Wind turbine and Insulation

[kingsdaughter]

Does anyone have any thoughts on wind turbines? I just installed one on my coop and Im wondering if it will be a problem in winter.

I decided not to insulate my coop but just to have an air space between outside and in. I also heard that if your not going to heat the coop that if you insulate then you will have moisture problems ion winter. I bought cold hardy chickens and I did read somewhere that you dont need insulation or heat as long as the chickens dont get heat and then its taken away.

 

[justusnak]

We have a turbine on top of our coop. During the winter I climb up there and cover it with a plastic trash bag, and of course Duct tape. ( cure all around here) LOL We have RIR and never heated the coop. Several nights were below 0. I just put lots of straw in the floor...and they were able to snuggle in and stay warm. I did have a heat lamp on the bantams tho...they are so small..and just looked cold.

 

[kingsdaughter]

so then how do you get ventilaton in winter? Do you have any vents in the wall? Do you cover those too? I need o figure out what I need to do with vents. Will they let in too much cold air in winter?

COld weather people what do you do. Im trying to finish my coop and I need some one with cold weather experience.

 

[MTchick]

I made roofline vents that open and shut on hinges. It worked great this spring when I wanted to heat the coop because my chicks were young, and now they are just always open to allow a breeze along the roofline. There are 4 vents with covers- two in the front, and two in the back.

Open, to allow airflow;

Closed, to conserve heat;

Hope that helps with your planning process. Here in Montana we have very hot summers and very cold winters, so I designed this to be flexible with the weather. So far, so good.

-MTchick

 

[kingsdaughter]

So do you open them in winter at all?

Is your coop insulated or do you just have an airspace between the walls?

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

We insulated ours with foam board in the walls (cover it or they will eat themselves out of a coop). no problems with moisture yet.
We keep their door to the run open all the time (unless its not going to get above 0F for the day cause they dont like going outside when its that cold) and if you add in all the times a day the wife and kids are going in and out looking for eggs or feeding treats they get plenty of fresh air.
Chickens can get frost bite on their combs legs and toes. We rescued 6 hens last winter and one of thems toes fell off, so your going to want to be able to provide enough heat to keep it above freezing inside their coop. It doesnt have to be like a sauna in their they do (usually) come with their own down jackets.