Should I insulate or not?

[SMonroe1990]

I am having a really hard time with this. I've read where people do insulate, then people don't. I am in upstate New York and some of our winters get really harsh, talking negative 40 degrees at the least. I don't really have a way of running a heat source up to where my coop is located. The top part of the coop near the roof is being kept open, I am going to put hardware cloth over the openings to prevent predators of any other nuisance of an animal getting in. Should I insulate the coop to help keep the chickens warm in the winter months? Should I only insulate a couple of the walls and leave the other two "undone" so it doesn't get too stuffy, but gives them some extra added heat? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am looking to move my girls outside in about three weeks so I need to finish the coop and get it all set up before then. Thanks in advance.

 

[CityFarmer202]

Does it have windows?? when your be facing -40 i would definitely insulate and open windows/doors to air it out during the nicer days. You wouldn't want their combs and toes to freeze!! Good luck!

 

[vehve]

If you do insulate, do it all around. Insulating just parts is wasting money. Good ventilation will be needed anyway. Most people on BYC seem to somehow think that insulation and ventilation block each other out, but that isn't true. I decided to go with the insulation, and I use peat moss as bedding which is super absorbent. I don't have experience with winter chickeneering yet, but in the summer the insulation has kept the coop cooler than the outside in hot days, which is nice. How my coop works in winter, we shall see, but I do not foresee any major issues. I might end up fan forcing then airflow, if needed, or cutting some larger vents.

Many people here keep their chickens in Alaska in uninsulated coops, and they do just fine. The benefit of insulating an unheated coop in my opinion, is that you can significantly slow down effects of quick temperature changes, so if you get an unusually cold night, the whole coop won't immediately cool down. Same thing with hot summer days.

 

[SMonroe1990]

I didn't think of it that way. Yes it does have one window so I guess I will insulate and on the slightly warmer days when I can get them to go out into their run (it is going to be partly roofed in so they can still go out) I will open it up so it can air out during the day too for a bit. Thanks for the advice.

 

[vehve]

As long as you keep the roosts out of the draft, there's nothing wrong with keeping windows open in the coop while they're in there either. You can just close them up when you get considerably colder or windier weather.

 

[SMonroe1990]

Thanks for the advice vehve. Im sure my husband is getting fed up with me by now, i keep changing my mind on how i want the coop set up and everything.. first i wasnt going to insulate then i was then i wasnt and now i am.. he just shakes his head and says whatever i want.. But with some of the freak winters we can get here i think insulating is definitely going to be a good idea.. thanks again vehve and CityFarmer202 for the advice!

 

[CityFarmer202]

welcome

 

[JackE]

Check out the link below. In it, you can read about people keeping chickens in open-air coops in -40 temps. Chickens, unless you have some kind of thinly feathered breed, can EASILY handle cold weather. They, like other birds, are built for it. They are provided by nature with a perfectly insulating suit of feathers, and don't need any help from us. Other than providing them with a nice draft free, but WELL ventilated coop. Insulation, as far as cold weather goes, in a coop is really useless. A coop is not like your house, where you have a furnace, and you have insulation to try to keep as much heat as you can inside. A chicken coop,even in the coldest days of winter, MUST be well ventilated. Much more harm is done, than good, in attempts to "KeepThemWarm". People shut their coop's fresh air flow/ventilation off, then the humidity levels in the coop quickly go up, mostly by just the birds breathing. But the temps are still cold, so you end up with frostbite, and possible respiratory problems.
Another problem with insulating a coop, is that with insulation, you must have interior walls. If you don't, the chickens will happily shred the insulation. But with interior walls in a coop, you will have just provided a perfect place for insect, and rodent pests, to setup house for themselves. All safely out of view of you, to come out and harass the birds whenever they want. Save time, effort and money, and forget about adding useless insulation to the coop. Make sure the coop has good ventilation/airflow, and the chickens will take care of the rest.


http://archive.org/stream/openairpoultryho00wood#page/n0/mode/2up

 

[bigmrg74]

I'm going with some thin insulation on my coop. Basically, its some HD bubblewrap with foil on both sides of it. Iater on I'm going to put tin siding on to cover it up. Right now though it kind of makes my coop look like the Heart of Gold from the show Firefly, so I think I now have a cool name for it.

 

[SMonroe1990]

Thanks guys for the advice. I think I'm going to have to do a bit more google research or something since everyone is making such valid points. I'll see what I can dig up though.