I just put up an 8x8 shed to use as a coop. Not getting chicks until next spring, tho. I need to insulate the coop yet - it gets down to 30 below zero here in Minnesota at times. What would be the most appropriate insulation - the fiberglass batting stuff? How much ventilation will be needed?

Thanks - Frosty Chick

-- Jane FLynn (flynn4@netzero.net), October 17, 2001

Answers

if animals arent going to be useing it,, why insulate it. Alos,, you will beurprised how much heat a bird can put out. The main thing is to keep if draft free,, but you want the ventilation for the summer

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), October 17, 2001.

Here in Kansas I have had good results with a heat lamp instead of insulation. The extra light keeps by birds laying. It does a good job to about -5. I might have less trouble if my coop was better ventilated: chickens get cold when the humidity is high. Drafts may bnot be good for the birds but neither is humidity!

-- (hooperterri@prodigy.net), October 17, 2001.

i also live in minn and yes you need insulation if you need to save $$all of the old chicken coops have straw in there walls mine has the new improved sawdustand it works great but you will still need either a lot of birds or a light as their feet combs and water will always freese so i have a heat lamp right over the water.my brother who is amish uses a gas lantern and says that gives enough light to keep them laying.

-- leroy hamann (yorel_56714@yahoo.com), October 18, 2001.

We live in Alberta and can get a stretch of -40 celcius weather in the winter so we insulated our chicken coop with fiberglass insulation. It can get quite warm but we have cross ventilation via screens that have an insulated cover to go over them when it's cold. We figure the cost of the insulation is worth it because there will be very few days that we have to turn on a heat source. We also put in 2 old windows on the south side and they solar heat the coop quite nicely.

-- Susan Banks (susan.banks@sait.ab.ca), October 19, 2001.

If you need something cheap and reusable try stacking straw bales around the outside of the coop. You can cover them with a tarp if you want to keep them dry. Otherwise, by spring you can spread them on your garden for mulch.

We just got about 35 bales, some will insulate one side of our house, some will be used in the kennel, some in the coop.

-- LBD (lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), October 22, 2001.