insulation

[odysseychicken]

Hello all,

I have been collecting/scavenging materials for six months now and am about ready to build my first coop. One of my great finds is a huge stack of 3.5 inch blue foam insulation. I have read lots of mixed reviews about insulating coops. So now I put the question to you all.

I live in southern New England. Winters are usually moderately cold and, as was the case this past winter, they can be very cold. I will not have any power going to the coop. I know that chickens can tolerate the cold. I am not too worried about that. What I am hoping the insulation will do is help keep their water from freezing. The idea is that the body heat generated by the chickens will keep the temperature just high enough that it prevents the water from freezing. I am aware that ammonia and moisture buildup can be harmful. I am hoping that with proper ventilation I can strike a balance of heat retention and moisture/fume ventilation.

The plan is to build a 4x8 foot coop for 6-8 chickens. It will be raised off the ground (maybe 18 inches or so). I am not sure of the height yet. Maybe four feet on one side and six feet on the other with a sloped roof. I will cover the insulation on the inside so the chickens don't peck at it. I have three double pane windows that i can include in the construction. The roof will be open under the eaves (2x4 rafters). I can add more ventilation if needed.

The coop will be placed in a part of my yard that gets sun in the winter and mostly shade in the summer. I am hoping that the insulation will help keep it cool in the summer as well. Although I plan on opening the windows in the summer allowing for plenty of air flow. The chickens will be mostly free ranged in the summer but there will be a run just in case there is a predator problem or if I have to go out of town for a couple of days (automatic door opener on a battery).

So, insulate or no?

 

[odysseychicken]

OK. So I just found all the other posts about insulation. I will make my way through them. But if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on my particular situation I would still appreciate any and all responses.

Thanks

 

[JackE]

What I am hoping the insulation will do is help keep their water from freezing. The idea is that the body heat generated by the chickens will keep the temperature just high enough that it prevents the water from freezing. I am aware that ammonia and moisture buildup can be harmful. I am hoping that with proper ventilation I can strike a balance of heat retention and moisture/fume ventilation.




So, insulate or no?

What you are talking about will not work. The water will freeze. If you have proper ventilation, insulation will be useless, as far as retaining any heat generated by the chickens. And, as you know, if you block off the ventilation, you will have problems.
How far away from the house, is the coop? Before I ran electric down to my coop, In the winter, I would hook up two 100' extension cords, so I could power up my water fount warmer. Did that for two years, with no problems.
I would not even waste any time insulating a coop. Steps have to be taken, (Interior walls), so the birds won't eat it. Chickens already come with perfect insulation anyway. Adding more is just a waste of time and $$$$.
So, NO, on insulation.

 

[odysseychicken]

Thanks for your reply. After a lot of reading last night I am thinking that I will not insulate. Like you said, I don't think I would achieve the desired effect any way. My electric bill is already outrageous. We are doing everything we can to eliminate electric use. So, I guess I will be running water out to them on cold days. I will have to resort to the extension cord method if I need to go out of town for a day or two.

One last thought on insulation. Since the coop will be raised is there any value to insulating just the floor? Once again, it is not a matter of cost. I have enough insulation on hand to do the entire coop two times over.

 

[JackE]

Thanks for your reply. After a lot of reading last night I am thinking that I will not insulate. Like you said, I don't think I would achieve the desired effect any way. My electric bill is already outrageous. We are doing everything we can to eliminate electric use. So, I guess I will be running water out to them on cold days. I will have to resort to the extension cord method if I need to go out of town for a day or two.

One last thought on insulation. Since the coop will be raised is there any value to insulating just the floor? Once again, it is not a matter of cost. I have enough insulation on hand to do the entire coop two times over.

I would not bother insulating the floor either. You will most likely have bedding of some kind, like pine shavings, or straw, so there really is no point. The thing with insulation in a coop, is that it gives insect, and rodent pests, a nice place to hide. Put the stuff on the walls, you have to have interior walls, which provides a nice roomy void for pests to hide and set up house. Even gluing insulation to the under side of the roof or floor, gives insects large areas of hiding space to crawl around under. I like to be able to see every square inch of the coop, inside and out, with no hidden away areas, where I don't know what, is hiding, just waiting to cause a problem. That is also why my coop is raised, so I can easily see what's going on under there. The bonus being, for the chickens, a nice shaded place to dust bathe, or whatever.

 

[FranciscoR]

Thanks for your reply. After a lot of reading last night I am thinking that I will not insulate. Like you said, I don't think I would achieve the desired effect any way. My electric bill is already outrageous. We are doing everything we can to eliminate electric use. So, I guess I will be running water out to them on cold days. I will have to resort to the extension cord method if I need to go out of town for a day or two.

One last thought on insulation. Since the coop will be raised is there any value to insulating just the floor? Once again, it is not a matter of cost. I have enough insulation on hand to do the entire coop two times over.

On another site, when discussing building a deer blind, the advice was simple, "the more you add, the more to manage." While insulating would obviously have benefits, it'll be one more thing to maintain. How will the weather affect it? Will chickens or other animals have access to it? Will bugs use it to wiggle in-between and so forth. I was considering insulating as well...but it's way too much, for what would honestly be a negligible gain. If you can run water out, or whatever else out you need (for me would take 5min), then go that route...MUCH simpler.