Insulating the coop walls

[Folly's place]

Several years ago, I decided it would be nice to insulate my coop walls and roof. It's a wooden building, on an old concrete foundation. We used fiberglass batting, covered with 3/8" fiberboard. Lovely! Until this winter, when mice moved into the walls. Yucky, but manageable, I thought. Then last weekend, while I was out of town, we had a decapitated bantam pullet, in the coop. Then another one, and no eggs, and birds afraid of the coop itself. Why? RATS moved into the wall too! She, or they, either came in through the door during the day, or chewed through the wood above the rat wall, into the insulated cavity. What a mess! This weekend, we removed most of the particle board and insulation, and mice, and general crud. And stapled hardware cloth over the chewed rat doorways to the coop. Next weekend, the hardware cloth skirting goes in, and when it's warm enough a lot more concrete. Long story, but just saying; creating nice warm cavities for rodents in a very bad idea! Mary

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ugh! What a mess Mary!

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your pullet.

Hopefully the hardware cloth will help keep the rats out. Will you re-insulate when you get done?

 

[Folly's place]

Three nice Belgian d"uccle pullets, all one weekend. They were outcross birds to widen the gene pool, but so much for that idea this year! I've also got a few birds roosting outside, not a good idea either for them. And still rodent sign in the coop this morning, so more work to be done. I set a bait station outside yesterday, with broudificon, and will get another for inside the coop today. HATE bromthelin, the worst idea ever, but that might be all that's available now. Time to lock up my barn cat and get on with it. UGH! Mary

 

[Zoomie]

Oh yikes on the rats! That's awful.

We're insulating too, so I'll keep this in mind, and try extra hard to make certain mice can't set up in the walls. We're using the rigid foam. We were concerned about rodents so that was one choice. The other thing we are doing to the coop is "adbobisizing" it, or in other words, covering it with a mix of cement and plaster. It will look like an adobe farmhouse (which will match our own adobe farmhouse) when we are done. So far as we know, they can't chew through that, or at least, they have not done so on the house. The framing is actually welded steel 3" pipe, so they won't be able to chew that either. I think our only weakness (it's also on a cement foundation, and is steel plate up about 18") will be at the top under the roof where the vents will be, and of course the doors and windows.

We had considered using batting because it's so easy compared to rigid foam! But we were concerned about rodents which are a real problem here - the deer mouse is the type we have, and there *have* been cases of Hanta virus here caused by them.

 

[JackE]

Oh yikes on the rats! That's awful.

We're insulating too, so I'll keep this in mind, and try extra hard to make certain mice can't set up in the walls. We're using the rigid foam. We were concerned about rodents so that was one choice. The other thing we are doing to the coop is "adbobisizing" it, or in other words, covering it with a mix of cement and plaster. It will look like an adobe farmhouse (which will match our own adobe farmhouse) when we are done. So far as we know, they can't chew through that, or at least, they have not done so on the house. The framing is actually welded steel 3" pipe, so they won't be able to chew that either. I think our only weakness (it's also on a cement foundation, and is steel plate up about 18") will be at the top under the roof where the vents will be, and of course the doors and windows.

We had considered using batting because it's so easy compared to rigid foam! But we were concerned about rodents which are a real problem here - the deer mouse is the type we have, and there *have* been cases of Hanta virus here caused by them.

Why would you insulate your coop, after reading this? Insulation, in a chicken coop is a waste of time, and money. The chickens already come with perfect insulation of their own, and don't need any "Help" from us. If the coop is properly ventilated, and gets mass air flow like it should, what good is insulation. It's not like your house, where you are trying to hold heat in. It's useless. All you are doing is giving insect pests, and rodents, a nice hidden away place to set up housekeeping of their own, from where they'll come out and harass your birds whenever they want. Mice and rats will chew, and tunnel right through rigid foam.

 

[Zoomie]

Why would you insulate your coop, after reading this? Insulation, in a chicken coop is a waste of time, and money. The chickens already come with perfect insulation of their own, and don't need any "Help" from us. If the coop is properly ventilated, and gets mass air flow like it should, what good is insulation. It's not like your house, where you are trying to hold heat in. It's useless. All you are doing is giving insect pests, and rodents, a nice hidden away place to set up housekeeping of their own, from where they'll come out and harass your birds whenever they want. Mice and rats will chew, and tunnel right through rigid foam.

Insulation works two ways: it does not just hold in heat, it also keeps things cool. Perhaps it does not get hot in the summer where you live, and if so, awesome! However it DOES get hot in the summer where I live. The insulation will keep the coop cool. In the summer, what I do to cool my house is open the windows at night (this coop has 4 2'X2' windows) and then close them as soon as the sun starts to come up. As a result people think our house has air conditioning... LOL. It's a 150 year old adobe farm house. No air conditioning.

 

[JackE]

Insulation works two ways: it does not just hold in heat, it also keeps things cool. Perhaps it does not get hot in the summer where you live, and if so, awesome! However it DOES get hot in the summer where I live. The insulation will keep the coop cool. In the summer, what I do to cool my house is open the windows at night (this coop has 4 2'X2' windows) and then close them as soon as the sun starts to come up. As a result people think our house has air conditioning... LOL. It's a 150 year old adobe farm house. No air conditioning.

What I have seen done, as far as insulating against the heat, is to add insulation up under the coop's roof. And that's it. Insulate the walls, and you are asking for trouble. As far as how hot it gets here. I don't live in the desert, but we get temps just over a 100 at times, and we have what you don't, and that is the strangling humidity. And that (The humidity) can be day, and night. Doesn't always cool off here at night. Love that air conditioner. But, as far as my coop goes, there is zero insulation in there.

 

[Lovetheeightys]

Insulation works two ways: it does not just hold in heat, it also keeps things cool. Perhaps it does not get hot in the summer where you live, and if so, awesome! However it DOES get hot in the summer where I live. The insulation will keep the coop cool. In the summer, what I do to cool my house is open the windows at night (this coop has 4 2'X2' windows) and then close them as soon as the sun starts to come up. As a result people think our house has air conditioning... LOL. It's a 150 year old adobe farm house. No air conditioning.

Right on that's awesome

 

[saysfaa]

Oh yikes on the rats! That's awful.

We're insulating too, so I'll keep this in mind, and try extra hard to make certain mice can't set up in the walls. We're using the rigid foam. We were concerned about rodents so that was one choice. ...

We had considered using batting because it's so easy compared to rigid foam! But we were concerned about rodents which are a real problem here - the deer mouse is the type we have, and there *have* been cases of Hanta virus here caused by them.

Rodents chew nests and tunnels into rigid foam. It might be a little less atractive to them or take a little longer but it isn't much of a deterrent. I've seen field mice and voles in the nests and tunnels they made in it. They will chew through concrete too sometimes but less often. It helps to have rodent proof feeders and feed storage. I've heard they can't get through the metal lath often used with stucco, though, the holes are small enough that they can't get a good grip. And it is sharp. Or through hardware cloth.