to insulate or not to insulate

[micareli]

I built a functional 12 deep 8 wide and then some (aint nothing square..... )..... 8x8 house, 4x8 roosting area with the droppings pit, In far western KY Winter hits from late Nov to early spring.... ( highs can range in the 70's during any of these months, lows can be -10 to 30)

i have tek foil paid 125 per 1000 sf, now it cost about 450....... i have several rolls of r13 and r19 fiberglass left over from building the house..... so should i to insulate or not to insulate..... or hang some infared red heat lamps

 

[Judy]

I certainly would not hang heat lamps on grown chickens in your climate. If you have the insulation anyway, you could go ahead and use it. It may also help keep the coop cooler in summer, which is more likely to be a problem time for them than winter. Just be extra certain there is good, high up ventilation, especially if it is insulated, because you certainly don't want humidity and ammonia being held in the coop.

 

[micareli]

so if we do nothing.... this winter should we not hang even a heat lamp.... they are now 7 weeks old so by winter they will be 7 months old

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Chickens can deal with cold, as long as there is no drafts. We get colder and we don't use a heat lamp.

 

[TwoCrows]

It is never advised to add heat to fully grown chickens. They can adapt to the lowest of temps, even -30 degrees. Many folks here from Alaska keep chickens in uninsulated coops! Chickens are hardy and you will only be endangering them. By adding heat, you are not only preventing them from ever being able to go outside all winter, but heat and cold air mixed makes moisture. So you may be asking for frostbite. Insulating your coop is fine, but do not add any heat on a regular basis. If one night it gets down to -30, then you might want to add some heat. Otherwise, let them adapt to the cold.