Insulate or ventilate

[earlhider]

I am a newbie, thinking about my first attempt at a coop. You have a ton of information on this site. Thanks.

I am in Atlanta where winters are temperate but it is not unusual to have 3-5 days in a row, in the twenties. It appears most folks insulate their coops but then I read where ventilation is so important. Do you close the vents in the winter? If not, what's the sense in insulating?

How vulnerable are the birds to cold? What temperature gets you concerned?

Also, why do you lock the hens in at night? If the coop is secure from predators, why not leave the door open? Does it keep them quieter?

 

[SpringChickens]

If it never gets below 20, you'll be fine. You don't need to insulate at all where you are. Birds are tough, they do just fine in cold temperatures. However, in the summer it will get HOT and you will lose some birds if you're not adequately ventilated. In Atlanta, you really need a run outside where the chickens can go because their coop will get too hot for them and they could get heat stroke.

Good luck with your chickens!

 

[earlhider]

Quote:
Thanks for the quick response. I have planned a covered run about three times the size of the coop. Also, we have tons of trees for shade, which brings me to another question. I read somewhere that the chicks need a fair amount of sunshine. Will it be problematic if the coop/run are located in a totally shaded area??

 

[elmo]

I'm in Dallas, and I insulated our new coop not only for wnter but for summer, too. It helps keep the inside of the coop cooler as the day warms up outside. Insulation slows down radiant heat transfer, while the vents lose heat through air exchange, and if you have operable vents you can control the degree of that somewhat (although you'd probably not ever want to close off all your ventilation).

I agree emphatically with the other poster about siting your run and especially your coop in the shade. A conventional closed coop in the summer sun can get like an oven inside. In addition to the insulation, we used radiant roof sheathing on our new coop, too.

I wouldn't worry about your chickens being housed mostly in the shade. You can let them out in your yard from time to time and watch them enjoy a sunbath.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
The concern is that the run may not be as predator secure as the coop. It's much harder to make a large run as predator resistant as a closed coop. If a predator breaks into the run and your chicken pop door is left open, bye bye chickens.

 

[oldchickenlady]

No you don't have to insulate in Atlanta, but lots of ventilation is absolutely required. You lock your birds in the coop at night to keep predators (coons, possums, owls, cats, coyote, fox) from getting in the coop and killing them as they sleep. If you leave the door open something will eventually get in and kill your birds. If you have a totally enclosed run (outside wire enclosure) attached to your coop, then you don't have to shut up your coop...but it is added insurance that your birds are safe. My run is a pvc pipe hoop style run with wire staked to the ground on the outside so nothing can dig into the run. The run is attached to the coop and I leave the pop door (chicken door) open all the time. I open the run door and let them free range most of the day and they go back into the coop at night.

Most of your ventilation should be up high so there will be no drafts blowing directly on your chickens. However, windows that can be closed or open are good options to include. I have 2 windows...1 is right by the roost so on hot summer nights the birds do get ventilation. My other ventilation is a 1foot by 8 foot section at the top of the front wall as well as 4"x 8' on the other 3 walls. How vunerable a chicken will be to cold will depend on what breed it is. Check out the breed page on this site (at the home page) and it will list breeds and basic information of each breed. Arm yourself with all the knowledge you can...read the sections about chicks, coops, predators, etc. etc. before you get chicks or start building a coop. Also, the search box in the upper right hand corner is a great place to type in a particular topic. The website will pull up past discussions on that topic and you don't have to wait for someone to reply to your question. Good luck with all your reading! Knowledge is power! Ooops! Sorry, meant to include pic of some ventilation...

This was before I attached the run. I covered the 1'x8' ventilation with hardware cloth to prevent anything from getting in the coop.

 

[95yj]

insulation is completely un-necessary, especially in your area. As long as you have good ventilation. It was in the low single digits every night and mid teens every day for over a weeks and all my birds did fine without heat. And i have wimpy birds (tiny little OEG's, quail, doves) And there house isn't exactly the tightest ever built. They all pulled through alright. I only ever give them heat when it gets below 0 if theres wind or -10. which raises the coop temperature to a balmy +10 at most...

 

[patandchickens]

YOu may wish to read my ventilation and cold coop pages, links in .sig below, as they address these issues at some length.

There is nothing wrong however with insulating AND ventilating in climates colder than yours. In many circumstances it does make a big difference to have the insulation *even with* vents open all winter.

Pat

 

[JackE]

Ventilation, More than you THINK is enough. Insulation is optional, Do it if you want, but not necessary. Here's my coop.
Jack

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=445004

 

[Fred's Hens]

Insulation is a place for mice to make a home. They love to make nests within it. How they can endure the scratchy fiberglass is a mystery, but do. My chicken barn is not insulated. The purpose of insulating is hold heat. There's no economical way to heat a barn and it isn't necessary. Folks have been keeping chickens in the northern US and Canada since the colonial days. In fact, most of our favorite breeds were developed in these climates and bear those names. Wyandotte, (upstate NY) Plymouth (Mass.) Rock, Rhode Island, Buckeye, (Ohio), etc. The early breeders had no heat and no lamps.