if one was to insulate their coop, what would be the best material to use?

[Zigapor]

I am aware chickens don't need to be insulated for most of you guys, but up here it gets real cold at night, and I rather be safe than sorry!

what would be the best insulation to use? does it matter?

also... I want to instal some sort of heating system, any suggestions?

 

[Judy]

If the coop is properly ventilated, a heating system is kind of self defeating. If you insulate, you'll have to have an interior wall like plywood or particle board over most materials, or they will tear it down and eat it. They will also tear down and eat sheetrock wall panels if there is any defect.

Here are two excellent articles written by a Canadian member:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/winter-coop-temperatures

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

 

[Zigapor]

i was thinking more of a heated pad that would go on the floor. I don't want my birds to freeze.

the inside walls are already built (plywood) just looking for what's best to put it between it and the outside walls.

Our vents are all up near the roof so I'm assuming having a heating pad won't be much of an issue as i'm sure it won't emit that much heat, just enough to keep their feet from freezing. It can hit -40 here in the dead of winter, not often, but it happens, rather have something in place for those super cold nights! and I need to keep their water from freezing over

 

[Zigapor]

the vents are positioned under the roof overlap as to minimize drafts, is that good enough? I mean, does the air need to be circulated at all?

 

[teach1rusl]

Okay...my coops are insulated. But really, if your roof/ceiling isn't insulated, or you aren't planning to insulate THAT, then there's really no point of insulating the walls (assuming the walls are tight/no gaps) IMO; any heat, including chicken body heat, will rise up and go through the roof. I have regular old fiberglass insulation in my coops, but the foam sheets would work too - as was mentioned, it'd need to be covered.

Your vents sound fine to me...are they under the eaves of your roof?

As for heating devices, that depends on many factors. I've used clay pot heaters (like the cookie tin heaters you can find here on BYC), heat lamps (which many people hate - but if SAFETY considerations are observed can work really well w/lower wattage bulbs). I've used a contained oil filled heater (looks like an old time radiator) in one coop...lowest setting to take the worst of the cold off at night. A heating pad would work about like a cookie tin heater I'd think...I guess they could sit on it if they wanted a warm place to snuggle -you'd need to test the settings right against your skin to make sure they only warm...

A lot comes down to observing safety and how much you want to spend (electric bill)...