insulating a coop

[proud mama m&L]

we live in ohio so the weathe it not as crazy as it is in other places but how do you keep the chickens warn in the winter? i have heard of heat lamps but i dont want them to get to cold. can someone please fill me in on how this works?

 

[teach1rusl]

Many folks don't insulate unless they live in very severe winter climate areas. I'm in southern Indiana and I did insulate my coop because my chickens are pets, so I wanted them to be more comfortable (it also helps with the high temperatures in summer). My coop stays about 10 degrees warmer than outside temps even if I don't use a heat lamp in winter. It also keeps it a bit cooler inside now that temps have gone up.
But most say chickens will do fine in a coop down to around 0 degrees if there are no drafts. It's really based on your view of your chickens.
If you do insulate, then you'll need to cover your insulation with something, because they will peck at it.

 

[AtholCoop]

It really comes down to two things, first is the amount of space you are trying to keep warm, and secondly just how cold it gets.

Where I live we usually have 3-4 weeks of below zero temps, well below zero actually. I didn't insulate my coop, but I did put two heat lamps in on a thermostat. The water in the coop didn't freeze at all so I think I've got it pretty well nailed down. Check my coop page for details on the setup.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=16357

 

[patandchickens]

See the "cold coop" page linked in my .sig below for a bunch of discussion of that issue

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Tecalli]

I'm in central PA and we can get quite cold. My coop is not insulated, but has penty of ventilation and is draft free. I was worried about my three pet hens getting too cold this winter so I put in a flat panel heater hooked up to a thermocube. I went with a flat panel because of advice I got on BYC and from reading other sources-- it was safer than a heat lamp in terms of fire and more energy efficient. Plugged into the thermocube (thermoastically controlled outlet) the heater turned on when the inside coop temp dropped below 20 degrees and turned off when the temp hit 30 degrees. They seemed to do just fine over the winter and laid throughout the winter.

I found BYC moderator Pat's Big Ol' Ventilation Page very helpful when thinking about preparing for the winter:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

Here's what the flat panel heater looks like:
http://www.shopthecoop.com/mm5/merc...re_Code=STC&Product_Code=1FP&Category_Code=He

 

[proud mama m&L]

thankseveryone for the advice i will def. look a little more into it now that i understand it! thanks for all the websites as well!!!