a careful balance of heat retention and adequate ventilation to ensure all the moisture generated by the birds is vented to the outside. Sounds like this coop has done just that!

Thanks for this information! Can you let me know the name of the poultry science book that you referred to? I'm always interested in the science!

 

[McChooky]

Perhaps an end of the insulation debate?

I built two coops, nearly identical with the exception that one is insulated and the other is not. I live in Northeastern CT. Both coops are identical in size and build, they each measure 6x8 with an interior peak height of 6'. Both have 2x4 16oc wall and roof construction and 2x6 floor joist also 16oc. Both coops have R-19 insulation in the floors. The insulated coop has R-13 wall insulation with the interior of the walls covered with 1/2" OSB plywood, the ceiling has reflective radiant heat barrier attached to the underside of the rafters. The uninsulated coop only has the R-19 insulation in the floors, no wall insulation, no interior wall, no radiant heat barrier on the ceiling. In the attached picture the insulated coop is on the left.



The insulated coop was built in 2015 while the uninsulated coop was built in 2017. I designed and built both coops. The insulated coop houses 10 chickens (3 buff orphingtons, 3 barred rocks, 3 new Hampshire reds, 1 black sex linked) while the uninsulated coop houses 12 chickens (4 speckled Sussex, 3 silver wyandottes, 3 black austrolops, 1 copper maran, 1 olive egger). Coops have the same windows, same automatic door, same ventilation, same roofing material, same number of nesting boxes, etc..



What I have found is that during the summer months the uninsulated coop runs about 2 degrees warmer than the insulated coop during the day but the uninsulated coops cools down much quicker at night and runs about 2-3 degrees cooler than the insulated coop as soon as an hour after sunset. During the winter the insulated coop is warmer during the day and night. The uninsulated coop is at ambient temperature during the day and generally 2-4 degrees above ambient temperature at night. While the insulated coop runs 4-6 degrees above ambient temperature during the day and generally 6-8 degrees above ambient temperature at night. I do not heat my coops at night. I have made sure that both coops are as draft-free as possible. Both coops have electricity and have heated waterers inside.



I monitor the temperatures in my coop with the Ambient Weather WS-3000-X3 Thermo-Hygrometer Wireless Monitor with 3 Remote Sensors. My coops are about 100ft from my house.



We had a brutal 2 weeks in late December through early January with nighttime low temperatures for several nights in a row of minus 2 to minus 8 degrees. The uninsulated coop got as low as minus 2 degrees on the coldest night while on the same night the insulated coop had a low temperature of +6 degrees. Regardless, all my chickens did fine with no evidence of frostbite.



I will let each reader of my experience draw their own conclusions on whether they choose to insulate or not. If I can help clarify any information, please ask.

The importance of providing sufficient ventilation and air circulation in a chicken coop can't be emphasized enough.What an excellent read! Thanks for sharing!

 

[McChooky]

Perhaps an end of the insulation debate?

I built two coops, nearly identical with the exception that one is insulated and the other is not. I live in Northeastern CT. Both coops are identical in size and build, they each measure 6x8 with an interior peak height of 6'. Both have 2x4 16oc wall and roof construction and 2x6 floor joist also 16oc. Both coops have R-19 insulation in the floors. The insulated coop has R-13 wall insulation with the interior of the walls covered with 1/2" OSB plywood, the ceiling has reflective radiant heat barrier attached to the underside of the rafters. The uninsulated coop only has the R-19 insulation in the floors, no wall insulation, no interior wall, no radiant heat barrier on the ceiling. In the attached picture the insulated coop is on the left.



The insulated coop was built in 2015 while the uninsulated coop was built in 2017. I designed and built both coops. The insulated coop houses 10 chickens (3 buff orphingtons, 3 barred rocks, 3 new Hampshire reds, 1 black sex linked) while the uninsulated coop houses 12 chickens (4 speckled Sussex, 3 silver wyandottes, 3 black austrolops, 1 copper maran, 1 olive egger). Coops have the same windows, same automatic door, same ventilation, same roofing material, same number of nesting boxes, etc..



What I have found is that during the summer months the uninsulated coop runs about 2 degrees warmer than the insulated coop during the day but the uninsulated coops cools down much quicker at night and runs about 2-3 degrees cooler than the insulated coop as soon as an hour after sunset. During the winter the insulated coop is warmer during the day and night. The uninsulated coop is at ambient temperature during the day and generally 2-4 degrees above ambient temperature at night. While the insulated coop runs 4-6 degrees above ambient temperature during the day and generally 6-8 degrees above ambient temperature at night. I do not heat my coops at night. I have made sure that both coops are as draft-free as possible. Both coops have electricity and have heated waterers inside.



I monitor the temperatures in my coop with the Ambient Weather WS-3000-X3 Thermo-Hygrometer Wireless Monitor with 3 Remote Sensors. My coops are about 100ft from my house.



We had a brutal 2 weeks in late December through early January with nighttime low temperatures for several nights in a row of minus 2 to minus 8 degrees. The uninsulated coop got as low as minus 2 degrees on the coldest night while on the same night the insulated coop had a low temperature of +6 degrees. Regardless, all my chickens did fine with no evidence of frostbite.



I will let each reader of my experience draw their own conclusions on whether they choose to insulate or not. If I can help clarify any information, please ask.

It's nice to learn how big a role ventilation and circulation play in keeping chickens warm and dry without insulation!