Need insulation ideas!

[blackacres]

Hey y’all! I picked up a used 8x12 shed this weekend that will house my breeding Seramas. I need ideas on how to insulate. I live in KS so our Winter temps can reach 0 and occasionally, even lower. Ideally, I’d like to be able to keep it above 32*F and will supplement with a heat source when needed.

What is your preferred method of insulating? Deep litter isn’t an option for breeding Seramas as they are in row cages and don’t spend a lot of time on the floor because all their out of cage time has to be heavily monitored for breeding purposes.

EDIT TO ADD: I am very aware of the importance of ventilation and the repairs and adjustments that need to be made. Those things will be done. This post is specifically asking about insulation because Seramas need to be kept above freezing temperatures.

 

[azygous]

I doubt any insulation will keep the coop temps above 32F without supplemental heat with the exception of digging a hole and dropping the coop inside it. The earthen insulation would then keep the coop at a pretty uniform temp in the 50s.

I used regular fiberglass home insulation in ceiling and walls. For the floor, I laid down half an inch of layered newspaper with roofing tar paper stapled down over it, then vinyl flooring over that.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Make sure you have enough ventilation to keep your birds healthy in that shed. Excess moisture and ammonia build-up will be more harmful than the cold.

Put the ventilation holes in the coop before you insulate. I would frame out some ventilation openings above the highest cages that you will be setting up.

Whatever you use to insulate the walls, make sure to cover it with a solid material that can handle the high humidity caused by their poop, water dishes and breathing AND will keep them from eating it. I thought my chicks couldn't get to a sheet of foam board that I had set outside the brooder to insulate from a block wall - those little stinkers got big enough to reach it and ate an entire corner of before I found out.

I don't know about Seramas, but my chickens do fine in their unheated coop here in northern Wisconsin. I don't heat their coop at all. My crazy chickens are molting right now, and it is 15 degrees out this morning. They are outside looking for scratch and doing their usual chicken stuff, lol. Since I don't heat their coop, there is no worry about them if the power goes out. As long as my chickens can get out of the wind, their down under-feathers keep them warm.

The chickens with large combs have gotten some frost-bite on the tips of their combs, but that is because my coop is solid concrete - floor, walls, and ceiling - so I am having a hard time getting enough ventilation. In really cold temps, the walls in my coop get a thick layer of frost, but the chickens seem fine and active. Since my coop is so solid, I have lights in there and they tend to lay all year for me. I do shorten the light hours in the fall, in an attempt to get them to molt before winter.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Ventilation is MUCH more important than insulation. 0 isn't particularly cold for chickens. I'd recommend against, focus on fixing the water damage and adequately ventilating that shed.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Seramas need warmer temperatures than most chickens. Below freezing they tend to do very poorly based on what I've read (hence why I don't have those cuties).

I would stick with a heat lamp or two, that's just my personal opinion. I have absolutely no clue how to insulate buildings though

 

[blackacres]

I doubt any insulation will keep the coop temps above 32F without supplemental heat with the exception of digging a hole and dropping the coop inside it. The earthen insulation would then keep the coop at a pretty uniform temp in the 50s.

I used regular fiberglass home insulation in ceiling and walls. For the floor, I laid down half an inch of layered newspaper with roofing tar paper stapled down over it, then vinyl flooring over that.

I have a way to supplement with heat. I’m more trying to figure out an affordable way to insulate so that I have to use less supplemental heat. I was looking at rolls of fiberglass insulation. Did you cover the insulation after placing it?

 

[blackacres]

Make sure you have enough ventilation to keep your birds healthy in that shed. Excess moisture and ammonia build-up will be more harmful than the cold.

Put the ventilation holes in the coop before you insulate. I would frame out some ventilation openings above the highest cages that you will be setting up.

Whatever you use to insulate the walls, make sure to cover it with a solid material that can handle the high humidity caused by their poop, water dishes and breathing AND will keep them from eating it. I thought my chicks couldn't get to a sheet of foam board that I had set outside the brooder to insulate from a block wall - those little stinkers got big enough to reach it and ate an entire corner of before I found out.

I don't know about Seramas, but my chickens do fine in their unheated coop here in northern Wisconsin. I don't heat their coop at all. My crazy chickens are molting right now, and it is 15 degrees out this morning. They are outside looking for scratch and doing their usual chicken stuff, lol. Since I don't heat their coop, there is no worry about them if the power goes out. As long as my chickens can get out of the wind, their down under-feathers keep them warm.

The chickens with large combs have gotten some frost-bite on the tips of their combs, but that is because my coop is solid concrete - floor, walls, and ceiling - so I am having a hard time getting enough ventilation. In really cold temps, the walls in my coop get a thick layer of frost, but the chickens seem fine and active. Since my coop is so solid, I have lights in there and they tend to lay all year for me. I do shorten the light hours in the fall, in an attempt to get them to molt before winter.

Thank you for suggesting ventilation and covering insulation. This isn’t my first coop (just my first Serama coop), so I am aware of the ventilation needs and that will definitely be done. Crazy that your birds are molting right now!

 

[blackacres]

Seramas need warmer temperatures than most chickens. Below freezing they tend to do very poorly based on what I've read (hence why I don't have those cuties).

I would stick with a heat lamp or two, that's just my personal opinion. I have absolutely no clue how to insulate buildings though

Yes, they don’t do well below freezing. That’s why I need to insulate their shed. They are currently in my garage with a heat plate.

 

[blackacres]

Ventilation is MUCH more important than insulation. 0 isn't particularly cold for chickens. I'd recommend against, focus on fixing the water damage and adequately ventilating that shed.

0 is WAY too cold for Seramas. I already know I need to ventilate and make some repairs to the shed. Those are not my questions, hence why I didn’t ask about them. I do appreciate it being added for people who don’t know these things though.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

I would suggest covering your insulation with a board similar to horse stall panels. it's easy to clean and no edges for them to pull insulation out of