To insulate or not, that is the question

[atoy]

I live in Midwest MN ( an hour from Fargo ND) and am building a 4x6 coop. Should I insulate? I will also have electricity, what type of heating element should I get? I want to stay away from heat lamps.

 

[DobieLover]

I live in Midwest MN ( an hour from Fargo ND) and am building a 4x6 coop. Should I insulate? I will also have electricity, what type of heating element should I get? I want to stay away from heat lamps.

You don't need insulation and you absolutely should not install heat lamps!
It is a common misconception that coops need to be kept warm for chickens to be warm during the winter. That's just not true. What they need is to have very dry coops so that they can keep themselves warm during winter. That means having as close to one square foot as possible of ventilation per bird year round in the coop. And removing the poop load daily will help as well as not keeping any open water source in the coop.

 

[WIchickMama]

I am in western WI--we did insulate just the walls but left the floor and roof open/not insulated. LOTS of ventilation like others have said is key and nope we don't use any sort of heat at all! All my chickens did great! if you can wrap your run (assuming you build one) they will then be able to go outside in the winter and not be stuck in the coop

 

[3KillerBs]

You might find my coop ventilation article helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

If your ventilation is adequate then the coop will have the same temperature and humidity as the outside.

But, if your ventilation is placed correctly then there will be no drafts chilling your birds.

 

[4timandlisa]

I live in Midwest MN ( an hour from Fargo ND) and am building a 4x6 coop. Should I insulate? I will also have electricity, what type of heating element should I get? I want to stay away from heat lamps.

We live near International Falls, temps easily -20 and lower for weeks at a time, plus wind, plus snow…
We built our coop this year and yes, we insulated! We built our 10x10 coop like a house and then added lots of adjustable ventilation. Our humidity DROPS in the winter so we weren’t too concerned about high humidity in the coop, we do not heat the coop but use Sweeter Heaters above the roosts to heat the birds. We have 9 birds total. Our coop has a run on the east and a run on the west that we wrap with multiwall polycarbonate panels in the winter to keep the wind out.
Hope this helps!
Edit to add…also, the insulation helps keep the coop much cooler in the summer (VENTILATION IS KEY!!).

 

[aart]

I live in Midwest MN ( an hour from Fargo ND) and am building a 4x6 coop. Should I insulate? I will also have electricity, what type of heating element should I get? I want to stay away from heat lamps.

This article might help you out:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[aart]

If we don’t insulate at all will that mean no eggs.

Egg production has nothing to do with insulation, or warmth.
It's all about light, length of day and/or timed supplemental lighting.
First year layers will often lay thru the winter with no supplemental lighting.

 

[WIchickMama]

You won’t get eggs because they freeze in the nest?

This happens if they are left in the cold, I didn't have any freeze last year even when -30F+ but I work from home and went out every hour or so.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Chickens really do well in the cold , their fluffed feathers are like wearing down parkas. My first winter 2020 as a newbie my hubby and I were so fearful of the cold, (that was that terrible polar storm that went clear to Texas)! But unless it's blowing and/or wet they hang outside.
One BYC member here brought up a good point, that if you heat coop they don't grow as "tough" and if you lose power they aren't as capable in cold as those that have been raised with no heat. My first year I kept on a light bulb to keep warm but I didn't last year after seeing them choose to be outside no matter what. Just a FYI.
Now conversely they HATE hot and that's were the work at keeping them cool comes in, which is exactly opposite of what I thought as a newbie.
I did add a heated waterer which keeps water warmish and helps keep them warm in winter though.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I wrap lower sections of my coop and run during winter with clear tarps and have a sweet coop heater over the roost, and I think it's a great thing to have. I have a few hens are more hardy and don't care about it, but I also have some hens who don't handle -20F cold well love it. Without the heater, I might have a few dead chickens during the coldest nights.

Okay I can see that I only have cold hardy birds and have stayed away from others for that reason. Heaters like that are much safer than lamps!!##_&_#. Too many fires with those things