rigid foam insulation?

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Sorry, but shavings have an R-value of at least 1ish to 2ish, depending on the details of the shavings. Even if you assume R 1, that still means that 9" of shavings bedding gives insulation equal to a 3" fiberglass batt or 2" rigid foamboard. And IME I strongly suspect that bedding-type shavings are more insulative than that. Plus of course you can put in as much bedding as you like; and it serves double duty, since chickens can snuggle down into it if they are cold.

And shavings have the big advantage that mice cannot set up shop in them (well, not very effectively, since the chickens tend to notice and go looking for a snack

)

Just speaking from experience here,

Pat

 

[Chieftain]

Quote:
Sorry, but shavings have an R-value of at least 1ish to 2ish, depending on the details of the shavings. Even if you assume R 1, that still means that 9" of shavings bedding gives insulation equal to a 3" fiberglass batt or 2" rigid foamboard. And IME I strongly suspect that bedding-type shavings are more insulative than that. Plus of course you can put in as much bedding as you like; and it serves double duty, since chickens can snuggle down into it if they are cold.

And shavings have the big advantage that mice cannot set up shop in them (well, not very effectively, since the chickens tend to notice and go looking for a snack

)

Just speaking from experience here,

Pat

And again, it depends upon your coop design. 9" of shavings sounds like a lot of material to me, especially if that's where you are suggesting to start with. Why would I use a 9" deep bed inside of a coop if three inches of fiberglass or styrofoam will accomplish the same thing?? Besides, the top layer of shavings would probably be a lot warmer than the bottom layers, and any liquid in those lower layers would have zero chance of evaporating out in cold weather.

Another reason to keep that floor warmer is to help prevent the litter from freezing solid in these cold weather spells we are having in many parts of the Country. Good ventilation properly sized is essential to vent CO2, moisture and ammonia from the coop air, but if everything is frozen solid in the litter, nothing can evaporate until the weather warms up for the liquids in the litter to start evaporating again.

Ammonia does evaporate at a relatively low temperature but the evaporation rate of any gaseous substance will decrease with temperature until it condenses into a liquid. If your chicken deposits ammonia excretions in warmer litter the ammonia will evaporate more readily and be carried out of the coop in the ventilation, which is one of the reasons why every source I have read on coop design emphasizes a steady regular turnover of the entire air supply in the coop several times a day.

How many threads have we seen at BYC in the last month describing this very problem of litter stinking horribly after the cold weather warmed back up, even a little?? I'm not suggesting that there is any one answer, but there are multiple causes for some of these problems, and many of those can be ameliorated with appropriately installed and protected insulation in the floor as well as the walls, especially in a raised coop. And as always, and as I have demonstrated in my design, protecting the insulation properly will prevent problems with rodents.

 

[patandchickens]

Chieftain, it is always nice to have theories, I am not against the general practice, but you are going to be very surprised how much different things are than you *think* they'll be, once you actually GET some chickens of your own and keep them for a while.

And it might be valuable for people if a distinction was drawn between what one THINKS should happen, versus what one has years of experience SEEING happen.

The two are often different. And it's what ACTUALLY happens that matters.

Pat