to insulate or not

[Leavingegypt]

I am working on my first chicken coop and I am wondering if insulation in the walls is a good idea or not. We live in NW Ga. so we very rarely get snow on the ground, but summers can be hot. The coop will have good ventilation including doors that can be opened (screened over of course) in addition to flow thru air hole on top.
We are leaning towards putting the coop (4x8) on top of a 2 ft run space, so the chickens have a sheltered run space.

 

[Judy]

Your chickens will have a lot more trouble with heat than cold. Personally I wouldn't insulate in that climate, but I'd be sure there was plenty of air flow for summer, as well as shade.

 

[duckinnut]

Its a matter of choice. If you got the time and money,do it. Insulation also can keep summer heat at bay as well. I know after I insulated the roof joist bays the temp in the coop during the summer went down by 15 degrees. It works as a sound retarder too, so when Rocky decides to belt one at 4:30am he is not waking the whole neighborhood up.

 

[JackE]

Insulating the roof will help with summer heat (I have that on the MaybeSomeDay list for my coop). As for insulating the walls, you don't really need it. When you insulate the walls in a coop, you have to have interior walls, otherwise the chickens will shred the insulation. When you have interior walls, you are giving a nice hidden place for mice or other pests to set up housekeeping of their own. Having GOOD ventilation is way more important than insulation.
Jack

 

[SunnyAlberta]

For those of us that get bitter cold winters, how does that change your recommendations about insulation? Here we can go down to -30C which is -22F and get deep snow. The spot I'm considering for my coop is between a shed and a fence, so drafts would be minimal.

 

[JackE]

For those of us that get bitter cold winters, how does that change your recommendations about insulation? Here we can go down to -30C which is -22F and get deep snow. The spot I'm considering for my coop is between a shed and a fence, so drafts would be minimal.

I would say you STILL don't need it. The chickens have their OWN insulation, and they can handle the cold. There is more than a few people on this site that deal with temps like that, and they don't bother with insulating their coops.
Jack

 

[ScottM]

Hello southern ab, I'm in northern bc,

I'll agree with ventilation over insulation, but also add that you should choose a hardy breed with a pea comb.

 

[Leavingegypt]

Thanks everyone for thei input. The coop is being started today and we have decided not to insulate the walls, maybe just the roof. We live in a climate NW Georgia that recieves very little snow (if at all) but the summers can be tough. We are doing lots of ventilation for the girls and BIG Al. Once again thanks for the advice and your experiences. this community is wonderful.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Just wanted to tell you to DEFINITELY raise the coop so they have a sheltered run under it. I did that with mine, and it is the girls favorite place to hang out. I throw alfala hay under there for them and they LOVE scratching it up and laying in it, and they hay stays dry under there.

 

[georgiagail]

I live in Georgia also (Augusta) and we did not insulate any of our coops but did build them where most can receive shade (under a large tea olive tree, one under pear trees). These were built with plenty of ventilation; each has four windows. After placing the roof trusses, these were covered with hardware cloth, then purlins were added and finally the roofing material (Tuftex). We went with the clear Tuftex for light but you could consider using white for heat control. Pictures of the process are below:









Interestingly, the run needed more "insulation" than the coop. We added a shade cloth to this:



Hope this helps!

Gail