Rural Gardening: Housing for chickens in 5A climate, 1 by msjuris

msjuris wrote:
My husband is graciously building me a chicken coop, however, we are concerned about whether or not the coop will be warm enough for the chickens over the winter. Depending on who you ask, we are in a zone 6,5b or 5a. We are building a 4' X 4' coop (like a big dog house). Do I need to insulate or run electricity out to the coop for some type of heating? I'm not concerned about continued egg production over winter. I'm more concerned about frostbite. The chicks are hybrids, Red Sex Links if that makes a difference as to how well they will tolerate cold weather.

We have never had chickens before and are a little nervous about this new venture. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Marcy