If I insulate the roof.......

[3chicksmomma]

I live in North Alabama. It can get cold in the winter, but REALLY get's hot and humid in the summer. We are about to start building our portable coop, and I was planning on insulating it, but after reading what others have said, now I'm just confused. I am planning on having plenty of ventilation, open at the eves, covered with hardware cloth, and again open all along the underside where the roof comes down over the sides, and covered with the cloth, so there will be plenty of air flow, but I don't want them getting too cold, nor do I want them to over heat in the summer. I thought insulation works both ways, keeping it warmer in winter, and cooler in summer. My coop (chicken tractor) will be somewhat small, we are getting 5 chickens, it will measure 5x4, and only about 3 feet tall, with a run underneath and out 6 feet to the side. So it will give them their minimum space requirements, but since it will not be tall, I will not be able to hang a heat lamp in there, so that's another reason why I wanted to insulate. Any of your thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It simply will never get cold enough in Alabama to ever worry about it. Chickens are birds is the first thing to remember, they frolic at 10F. They do much better in cold than in heat. If your coop wont be in shade you very well may want to insulate only the roof. Just 1" of rigid insulation with foil would repel ample amounts of solar heating from roof.

 

[4 the Birds]

There is benefits from insulation but I would not consider insulation unless you live in the far south or far north. I have insulated the dog houses and also my exterior nesting boxes but the coop walls and roof are just OSB board with a painted exterior (I live alot farther north than you) Alot of open areas and shade in the Summer and no drafts in the Winter for your design and you are good to go!

 

[3chicksmomma]

Thanks y'all! I am a little more worried about the summer heat than the winter cold. We only have one tree in our yard, and it doesn't produce much shade. I was also thinking about only insulating the roof, so that's probably what I'll end up doing. we will be putting pressure treated fence boards up as siding, so I'm sure it will keep out most of the drafts. One of the main reasons why I thought about insulating the whole thing is to help keep their water from freezing. We are not going to have power run to the coop, so I won't be able to put a water heater in there. I'm making a waterer out of a bucket with the poultry nipples on the bottom. I wonder if I could wrap insulation around the bucket. I'll figure something out.

 

[Stumpy]

I live in Alabama and built a small, banty-sized coop. I did insulate the roof with some blue foam board that I had on hand because the roost is so close to the tin roof.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The products they sell now are really nifty in reflecting the heat. That is where I'd focus. It isn't insulation in the traditional sense, but rather a foil faced roof sheathing type product that keeps the barn/garage/coop 15 degrees cooler in the summer by reflecting rather than absorbing the sun's heat.

Really cool products. pun intended.

 

[3chicksmomma]

The sheets of insulation that I was going to get have the silver foil type stuff on one side. We are going with a new type of product for the roofing material. It is sold in sheets, and it's called Ondura; we bought it at Lowes. So, would I put the insulation sheet with the silver side up, or would that matter at all. I will be covering it with a paneling, so no worries about the chickens pecking at it.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Silver side facing the roof. The reflective side faces side you want to repel the heat.

 

[The Lazy L]

... One of the main reasons why I thought about insulating the whole thing is to help keep their water from freezing. We are not going to have power run to the coop, so I won't be able to put a water heater in there...

How many Alabama nights get below freezing?

 

[3chicksmomma]

You'd be surprised! Every year is quite different. Last year we hardly had a winter at all, and this year has been mild, so far. The winter of 2010/2011 was a REALLY cold one for us, there was a stretch of about 15 days (can't remember the exact number) in November/December 2010 where it didn't get above freezing at all. We also got more snow that winter than we've seen in a long time. Christmas morning we woke up to 5 inches, and a couple of weeks later we got 8, may not seem like much for those from the north, but it was a record breaker for Alabama! So yes, it can and does get cold here.