Insulating my chicken coop?

[pvchicken1]

I have 6 birds - 2 barnyard mix, 1 EE, 1 Sapphire Gem, 1 delaware, 1 Cuckoo Maran. We live in Minnesota in the cities and wondering if I should insulate my 5x6 chicken coop? Some days in the winter it can fell like -40f and temperatures of -20. I will have a heat lamp in the coop during the winter. Click yes or no in the poll.

 

[TOR]

MY chickens live in front of my barn. No insulation, I did notice the rooster did get a little frostbite on comb. I have wood for them to roost on did not have any problems with frost bite on feet.
I am in Wisconsin south of the cities.
My barn does have all the windows is not drafty.
I have brahmas, australorps and silkies.
In the 80s I raised chickens for 3 years in a old unheated chicken coop and never had problems.
I do not use a heat lamp.
I was worried about the silkies in the cold, but they did fine. Also lots of straw for silkies since they sleep on floor and do not roost.
I can't tell you should or not insulate only what I do.

 

[Corbdee]

I have 6 birds - 2 barnyard mix, 1 EE, 1 Sapphire Gem, 1 delaware, 1 Cuckoo Maran. We live in Minnesota in the cities and wondering if I should insulate my 5x6 chicken coop? Some days in the winter it can fell like -40f and temperatures of -20. I will have a heat lamp in the coop during the winter. Click yes or no in the poll.

I would say yes

 

[3KillerBs]

You need to read this article:

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

 

[gtaus]

I have 6 birds - 2 barnyard mix, 1 EE, 1 Sapphire Gem, 1 delaware, 1 Cuckoo Maran. We live in Minnesota in the cities and wondering if I should insulate my 5x6 chicken coop? Some days in the winter it can fell like -40f and temperatures of -20. I will have a heat lamp in the coop during the winter. Click yes or no in the poll.

I live about 4 hours north of you, in Minnesota. The question of insulating the chicken coop is one I had to ponder when I first got my laying hens. Here are my thoughts after going through my second winter with my birds.

My chickens have survived just fine without any heat in the coop. Ventilation is very important to reduce humidity build up and frostbite. However, I discovered that our outside humidity in winter is quite high, and the coop humidity is also about the same. I have a remote weather sensor in the coop and compare my temp/humidity in the coop with the outside air. It should be within a few degrees or percentages either way. If the humidity in the coop is a lot higher than outside air, then you have a problem. Insulation will have little to no effect on humidity in an open air coop.

I only know of one person who heats his barn for his chickens. He breeds birds and has invested lots of money on his setup. So he has climate control year round. Most of us could not afford that type of setup.

In general, I would say that a heat lamp is not needed in a coop. Before I had any chickens, about 3 years ago, we had a stretch of cold weather where the temps stayed at about -40F for over a week. Lots of chicken owners around here lost birds to the extended cold over that long period of time. We had a run on those chicken panel heaters after that. I bought one myself, but have never used it. If you use a heat lamp, you need to secure it at least two different ways in case one fails. Heat lamps can cause fires if they get knocked down on the coop bedding.

I found that heated water is a must, at least for me. I have a metal fount waterer that sits on a metal heater base. That keeps my water ice free. As long as the chickens have fresh water to drink, they will eat, and stay alive. I suspect some people think they can just refresh the water a number of times per day, and not have to invest in water heaters. I think that an automatic base heater for the waterer was my best investment. I only have to refill my waterer about every 10 days. The water stays ice free 24/7, and the chickens can drink any time they want.

I have both my feeder and waterer inside my coop. My chickens will not go outside into the snow in the run for about 4 months out of the year. The heated water probably adds a little bit of heat and humidity to the coop, but it is insignificant when compared to outside temps. My coop is generally one or two degrees warmer than outside, and maybe a percentage lower in humidity. But I have two windows open for ventilation as well as two ridge top vents at the top of the roof line.

I built my coop about twice as big as recommended for chickens. I have almost 8 square feet per bird in my coop, compared to the recommended 4 square feet per bird. In Minnesota, in the winter, we need larger coops to provide more room for the chickens to get along socially and not peck each other to death in close quarters. They will spend a lot of time in the coop in winter. A larger coop also helps with humidity control and ventilation.

If you insulate your coop, then ask yourself what benefit you get from the insulation if you are leaving windows open to properly ventilate the coop? Insulated or not, your coop temps will be about the same as the outside temps if you have windows open and are ventilating properly. If your coop is drafty, then insulation may help seal up those cracks, but you still have to ensure proper ventilation.

Sorry for the long response to your short question, but I thought my local input on this topic might help you since we live in the same state. Winters can be tough on both the birds and their keepers here in Minnesota. So it's good you are asking for input and considering what you think might best for your setup. Best wishes.

 

[pvchicken1]

I live about 4 hours north of you, in Minnesota. The question of insulating the chicken coop is one I had to ponder when I first got my laying hens. Here are my thoughts after going through my second winter with my birds.

My chickens have survived just fine without any heat in the coop. Ventilation is very important to reduce humidity build up and frostbite. However, I discovered that our outside humidity in winter is quite high, and the coop humidity is also about the same. I have a remote weather sensor in the coop and compare my temp/humidity in the coop with the outside air. It should be within a few degrees or percentages either way. If the humidity in the coop is a lot higher than outside air, then you have a problem. Insulation will have little to no effect on humidity in an open air coop.

I only know of one person who heats his barn for his chickens. He breeds birds and has invested lots of money on his setup. So he has climate control year round. Most of us could not afford that type of setup.

In general, I would say that a heat lamp is not needed in a coop. Before I had any chickens, about 3 years ago, we had a stretch of cold weather where the temps stayed at about -40F for over a week. Lots of chicken owners around here lost birds to the extended cold over that long period of time. We had a run on those chicken panel heaters after that. I bought one myself, but have never used it. If you use a heat lamp, you need to secure it at least two different ways in case one fails. Heat lamps can cause fires if they get knocked down on the coop bedding.

I found that heated water is a must, at least for me. I have a metal fount waterer that sits on a metal heater base. That keeps my water ice free. As long as the chickens have fresh water to drink, they will eat, and stay alive. I suspect some people think they can just refresh the water a number of times per day, and not have to invest in water heaters. I think that an automatic base heater for the waterer was my best investment. I only have to refill my waterer about every 10 days. The water stays ice free 24/7, and the chickens can drink any time they want.

I have both my feeder and waterer inside my coop. My chickens will not go outside into the snow in the run for about 4 months out of the year. The heated water probably adds a little bit of heat and humidity to the coop, but it is insignificant when compared to outside temps. My coop is generally one or two degrees warmer than outside, and maybe a percentage lower in humidity. But I have two windows open for ventilation as well as two ridge top vents at the top of the roof line.

I built my coop about twice as big as recommended for chickens. I have almost 8 square feet per bird in my coop, compared to the recommended 4 square feet per bird. In Minnesota, in the winter, we need larger coops to provide more room for the chickens to get along socially and not peck each other to death in close quarters. They will spend a lot of time in the coop in winter. A larger coop also helps with humidity control and ventilation.

If you insulate your coop, then ask yourself what benefit you get from the insulation if you are leaving windows open to properly ventilate the coop? Insulated or not, your coop temps will be about the same as the outside temps if you have windows open and are ventilating properly. If your coop is drafty, then insulation may help seal up those cracks, but you still have to ensure proper ventilation.

Sorry for the long response to your short question, but I thought my local input on this topic might help you since we live in the same state. Winters can be tough on both the birds and their keepers here in Minnesota. So it's good you are asking for input and considering what you think might best for your setup. Best wishes.

Thank you for your time answering my question.

 

[MissE]

I'm in northern MN. Mine is insulated but I wish I hadn't spent the money. Proper ventilation means you aren't trapping any heat, so what's the point. They just need a dry, draft free, well ventilated coop. Heat isn't needed. I do use a heated waterer. At -40 actual temp, not wind chill, it will start to ice up a little bit, but beats changing the water every couple hours.

 

[CatWhisperer]

I live way south of you and my coop is insulated. Insulation works against heat and cold. Obviously my coop is less prone to drafts because it is well insulated. Just because chickens survive in the cold does not mean they are comfortable or thriving. Chickens are descended from jungle fowl, a tropical bird. While some breeds do better with cold weather I believe our responsibility as animal caretakers means we should do our best to care for them. People who compare them to wild birds that live in cold climates don’t understand or care about evolution. A chicken is not the same as a ptarmigan.

 

[gtaus]

Just because chickens survive in the cold does not mean they are comfortable or thriving

I think the same could be said about people in Minnesota. We survive the winters but that does not mean that we are comfortable or thriving.

More seriously, I chose chicken breeds that are more cold hardy for our location. They have nice down jackets to fluff up and keep them warm in the winter, and they will all huddle together to keep one another warm. Additional heat is not required except for keeping water from freezing. Egg production suffers in the bitter cold, but otherwise the chickens seem to do OK.