New member looking for advice

[Hunterschock]

I am new to chickens and just picked up 12 chicks, 7 are isa browns and five are americanas.
I live in central Minnesota and am currently building a coop, my main question is do I need to insulate the coop for the cold winters?

 

[fldiver97]

Nice to have you here!
I used to live in Wisconsin. My old coop there did not have insulation or electricity. It was a large old shed that I gutted, put vinyl flooring remnant over the old wood floor and cut several windows and vent openings high up into the walls. Chickens need a well ventilated coop but no drafts. The top vents were well above the roost levels. The windows had screens (reinforced with 1/2 inch hardware cloth same as the vents) and were part way open in mild winter weather. Chickens will tolerate cold as long as the coop is well ventilated and doesn’t hold the moisture from accumulation of poop.
Here is a link to coops, run and maintenance
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/#raising-backyard-chickens.64
You may get a lot of good ideas there, coops of all types sizes and situated in different climates