Race against time: Building an insulated coop before the arctic air arrives.

[Rangergord]

First of all some context. I have been keeping hens in a tractor to work in my garden, orchard and nursery for a few years now.
When winter came I sent them over to my Daughters coop for the winter and flew off myself to Mexico for a few months. That was great for me but not the best for the birds. This year I am staying home and so I decided it was past time for a winter coop. I meant to start earlier building but medical issues got in the way and I finally started 6 weekends ago. Today as the sun was going down I shot these pics.

 

[DobieLover]

This is a Woodshed/Coop. 8 x 24 , 3-8x8 modules of post frame construction. Just got the repurposed metal roof on today. Some of the timbers and planks were purchased a few years ago now, Bought a few 2x4 boards this fall and a lot of scrounged, recycled pallet wood and building supplies from my shop that have been there for years. I have a good door and window and insulation. The coop will have a ceiling/floor with a straw loft above for insulation. There will be a ventilation plenum behind the loft through the soffits

Still no pictures.
The climate in your area during winter is similar to mine. You don't need insulation.
You need a very well ventilated, DRY coop with draft protected roost space. You will need a heated "closed" water source like a bucket with horizontal poultry nipples and a thermostatically controlled heater inside.
Chickens are well equipped to keep themselves warm.
This is part of my flock hanging out in the coop on a morning following a night that dipped down to -23F. They were fine.

 

[DobieLover]

I beg your pardon but you could not be more wrong. NY is like southern Ontario, a million miles away in Z5 and 6. You have a humid climate. Open air coops are possible. If I were to build an uninsulated coop frost and ice would coat the walls inside. It’s not that we have not tried to do it that way before. Insulation is simply not optional here.

A million miles? That seems far.
I'm in zone 5. I do not live in a humid climate. Especially during winter. Open air coops would be highly impractical here.

Regardless, there are chicken keepers in Alaska that keep birds in uninsulated coops. Frost and ice coat the walls because moisture was present to condense on the cold surfaces.

 

[cavemanrich]

There is more than one way to do it.
I use the attach files myself. Ether one will work.

 

[aart]

Just a quick note about the silver insulation - will it be out of pecking range of the chickens? I ask because they will peck anything shin

Ditto Dat...my birds pecked at the silver bubble wrap on the heated waterer.
Guess they like to pop those bubbles too!

Covered it with old plastic feed bag material, that took care of the issue.

 

[Rangergord]

Here it is now with the loft stuffed with straw. If I had side walls on the loft gables I could get more in there. I also put 12 inches of straw on the floor inside the coop.

 

[Shezadandy]

I am trying but no luck so far!

No pictures yet ... just wish to add that if you are somewhere very cold ventilation is even more important to get right to avoid frostbite on combs and toes.

 

[Rangergord]

So I know I said I was going to frame the vent but it can wait. I put the door in instead. It just seemed more important! Took three afternoons. It’s cold in the mornings now. I had this metal clad, foam insulated door in my shop with the plywood. I had to use a chisel to cut the hinge and door latch mortises, remanufacture an old wood door jamb frame and hang the door. Then I found a box of doorknob parts and put together a locking entrance knob.

If you are contemplating building a walk in coop think about finding a secondhand door and window(S). The cost of just one door and window could pay for all the lumber and plywood for a small to medium coop. I am so thrifty that I doubt I would build a coop if I actually had to buy a new door and window for it.
Now it is finally insulation time! YES! I just .love having fiberglass all over my skin driving me itchy and scratchy. I am not crazy about masks but in this case I will be wearing one.

 

[Thetinyfarm]

Yes deep litter all the way!
I thought it might be a good idea to use some wood shavings to insulate from the frozen ground so I put a couple bales down. Well a few days was all it took to find that both me and the birds hated them. The shavings got into the food, they were thrown out of the nesting box with disdain, they stuck to everything, including me when I went back to the house. If you think finding a needle in a haystack is hard, you should try wood shavings!
So back to straw, I like straw especially in my vegetable garden. The hens love straw. It is readily available and cheap.
I do like wood pellets and wood chips. I prefer hardwood chips for my fruit trees. I have a lot of chips but they were all wet and frozen by the time I needed them.

Yes, shavings do get EVERYWHERE I had so many little bits in one pair of socks that I threw the socks away!

 

[Happy hen lover]

If you touch the little icon to the far left right above your post ( that looks like a photo) it will let you drag a pic there just go to photo on phone that should work. (I had to learn the hard way myself.)