Insulate or not?

[wamtazlady]

Yes I plan to give them the option to go out everyday year round with the exception if it’s going to be negative during the day. I’m going to have a very large covered pen for them around 10x40. I just worry about them getting frost bite in the winters overnight without insulation to hold the heat in the coop

I live in NW Montana. Chickens are out every day during the winter. It gets down to about -22 F here. I cover 3 sides of the run with clear vinyl so the birds won't have a breeze. Otherwise they hate being in the coop during the day. Food is kept in the run. Water is also kept in the run to prevent the water from raising the humidity in the coop. I have about 10 square feet of ventilation that is never closed up no matter how cold it gets. Ventilation is placed so that birds will not get a breeze on them.

This is the most important thing you will have to learn if you will keep chickens in the winter. A dry chicken is a warm chicken. Chickens make a lot of moisture when they breathe and poop. You need to get that moisture out of the coop. Warm moist air will make for cold frostbitten chickens. Dry air makes for comfortable chickens. A chicken can get frostbite at around freezing temperatures if the air is humid. With dry air they can be fine to well below 0. Remember that chickens wear a down coat year round. Hot days are harder on them than cold days.

That being said, choose your breeds of chickens wisely. Breeds with large combs will be more likely to get frostbite.

If you do not believe what I say, look outside at those chickadees and other small birds that spend the winters outside in your area. Do they look miserable all winter long? Their down coats also keep them warm during winter. They choose a place without drafts for sleeping at night.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Ok my question about the ventalation is then, do you have any vents you leave open overnight even in the winter months? Also I was planning of having heat mounted above the roost pointing down at them

Yes leave the vents open. No, absolutely no heat.

 

[Marct611]

I live in NW Montana. Chickens are out every day during the winter. It gets down to about -22 F here. I cover 3 sides of the run with clear vinyl so the birds won't have a breeze. Otherwise they hate being in the coop during the day. Food is kept in the run. Water is also kept in the run to prevent the water from raising the humidity in the coop. I have about 10 square feet of ventilation that is never closed up no matter how cold it gets. Ventilation is placed so that birds will not get a breeze on them.

This is the most important thing you will have to learn if you will keep chickens in the winter. A dry chicken is a warm chicken. Chickens make a lot of moisture when they breathe and poop. You need to get that moisture out of the coop. Warm moist air will make for cold frostbitten chickens. Dry air makes for comfortable chickens. A chicken can get frostbite at around freezing temperatures if the air is humid. With dry air they can be fine to well below 0. Remember that chickens wear a down coat year round. Hot days are harder on them than cold days.

That being said, choose your breeds of chickens wisely. Breeds with large combs will be more likely to get frostbite.

If you do not believe what I say, look outside at those chickadees and other small birds that spend the winters outside in your area. Do they look miserable all winter long? Their down coats also keep them warm during winter. They choose a place without drafts for sleeping at night.

Thankyou that makes a lot of sense.

 

[Folly's place]

I do have insulation in the roof of my original coop, and it's about managing summer sun and heat, not so much for winter cold. The biggest problem with insulation is managing to keep rodents out of it! Any wall cavity will be a great place for rats and mice to colonize!
Do plan on electricity out there, for heated waterers in winter, and lighting. Don't try to heat the coop!
Build bigger!!!
Choose breeds that are considered 'cold hardy', generally with smaller combs and wattles, and on the fluffy side. Henderson's Breed Chart is a good place to look.
Mary

 

[wamtazlady]

Thankyou that makes a lot of sense.

You are very welcome
It's so hard the first year you have chickens during the winter. I remember my first. However, I believed the people who had been raising chickens for years and what they said worked. They were right. I do admit I worried that whole first winter.

 

[Marct611]

You are very welcome
It's so hard the first year you have chickens during the winter. I remember my first. However, I believed the people who had been raising chickens for years and what they said worked. They were right. I do admit I worried that whole first winter.

I’ve had them before a few years ago, but I made the coop like a real house insulated walls and infrared heaters and towards the end we were having respiratory issues with done

I do have insulation in the roof of my original coop, and it's about managing summer sun and heat, not so much for winter cold. The biggest problem with insulation is managing to keep rodents out of it! Any wall cavity will be a great place for rats and mice to colonize!
Do plan on electricity out there, for heated waterers in winter, and lighting. Don't try to heat the coop!
Build bigger!!!
Choose breeds that are considered 'cold hardy', generally with smaller combs and wattles, and on the fluffy side. Henderson's Breed Chart is a good place to look.
Mary

I’m going to go with Rhode Island Red & Barred Rocks, they are both regional for this area so they should be fine..
I guess now I just have to find a coop design I like and begin

 

[Folly's place]

The Woods coop design is the best, wish I had one! Otherwise, a shed type design is good. Walk-in height, and big!
Mary