Coop Insulation with sand floor

[Rosekitten]

It's me again, the person who's still dealing with the BBB and being ghosted by that shotty contractor .. back for more advice on how to fix xyz problem. :'D

I feel it's getting a bit too cold inside the coop during the nights and well.. winter is just getting started more or less.
Most of the online suggestions I found were to cover the floor of the coop in xyz bedding.. but I had gone with the sand bedding in the coop. It's been great all summer.. but now I'm concerned for the winter.

I need to insulate the walls as well. Those are all just thin boards from the looks and feel of it and well with the 90 other issues I have been slowly fixing with this coop and run.. I overlooked it and the cold weather snuck up on me.

Oh and if there are suggestions for sealing holes/cracks.. please suggest. As you can see from the light coming through in the photo here.. the coop is not sealed or put together to prevent slivers like that (it's all along the bottom too I found out after sand was being pushed out the sides in small amounts heh... )

 

[HollowOfWisps]

You are in North Carolina I presume from your profile? If so your coop does not need insulation as It does not get cold enough there to be of concern for a chicken. Just make sure it’s well vented. You have to remember that while it may seem cold to us a chicken has a permanent down jacket that they wear 24/7. When I lived in Maryland I had an open air coop (3 hardware cloth walls the back wall was plywood) with a sand floor. In the winter the only thing I did differently is that I would take a canvas tarp, wrap it all of the way around leaving a 6” wide gap at the top in-between the canvas and the roof. The canvas was only there to block the wind. The roosts should be plenty to keep their feet warm in your temps.

 

[Rosekitten]

Oh ok, I actually was born and grew up in MD and .. honest.. if I thought about that I would have answered my own question. I had just a lean to old pig shed as a coop for chickens and a goose we had and the chickens didn't die from the weather (old age.. cause I was a kid and killing them was out of the question.. :'D )

I'll look into the canvas for sure for the run at the least. Though we don't tend to get a lot of wind where I put the coop either. It's tucked up against the bush and tree line on two sides of it.

Still going to look into sealing the gaps along the floor.. mainly to keep the sand from slowly being pushed out.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Yep, you are fine. I live in Vermont with -10°F lows in the winter and my coop has no insulation and plenty of little gaps in the siding. In addition to those gaps I have lots (over 14 square feet) of ventilation that is open all year. My chickens are always fine and my single-combed hen still has all her comb 8 years later.