New to chickens

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Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
I'm not in Wisconsin but I'm in New York and we have pretty nasty winters here. You do not need to insulate. You do need as close to 1 sq ft of permanently open ventilation above the chicken's roosted heads as you can manage. If you have a predator proof attached run with a solid roof and a 2 ft predator apron around your entire setup you can leave the pop door open so the birds can go out to the run as soon as they come off the roost in the morning. This helps greatly with keeping the coop clean. As do the use of poop boards!
 
Coopdviille said:
New to chickens Have 6 new baby chicks in a brooder in our basement. Getting ready to build a coop with a run. Live in Wisconsin where winters are cold and thinking whether coop should be insulated or not. Any Wisconsin chicken advise ?
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Welcome to BYC!!
 
Winters in north central Iowa are ridiculously windy and frigid, too. My coops are not insulated, and while I worry all winter long, my chickens are usually fine. With proper ventilation, chickens are surprisingly adept at managing the cold.

Having said that, this past winter was a rough one. I lost one hen during a -20-something night when four chickens piled into a single nest box and she, a Bantam on the bottom of the pile, smothered. That coop isn't insulated, but has lightweight paneling attached to the framed walls for easier clean up.

On a happier note, congrats on your basement brooder babies! And, welcome to BYC, where a lot of experienced, generous folks will be happy to offer guidance whenever needed!
 

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