Insulated walls??

[Allman27]

I am building a coop now that will be about 4 foot by 5 foot with a 8 foot by 8 foot run, for 6 chickens. They will free range during the day when we are at home. We live in Wisconsin where sometimes it gets to 20 to 30 Fahrenheit below at night in winter. But mostly around 0 most of the time. So do i need to insulate my walls? Or is this just overkill? The north side of my coop is against a shed. Thanks for all the help!

 

[cavemanrich]

Your most important part is proper ventilation. It needs to be well above chickens heads when they are on the roost. Drafts are the things to avoid. You are okay to put additional openings and windows at lower level for Hot weather use.
I suggest a walk-in if possible. Many advantages with the additional interior volume.
Insulation will help some, but there are some drawbacks to it as well. One important drawback, is,,,, a place for rodents and insects to make their homes.
That can be overcome with precise building, and sealing.
Depending on the breeds of your chickens,,,,, If you have cold hardy breeds, then no added warming needed during extreme cold. I have Serama Bantams, which are not the most hardy. I keep mine inside a winter housing loft inside garage. I do not provide heat in excess of 32° F during really cold snaps. We had a mild winter,,,, I'm from just south of you.. I did not need to heat garage that often.
Your coop facing south will gather all the sunshine during winter possible. It does make a significant difference.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Allman27]

Thank you so much, we have leghorns and anconas. Ill skip the insulation and make sure my ventilation is good. Would an infarred heat souce be something to consider if we get a prolonged cold snap?

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might want to read this article.

Alaskan’s Article

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[cavemanrich]

Would an infarred heat souce be something to consider if we get a prolonged cold snap?

When it gets very cold, and Leghorns are not the most cold-hardy, spot heating would work. Another option is the heated roost. I was planning on making one from heat-tape used to keep pipes from freezing.
Here is the panel infra-red heater that should be pretty safe to use.

Here is an Amazon link to some heaters, as well as a roost heater.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chicken+...x=chicken+heaters,aps,641&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_15

I would use the heaters with a dimmer switch to control the amount of heat output. The above pictured is rated at 200 watts. I think that may possibly heat your small coop too warm. Best to just keep coop at about 32°F or so during extreme outdoor cold, With the dimmer switch you would be able to control so coop does not get too warm. You would need to have a thermometer inside, and trial and error and track results. Keep a chart , and know how much to set warmth to. I use a dimmer switch on my Mini crook pots that I have water in. I want water to be just barely warm, and not hot/boiling.
I have 4 of these connected to my dimmer circuit. 3 for my chickens, and 1 for my cats.