Insulating my coop?

[JackE]

Yes, they roost in the left side. It's 5 x 5 by 4 to 5' high. I don't open the windows in the winter. They open out from the bottom. They are on screen door arms. I thought since the birds sit about level with the bottom of the window I should not open them in the winter because the draft would blow right on them. They are open at night in the summer. I have a piece of plexiglass on the back opening for the winter.

Yeah, there's the problem. With the windows shut, the screened area up by the roof, is not enough ventilation to get rid of enough humidity. But, because it is kind of a small space, you can't just throw open all the windows. That's the thing with my coop. The whole front wall is open. But the coop is 16' deep, and the roosts are in the back end, a good 12' from the open wall. So there's no drafts blowing on them. With your coop, you throw open one of those windows, and depending on the wind direction and velocity, your birds could be blown all over the place in there, because the wind has a clear path through the coop. In the window, and up and out the upper vents. If that was my coop. I would experiment with cracking the southern facing window (Whichever one that is) open a few inches in the winter. I would open it as far as I could, without causing a wind tunnel effect in there. You have to get more air flow in there. Especially since you are getting more birds.
I see you have a main entrance door, in the middle of the coop. Entering that door, roost area to the left, what kind of wall is there? I would think it would be a chickenwire wall, to allow max fresh air flow. Or is it a solid wood wall? Which way does the coop face? The direction it faces, comes into play, when planning the coop's ventilation.

 

[hellokittyfive]

It faces west. I wish I knew these things before we built it . . .



Sorry this is upside down, I don't know why. This is the wall to the left when you enter the people door.
It's plywood. The part that is not painted is cut out with hardware cloth covering it. This is the south wall.

 

[JackE]

It faces west. I wish I knew these things before we built it . . .



Sorry this is upside down, I don't know why. This is the wall to the left when you enter the people door.
It's plywood. The part that is not painted is cut out with hardware cloth covering it. This is the south wall.

So the entrance to the coop faces west. That places the roost area to the north, where in our area, a lot of cold winter winds come from. So you can't just open the windows in that end. I would open that plywood wall up. What I would do, is totally open that wall, and screen it with chickenwire. Then, for the winter, I would have a plywood panel to block off the lower half of the wall. Of course, leaving the chicken entrance open. It would be nice to just leave the whole wall open, but if we get a NorEaster in the winter, with your coop, you'll have to block the lower half of the wall, so the wind doesn't blow directly on the birds. That will be a big help with fresh air exchange. And your chickens won't get their feathers ruffled.

 

[Blooie]

I live in Northern Wyoming, not too far from Yellowstone Park. My place is between three mountain ranges - I have the Big Horns less than 20 miles to the East, the Pryors 6 miles from my kitchen window, and the Absarokas/Beartooths to the west. We know cold, and we know winter.

JackE and I had a rather spirited discussion of this insulate/not to insulate issue right about this time last year. I wanted to insulate, he gave sound reasons why it wasn't the best idea. Boy, did iI dig my heels in. But my dear hubby/coop builder said,, "The man makes a lot of sense." So we didn't insulate, we just added better ventilation. Sounds counterproductive to raising chickens in the cold weather but my girls did great. I have no frostbitten combs or wattles, and they laid eggs fairly well all winter. I know that first year chickens often lay okay during their first winter, but even I was surprised.

Right now I have 15 chicks that I have raised out in the run from the beginning. They are using a heating pad cave for warmups and for sleeping and they have absolutely thrived. They are already integrating well with the Bigs, so they'll be tossed out of the "nest" this week to make room for 8 new chicks. Bear in mind, as I said, they are being raised in a pen out in the run, and our nighttime temps are in the 20s. 11 of them are now 5.5 weeks and 4 of them are 4.5 weeks. So I have come to the conclusion that having more than adequate ventilation is far superior in keeping birds healthy than insulation and supplemental heat. That said, this summer we'll have those insulated foil looking panels that we're going to rig to slip under clips on the ceiling for insulation from the summer heat and then out (to prevent condensation) during winter. Chickens, especially those bred to be cold hardy with nice loose fluffy feathers and underdown, suffer more from heat than they do from cold, and up at our elevation the sun was intense for much of the day despite our shade trees. I'm no longer afraid of the cold for my chickens. If I keep them well fed, and keep their waterer heated so it doesn't freeze they do just fine.

 

[hellokittyfive]

Thanks JackE, I really appreciate your knowledge. It is refreshing to see someone that knows what they are talking about and not talking out their butt which I see a lot of on this site!
I would think though by replacing that whole wall with chicken wire would not be too safe. I definitely have some modifying to do though. I will put more ventilation in that wall for sure.

And Blooie, the first line of your comment made me very jealous! I am in love with the western US! I've been to Yosemite (5 yrs ago) and loved that and keep telling my husband next trip is to Yellowstone!

 

[JackE]

I would think though by replacing that whole wall with chicken wire would not be too safe. I definitely have some modifying to do though. I will put more ventilation in that wall for sure.

Are we talking about the same wall? It's the inside wall I'm talking about, that's why I suggested chickenwire. Chickenwire is safe enough for interior walls. I see you have hardware cloth around the rest of the coop. So nothing predator wise is getting in.

 

[hellokittyfive]

Yes, we're talking about the same wall. It has the pop door in it so I wouldn't be able to tuck them in at night. We did put hardware cloth all around the bottom but I feel better knowing they are solidly enclosed for the night.

 

[JackE]

Yes, we're talking about the same wall. It has the pop door in it so I wouldn't be able to tuck them in at night. We did put hardware cloth all around the bottom but I feel better knowing they are solidly enclosed for the night.

Ohhh, OK, I didn't know you shut that popdoor every night. In the pictures, the coop looks secure, where you wouldn't even have to shut it. Well, you could still build a tough hardware clothed wall to replace it, and help with air flow. You would just have to frame out the popdoor opening. Then block the lower half of the wall in the colder months.

 

[hellokittyfive]

Thanks JackE. My husband did such an awesome job with the sliding pop door that I won't take it out. I will take off the wood above it to the ceiling, leaving the top half of the wall open for ventilation. Sometimes on really hot summer nights I leave the pop door open and have a fan circulating air. I put a carabine lock on the people door just in case some crazy mutant raccoon comes around and turns the handle and opens the door LOL Hey, it makes me sleep easier!