The why's of NOT insulating a coop

[KathyJB]

I've read several threads about insulation and see that a lot of you suggest NOT insulating the coop, but I didn't really see why you shouldn't or don't have to. I guess I could google it, but I would rather hear from the voice of experience. My chickens stay outside most of the day and I have a box fan inside. I live in Texas around 70 miles west of Houston. My coop is under Live Oak trees, but when that west sun hits, I shut the west double doors to cut the heat some.
Hubby says don't insulate, but I was thinking it would help to insulate the ceiling since there is so much of it. My coop is barn shaped. I've already painted the chicken side of the ceiling with porch paint to lighten the inside. (I love that stuff)

 

[Cargo]

If built properly, your coop should have giant open ventilation areas. (1sq ft per chicken)
With that much open air, the temp inside the coop should be the same as the air outside of the coop.
So Insulation would not really help.

 

[Mavrik]

The main reason not to insulate is the above mentioned vents, it's just a waste of time and money. Venting is mainly at the top of the coop above the chickens, heat rises, so heat (and moisture) produced by the chickens flows out the vents and cold air flows into the coop, simple convection. The colder the ambient, the faster the convection exchange in the coop. For summer heat, insulation is just one more thing that gets hot from the sun (insulation saturation), the best thing is the shade the coop. Insulation is designed to SLOW down heat transfer from enclosed climate controlled structures.

The amount of ventilation needed really depends on the ambient humidity. I have about 2 sqft total of venting for 14 heavy breed chickens and never have an ammonia issue, it's dry here.

 

[NDBirdman]

Glad I saw this thread, am new and curious about this subject.

I have 11 French Copper Marans, 2.5 months old and 2 guinea same age. Here in warm ND, I am in the process of insulating the coop. The reason, it hits -25 f some days during jan/feb. Wind chill gets down to -100 f some days/nights. Do I need heat and insulation in this extreme cold temp? The inside of the coop is work in progress, but is 12 ft long by 6 ft wide, will probably open up the adjoining room that is heated/insulated, same size. I figure I will open up the windows/doors a couple hours a day for fresh air. Should I forget the insulation and heat?

Thanks
John

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here are a douple of articles someone in Ontario wrote. They might help answer some of these questions.

Pat’s Big Ol' Ventilation Page
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

Pat’s Cold Coop (winter design) page:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures

 

[duckinnut]

While my girls have plenty of shade to get out of the mid-day summer sun the coop gets a fair amount of sun at the height of the day. My coop is a slant roof ant the whole top end soffit is open for ventilation. That being said, the first summer was brutal and with an asphalt roof that really sucked the thermal radiation,you could feel the heat being transferred from the shingles through the plywood and into the coop. So I decided to insulate the roof bays with R-13. It made a difference immediately. It brought the coop temperature down by 15 degrees at least. It went from being warmer than the outside temp. to lower than the outside temp. It shields out the winter cold and acts a a sound barrier as well(had 4 roosters at the time). While the choice is yours I strongly recommend it more so if your coop gets a lot of sun. You will definitely notice a difference. The only problem I see in yours is that the bays are 24"OC which can be a pain because most insulation is 16". I truly believe it is worth the investment. I think it was only $25 to do mine. 8'X8'

 

[Stumpy]

I live in the south and have a tiny wooden coop. Because my roof doesn't have sheathing and the roost is so close to the tin ceiling, I put stiff foam insulation under the roof only. It makes a tremendous difference in the temperature, keeping it so much cooler.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

While my girls have plenty of shade to get out of the mid-day summer sun the coop gets a fair amount of sun at the height of the day. My coop is a slant roof ant the whole top end soffit is open for ventilation. That being said, the first summer was brutal and with an asphalt roof that really sucked the thermal radiation,you could feel the heat being transferred from the shingles through the plywood and into the coop. So I decided to insulate the roof bays with R-13. It made a difference immediately. It brought the coop temperature down by 15 degrees at least. It went from being warmer than the outside temp. to lower than the outside temp. It shields out the winter cold and acts a a sound barrier as well(had 4 roosters at the time). While the choice is yours I strongly recommend it more so if your coop gets a lot of sun. You will definitely notice a difference. The only problem I see in yours is that the bays are 24"OC which can be a pain because most insulation is 16". I truly believe it is worth the investment. I think it was only $25 to do mine. 8'X8'

I live in the south and have a tiny wooden coop. Because my roof doesn't have sheathing and the roost is so close to the tin ceiling, I put stiff foam insulation on the roof only. It makes a tremendous difference in the temperature, keeping it so much cooler.

I have to agree here. I live in a very hot climate and my coop gets blasted by the sun for a few continuous hours in the worst part of the afternoon. I used Reflectix radiant barrier insulation (I think it was only R-4). Adding the modest single layer of insulation brought the temperature down inside 5 to 10 degrees lower than the outside at the hottest part of the day, even though my coop is highly vented. I can imagine that R-13 would be excellent.

 

[clogan98]

So I might need to just add insulation to the roof? I have a peaked roof (small coop 4x6) but I'm in the high desert and it gets the afternoon sun blasting it. Metal roof shingles. I've been worrying about if I should insulate it or not.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

So I might need to just add insulation to the roof? I have a peaked roof (small coop 4x6) but I'm in the high desert and it gets the afternoon sun blasting it. Metal roof shingles. I've been worrying about if I should insulate it or not.

If your coop is hotter inside than the ambient temperature just outside the coop at the hottest time of the day, then yes, I would recommend insulating.