coop questions from a newbie

[Bama chick]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and new to chickens. I "inherited" 14 chickens from my brother when he moved from the country to the city. They were pets of my nephews. We are really enjoying them. We are in the process of building them a new coop. Here come the questions???
We thought about using insulation inside the coop using the pink stuff that comes in sheets. Will they peck it and eat it? If so , what should we use instead?
Should the nest boxes be inside or outside the main room?
I expect some very cold nights this winter. Should we use heat lamps/light bulbs for heat? I'm afraid of catching the coop on fire!
I have a mixture of Serama and Crele, one Silkie and one EE.
All Banties except the EE. I'm sure I got the breeds mixed up but I'm trying to learn as much about the birds as possible and Ya'll are the best resource I have found. Thanks!

 

[doodledo]

I am by far no expert. BUt I know how ya feel when you 1st post and you are waiting for someone to reply. As far as I know they will peck at anything. I am not sure what we are using for heat this winter either. But on here someone gave some good advice about using just a light to warm. If they are at the light its warm, when they walk away they will get cold. Not good. Let me tell ya. I would love to pick up my coop and move it and redo alot of what we already did. But hubby would kill me. Sorry I couldnt help you more. I am sure someone on here will.

 

[greginshasta]

There are a number of recent posts that exhaustively discuss winter care - lighting and other such issues. I would search on the keywords "winter", "light" and "heating" as you will find several recent and older posts.

Concerning insulation, I have read here that the chickens will be more than happy to examine insulation, and it seems to be suggested that insulation is not really necessary. However, sealing the coop so that it is not drafty is apparently critical. I'm interpreting what I have read as meaning that you don't really need insulation, but it really helps to install some sort of interior sheathing on the walls. So if you are doing 2x4 (for example) construction, you can do siding on the exterior and plywood or OSB on the inside. If OSB, I have read that it is important that this material has cured so that it does not exude significant fumes.

Another issue with insulation is that if rats or mice get in, it seems that they will be very happy that you installed that pink pearl insulation.

If you do insulate, sheath over it so it is not accessible.

 

[lurky]

I found a site that offers a ceramic heat bulb for the coop. It looks safer but you can look into it. www.shopthecoop.com