Husband says "why insulate if you're going to have ventilation"

[JackE]

Insulation is a waste of time, and money, in a chicken coop. The chickens already come with perfect insulation of their own, and really don't need any help from us. If you install insulation in the coop, you will have to install interior walls. Otherwise the chickens will happily shred the insulation to pieces. Then, after you have installed the interior walls, you will have just provided a perfect home for insect pests, and rodents, hidden from view to do whatever they want.
If your coop is properly ventilated, it's going to be open and exposed to the winter cold. Again, insulation will be totally useless. It's not like your house, where it's all closed up and you are trying to keep the heat in.
I have an open-air coop. The whole front wall is open year round. No insulation or added heat, and the chickens thrive with no problems.
The only insulation I would consider worth anything, is up under the roof, to help absorb summertime roof heat. Other than that, forget about it.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Insulation is a waste of time, and money, in a chicken coop. The chickens already come with perfect insulation of their own, and really don't need any help from us. If you install insulation in the coop, you will have to install interior walls. Otherwise the chickens will happily shred the insulation to pieces. Then, after you have installed the interior walls, you will have just provided a perfect home for insect pests, and rodents, hidden from view to do whatever they want.
If your coop is properly ventilated, it's going to be open and exposed to the winter cold. Again, insulation will be totally useless. It's not like your house, where it's all closed up and you are trying to keep the heat in.
I have an open-air coop. The whole front wall is open year round. No insulation or added heat, and the chickens thrive with no problems.
The only insulation I would consider worth anything, is up under the roof, to help absorb summertime roof heat. Other than that, forget about it.

x2

 

[bigmrg74]

Yes, it gets in the single digits.


If HE built it? The man couldn't build his way out of a paper bag. Heh heh...

Thanks for the article! It's the reason I added more ventilation to my plans.

Let's just say the last time I had chickens here, I babied them so much I would bring them in the house every time it snowed more than a few inches. And yes, that coop was insulated as well. Hubby said I could have chickens if I promised not to bring them in anymore, and I kind of agree with him. LOL. But he thinks the insulation is a big waste of time/money.

Ask dear hubby if adding insulation is really a waste of time if it keeps you from bringing your chickens inside of the house on cold winter's days.

 

[RonP]

I agree with JackE.
Build in plenty of ventilation.
Make sure it is draft free.
Hardy birds will be fine way below your winter temps.
Worry more about keeping their water fresh and unfrozen.

 

[subhanalah]

Ask dear hubby if adding insulation is really a waste of time if it keeps you from bringing your chickens inside of the house on cold winter's days.  

that's all I'm sayin!

 

[aart]

I agree with the 'ventilation negates insulation in the winter' theory.....but.....I think insulation could help against direct sunlight over heating the coop in summer.

I suppose it could buffer the cold wind against the wall IF you have a nice tall coop with lots of ventilation up high....but insulation can also create a nice cozy home for rodents and/or collect moisture to grow mold....and you have to cover it up with inside sheathing so the chickens don't eat it.

We had record frigid temps and snowfall this year and I had very little frostbite (which actually happened at the 30 degree mark rather than the -10 due to warmer air holding more moisture) with no insulation.

ETA oops ok I typed my response before seeing the second page of responses.

 

[jasmer]

Insulation is a waste of time, and money, in a chicken coop. The chickens already come with perfect insulation of their own, and really don't need any help from us. If you install insulation in the coop, you will have to install interior walls. Otherwise the chickens will happily shred the insulation to pieces. Then, after you have installed the interior walls, you will have just provided a perfect home for insect pests, and rodents, hidden from view to do whatever they want.
If your coop is properly ventilated, it's going to be open and exposed to the winter cold. Again, insulation will be totally useless. It's not like your house, where it's all closed up and you are trying to keep the heat in.
I have an open-air coop. The whole front wall is open year round. No insulation or added heat, and the chickens thrive with no problems.
The only insulation I would consider worth anything, is up under the roof, to help absorb summertime roof heat. Other than that, forget about it.

Thanks, I think you answered clearly what I had also asked. A properly constructed chicken coop should be draft/wind free and water tight, with good ventilation. In a cold climate I really don't see how it could so much as slow down heat loss, let alone prevent it. I will add that our chickens got frostbit combs last winter, though, in a closed but ventilated coop. I think a heat lamp near the roost and a solar panel would better accomplish what insulation cannot.

 

[subhanalah]

Thanks, I think you answered clearly what I had also asked.  A properly constructed chicken coop should be draft/wind free and water tight, with good ventilation.  In a cold climate I really don't see how it could so much as slow down heat loss, let alone prevent it.  I will add that our chickens got frostbit combs last winter, though, in a closed but ventilated coop.  I think a heat lamp near the roost and a solar panel would better accomplish what insulation cannot.

providing them a heat lamp reduces their ability to grow the thick winter down they need to get through the winter. Perhaps it gets too humid in the coop?

 

[aart]

Even with a pretty well ventilated coop I had some frostbite on wattles and even smaller combs last year...mostly mild grayish bite but some black bite on large rooster wattles, it all healed up with no infection or real scarring. If you didn't have a sharp eye, you couldn't tell it happened.

I monitored temps and humidity all winter, the frost bite happened not when temps were -10F with 20% humidity but when the temps rose to 28-34F and 50-60% humidity

 

[junko]

Wow- great discussion here- thank you so much! Well, as I said, I *do* live in RI... on an island in Narragansett Bay. Thus, our temps only get down to the single digits while the rest of the state can get colder. However, this also means that the humidity is higher.

I worry about those Nor'easters. Our house is slightly diagonal to the compass. The coop is going against the east wall which is angled slightly to the south. I am putting a big (closable) window in the south side for summer ventilation and winter sun. The west side will be flat up against the house wall, and the north side will have the egg door, nest boxes and roost, but no windows or vents. The vents will be in the side up against the house (with still 6 inches for clearance) and the eaves (and two small windows that do not open) in the front (east side) of the coop. It's 4x8 for 5 large breed birds in case I get more later. Is the (comparably) large size of the coop going to be an issue? Should I try to build some kind of a baffle to hold their body heat like a previous poster did? I also have to consider insulation against heat- it gets hot in the summer up against that wall.

---> What is the difference between "well ventilated" and "draft-free" ?

In other news, I really have to get on the ball- I found a chick wandering around the room today. Time to cover the brooder or get them out of there! They are now 4 weeks old. Here's the coop so far, with my daughter and her boyfriend helping:



ETA: --> Okay, re-reading the ventilation article, that drafts vs. ventilation question is answered. Also the insulation question. I had budgeted for insulation money-wise but not time-wise. I'd better get off my butt! Also the comment about insulation helping me NOT bring the chickens in during the cold? VERY good point. LOL.