My Thoughts on Coop Insulation (during this stupid cold Winter!)

[Meg-in-MT]

Humidity is the birds enemy in cold weather (and drafts). If you heat your coop you still need ventilation to get rid of the moisture, or you will be doing them more harm then good. I don't heat my three coops and we're in the midst of a cold spell that won't see the temperature above negatives (Fahrenheit) for a week.

 

[mamajos]

I’m in Minnesota and I keep all the vents open above the birds-they have down coats, and can handle the -17°F we have been having at night lately. (So inside/outside temps relatively the same) I worry more about frostbite and respiratory problems with a coop that doesn’t have enough ventilation. We don’t get -10° to -20° F for too long, a couple weeks or so, but they handle it. And I read about others north of me that experience colder temps, doing the same as I do-lots of ventilation, no heat.

 

[bcorps]

I’m in Minnesota and I keep all the vents open above the birds-they have down coats, and can handle the -17°F we have been having at night lately. (So inside/outside temps relatively the same) I worry more about frostbite and respiratory problems with a coop that doesn’t have enough ventilation. We don’t get -10° to -20° F for too long, a couple weeks or so, but they handle it. And I read about others north of me that experience colder temps, doing the same as I do-lots of ventilation, no heat.

My thing is...this Omlet coop I have is, with the exception of three approximately 2x8 louvered vents, locked up tight as a drum when you close the door. This has been the wettest um....forever...for the past 9 months. I check their coop daily, and I am finding their wood shavings are nice and dry. And I have SIX big fat Orps in a coop that Omlet says is good for four birds.

So I have about 48 square inches of ventilation, when the "recommended" would be 864 square inches. I even cover the whole thing with a big tarp when it's going to pour rain especially bad, or be very windy. Everyone seems fine...so far. So I am basing my opinions on my own albeit, fairly limited experience.

I'm not just trying to stir a pot. I am trying to figure out how the universe works.

 

[MissE]

Northern MN here. Our lows for the past 5 nights have ranged from -24 to -33 F. We will not be above 0 for a daytime high until the 15th at the earliest. I have no heat in the coop. We did insulate it when we built it, but with the amount of ventilation we need, I wish I hadn't spent the money. If I close it up tight, there will be frost on the walls and on the chickens. Not good. That's how you get frostbite. Chicken breath really fogs up a place. They need the ventilation so they can stay dry, which helps them stay warm.

 

[aart]

I think aart is "mostly" correct in his assertion that a lot of ventilation will make the insulation moot. But there are ways around it, I'd bet. I'll have to talk to some of my mechanical engineer buddies and see what they think. If there's a way to swap oxygen, carbon dioxide, and exhaled water vapor, while retaining the heat, it'd be glorious.

Well, sure a full HVAC system would allow you to keep a warm building.
But we're not talking about a human house, it's a chicken coop

 

[JedJackson]

Yep, adequate ventilation is the key during cold weather. Insulating isn't a terrible idea-- it may cut down on drafts (air flow where you don't want it) but I think it is unnecessary in well made coops.

 

[Jp617]

piles and piles of straw in the coop. the best heater mother nature ever made

 

[aart]

this Omlet coop I have

Won't even start down this road.

So I am basing my opinions on my own albeit, fairly limited experience.

That's refreshing.

I'm not just trying to stir a pot.

Funny, you sure ran up and jumped into the pot with your big spoon a-wavin!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

If there's a way to swap oxygen, carbon dioxide, and exhaled water vapor, while retaining the heat, it'd be glorious.

There is. Its called an ERV. Energy Recovery Ventilator. They are needed to remove moisture from the air while trying to preserve its "conditioned" (colder or warmer than outside) quality in buildings which are particularly "tight".

What's missing from many of many of these "discussions" is that a chicken coop is a SYSTEM. Many posters are so focused on making their chickens warmer, seemingly because it makes us feel better (we are "humanizing" the birds, for good or ill), that the other half of the equation is left out. Ventilation isn't critical because it keeps the birds cooler in hot weather (though it does that thing), ventilation is critical because it moves moist, ammonia laden air out of the coop. Without which, the now warmer chickens become walking breeding grounds for respiratory illness.

Someone, facetiously, suggested a wire coop - effectively infinite ventilation. And in some climates (generally arid), if large enough, that design works great. For those of us dealing with seasonally heavy winds and rains, some amount of wall to keep the rain out and block strong winds is a necessity.

Your coop has to do both - keep wind/rain out and keep exchanging outside air for moist, ammonia air inside the coup. Fail at one or the other, your chickens suffer.

 

[MissE]

Chickens poop. A lot. Would you like to be locked in a small, warm room with no fresh air and only a bucket for a toilet after you pigged out at Taco Bell and ate a pint of ice cream for dessert or ate a couple egg salad, bacon, radish sprout sandwiches? Or would you rather be a little chilly but have some fresh air?