R-8 Insulation in coop? Weather-sealing?

[awarmrainyday]

I know the topic of insulation has been discussed often, but now I'm seriously considering insulating my coop and I'm wondering if I need to insulate it like I would the walls in my house or just a little to see benefits. I live in PA and the past few years we've had some brutal winters. Last year I dealt with some frost bite on the roosters even while having a heat lamp and a ceramic radiant heater in the coop for them. It was COLD. I don't want a repeat so I'm thinking of insulating and adding one of those clear plastic doggie door flaps that amazon sells to the chicken door. But I'm on a very strict budget and the cheapest most decent insulation I can find to fit in my 2x3 walls is an unfaced R-8 fiberglass batt insulation (rolls). I figured I could staple that up to the walls and ceiling and then cover it with big pieces of corrugated cardboard. Eventually I'd be able to replace the corrugated cardboard with 1/4" OSB.

Also, ideas on insulating/weathersealing the human doors? My coop is a converted Lowe's wooden shed with wooden double doors- gaps all around and in the middle. Last year I tried the foam stripping, stapled the crap out of it, and it just all crumbled and fell off or was picked off. The one side I can seal shut for winter but the other side I obviously need to be able to go in and out of several times a day. Thoughts?

And another thought, my floor is just treated plywood with pine shavings on top, I wonder if installing linoleum on top the plywood would be of any benefit if there are any cracks between the plywood...

 

[RonP]

My immediate thoughts are that your coop is not properly ventilated.
Most breeds will tolerate cold well.
When cold, think dry, not warm.
Could you describe your coop ventilation?

 

[awarmrainyday]

I have a 14x24" steel house gable vent in the back wall of the coop. I did partially block that off last winter because a lot of cold air was blowing in from there. I installed an 18x24" window to open during the summer, obviously that doesn't help in the winter. The shed is by no means air tight by I wouldn't consider it drafty except for the annoying door setup. I did have a regular waterer with a heat lamp over it last year (which was useless because it was so cold the water froze anyway) but I have since ditched that because of spillage and switched out to a gravity fed nipple waterer system. Maybe I should ditch water in the coop altogether for winter? I just hate to make my babies go out in the cold and snow to get a drink if they don't want to.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Is your gable vent on the side that gets the wind in winter?
If so you may need to put a baffle only to direct it up.

What is the roof made of? If it is exposed metal on the inside you may need to do something there to stop the condensation forming.

Putting water outside is a good idea. A way to do it so they don't have to walk in the snow is to put it under an A frame structure. Think saw horse with plywood sides. If you put it so that they enter it before going all the way into the yard they can get to it before seeing snow.

 

[RonP]

A simple rule is 1 square foot of draft free ventilation per bird.

How many birds, and how many square feet of ventilation do you have?

Moist humid air will cause all sorts of health problems, including frostbite.

 

[Molpet]

I have hoop coops open to the south and a small opening on the north... no frostbite last year at -17f or so
before in a wooden box coop they didn't have frost bite when it was - 17f but when it warmed up and a wet snow came in and the humidity was 99% at 30f they got frost bite.. terrible ventalation in that box.
ventilation is important to prevent frostbite https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop.47774/

if you have cold hearty breeds you don't need to heat the coop, silkies are a different story, they don't have feather that retain heat like most chickens
if you don't heat the coop they aclimate to the cold, they do have a down coat on.. if you heat and they go out in the run they can't put a coat on and are not used to the cold.. if heat and lose power they really suffer.

 

[aart]

A simple rule is 1 square foot of draft free ventilation per bird.

How many birds, and how many square feet of ventilation do you have?

Moist humid air will cause all sorts of health problems, including frostbite.

Pics too please.

 

[awarmrainyday]

Forgive me for my slow response, I've been battling some sort of flu and have barely been managing basic functions. I'll try to answer some if the questions. This year I am over max capacity but we have plenty of roost space and everyone seems comfortable. I have 41 chickens (5 heavy breed, 14 bantams and the rest standard). We do have silkies. The coop is 8x8 and the poop board is raised up 12" off the floor so the space under it can be used. The ceiling is plywood and the roof was done with heavy duty rubber roll roofing. The only vent is a full size house gable vent on the wall that usually doesn't get direct weather. The coop is raised about 2 feet off the ground so they use a 6' ramp to get in and out of the coop and in the winter time 3/4 of the underneath of the coop is tarped off to give them and the ducks an outdoor sheltered space. They have 24/7 access to a 1300 square foot outdoor run when they aren't allowed to free range and they usually spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter unless we get a bad snow storm. The ducks come in and out of the coop looking for feed or draft free spot to rest (usually under the poop board) and they were spilling water last year and I think that was a big problem. Would it be crazy to put a dehumidifier in the coop? I'm not looking to really heat the coop, just make it feel more protected and wind resistant. I do use the chicken ceramic heat plate but that only provides a spot to warm up if you are practically touching it. I might see about making a little protected watering area near the coop. I'll try to get picture tomorrow!

 

[BarredRockMom]

I know the topic of insulation has been discussed often, but now I'm seriously considering insulating my coop and I'm wondering if I need to insulate it like I would the walls in my house or just a little to see benefits. I live in PA and the past few years we've had some brutal winters. Last year I dealt with some frost bite on the roosters even while having a heat lamp and a ceramic radiant heater in the coop for them. It was COLD. I don't want a repeat so I'm thinking of insulating and adding one of those clear plastic doggie door flaps that amazon sells to the chicken door. But I'm on a very strict budget and the cheapest most decent insulation I can find to fit in my 2x3 walls is an unfaced R-8 fiberglass batt insulation (rolls). I figured I could staple that up to the walls and ceiling and then cover it with big pieces of corrugated cardboard. Eventually I'd be able to replace the corrugated cardboard with 1/4" OSB.

Also, ideas on insulating/weathersealing the human doors? My coop is a converted Lowe's wooden shed with wooden double doors- gaps all around and in the middle. Last year I tried the foam stripping, stapled the crap out of it, and it just all crumbled and fell off or was picked off. The one side I can seal shut for winter but the other side I obviously need to be able to go in and out of several times a day. Thoughts?

And another thought, my floor is just treated plywood with pine shavings on top, I wonder if installing linoleum on top the plywood would be of any benefit if there are any cracks between the plywood...

Hi, I'm in W PA & had to make some modifications to our set up for the weather, too. 1) insulation: how about using your empty feed bags to cover? Depending on your coop construction, you could put the roll inside the bag (turn bag inside out first), then install. Or open top & bottom of feed bag, cut along one side seam (making a large rectangle & use that to cover the insulation. Then you have used those heavy feed bags for something after the feed is gone.

2) I tried foam around doors once upon a time, too & got same result as you. Now, felt weatherstripping on the other hand has been great!

3) My floors are the same as yours & they seem to do fine as-is. I just keep lots of pine shavings down, clean up every night (because I am ruled by my girls) & we don't have any troubles.

I do put plastic, opaque sheeting (in the heaviest thickness...from local home improvement chain in paint drop-cloth section) over the enclosed chicken yard & all around the underside of the house. The yard stays toasty & dry all winter. I throw down a couple of straw bales so that their little feet don't get too cold on the dirt & if it's over 40 outside, they can be in their yard. Heck, sometimes it's warm enough in their yard when it's less than 40 outside! So they get sprung from chicken jail on those days, too!!

I do have a part of the yard, near the apex of the roof uncovered to allow for some movement of air, which seems to work well. I can cover if it gets bitter out.

 

[JackE]

41 birds, in a 8X8' coop. With ONE 14X24" vent. You have no where near, enough ventilation/fresh air flow for that many birds, in that size coop. Insulation, would only make it worse. Really, you need to more than double the size of the coop. And remove the sheathing from one of the walls, and cover with hardware cloth. The humidity those birds are going to generate this winter, in that coop, is going to be a BIG problem. You'll probably see a lot of frost, and probably ice, in the coop.

I have a coop (Wood's coop) with the whole front wall wide open, year round. That's a 3.5X8' opening. The coop and the chickens in it, have seen -10F temps (Not including any windchill). None of them have ever suffered from frostbite, And I have a few large combed hens, or any kind of respiratory problems.

It's not what you want to hear. But insulation would be a TOTAL waste of time and $$$. Adding insulation, as they say, would be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Having the water fount in, or out of the coop won't matter at all with your setup. To fix this, you need to double the size of the coop, and add some big holes/ventilation. It's as simple as that.