Good option for winter insulation?

[Emily_loveschickens]

Hey everyone, with winter quickly approaching I have been looking for a good insulation option for my coop. I was thinking of thermal bubble wrap but was wondering if that would be a good option? I also am wondering were the best spots to put it would be, like the door, or where on the walls. I live in northern Colorado so we do have pretty cold and windy winters. Thank you!

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

Also I’m aware that my chickens don’t need the insulation but I’d like to make it a little more comfortable for them

 

[JanetRN1]

Also I’m aware that my chickens don’t need the insulation but I’d like to make it a little more comfortable for them

I’m going to follow along because it’s chilly here in the mornings now and I know I’m going to feel awful when I move the chicks to the coop this time of year!
But I’ve also read here that ventilation is important, so you don’t want to seal things too tightly. And that they might peck at insulation.
For the most part, my understanding is that they’re pretty hardy. But I’m new to chickens so I have zero experience with cold weather so far.

 

[PimsGarden]

As long as you have good ventilation and no drafts on them, insulate away! I think a picture of your coop inside and out would help people suggest options. I can't say much without seeing the coop. We don't get as cold as where you are so I'm just using old feed bags on the inside of the coop to prevent wind between the boards and then cardboard over that. I'm in East TN tho, I'm in the mountains but it's not CO cold.

 

[Folly's place]

Here we insulated the roof, more for summer sun than winter cold.
We had the walls insulated years ago, fiberglass covered with plywood on the inside, and had to tear it out when rats found a way to chew in and colonize it. Awful! we lost eggs and birds, and had to clear out the little beasts.
Our coop/ run combination has part of the south and east walls done with hardware cloth and woven wire. In winter we add two layers of sheet vinyl, staples and then screwed into the framing, over the lower 6', blocking winter winds.

It's been so mild this hasn't yet happened this fall, but soon. 70F plus this week!
Mary

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

I have a small coop but good ventilation. It's very cold and windy here in the winter. What we have done and works is use the blue 1" insulation board. We then cut cardboard to fit each piece and glue that to the insulation so the chickens dont peck at the insulation. That gets hung up with the bigger Velcro to walls on coop. So we reuse them each winter. I only do it on the north and West side in their Coop because that's where our coop/run is more exposed.we then wrap our run in clear polycarbonate on North and West sides. I actually use clear shower curtains for the other sides that I can lift up in nice weather or attach at bottom in cold, snowy, windy days. Has worked well for me. I don't have pics because the weather is still to warm here.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Northern Colorado here.

Insulation is pointless if you have proper ventilation.
It does provide excellent places for mice and other undesirable things to exist.

My winter prep is adding heated water dishes and adding plastic to the north side of my run. The east and west have coops so only the south is open.

 

[The Moonshiner]

a good insulation option for my coop.

More chickens would be good insulation.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

ugh~ Got me thinking now.... first winter with a second coop that only has 2 hens in it. They cant live with the other 5 cause they nearly killed my golden buff one day. Problem is.....the 2 hens dont sleep together....golden sleeps in the nest and spicy tuna roosts all alone. huh.... I just gotta check them often and make sure little spicy tuna isnt shivering!

 

[Penpal]

Last winter I had only two chickens and a small hoop coop. I put a bale of straw on one side. If your coop is tall, this may not work, but anything that blocks the wind helps so that the breeze for ventilation is over their head. You can also shovel snow around the coop. It can be as high as you want, as long as you don't block the ventilation. Putting something on the bare floor will help. Straw or wood chips.