Insalated or not

[dreamer4217]

I am a new chicken owner and have decided to built my own coop after looking at the prices of coops. I live in a desert area of Southern CA and am not sure if I should insulate the coop or not its regularly hot were i live So I already decided Im putting in windows but still not sure about insulation What dose every one ells think?????

 

[elmo]

Is there any place you can put your coop where it's in natural shade? Shade and lots of ventilation are key for those of us who deal with hot summers.

We live in North Texas and it gets 100 degrees plus regularly here in the summer. Our best coop is in the part of the yard that is shaded from afternoon sun by trees. It has a radiant roof sheathing, and it's also insulated with fiberglass and foam board (I used up bits and pieces of what I had leftover). I insulated it primarily to help retain heat in the winter, but I think the insulation helps some in the summer. The inside of the coop heats up more slowly than the outside in the summer.

The coop is 8' by 8' and has about 32 square feet of ventilation from a combination of vents at the tops of walls and windows lower down at roost level. By the end of the day, the inside of the coop doesn't get any hotter than the ambient temperature outside in the shade, which is about as good as I can hope for in the summer.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'd use the relatively inexpensive 1/2" rigid insulation with radiant heat reflective coating on your roof (foil side facing ceiling). And if your coop is going to be staionary ensure you don't have south facing windows, personally I'd restrict window to north wall. By avoiding radiant heat from roof and southern exposure combined with proper ventilation your coop can stay as cool (at least not hotter than) your summer air.

And congrats on building your own coop. It's a worth while project. We tend to be are own worst critics so remember to go with the flow. It's just a coop after all.

 

[patandchickens]

Insulation won't protect against heat, except in the sense of limiting heat radiating off a metal roof or an exposed W-facing metal wall in late afternoon.

REally, SHADE is what you need, not insulation

Good luck, have fun,

Pat