New to site - Chicken Coop Question

This will be my first Michigan winter caring for chickens. We didn't insulate the coop originally because my husband believed that it would make the coop very hot in the summer. With winter on the way, I'm concerned we made a bad choice. That coop gets cold at night and its only September. It has 3 small windows (2 on south wall and 1 on the west wall). Should we insulate our 10x12 coop? Any other suggestions. BTW - We have 1 RIR, 2 Wyandottes, 3 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Barred Rock, 1 Leghorn, 2 Ameraucanas, 3 Isa Browns, 1 Rooster (Ameraucana), and 1 Peking Duck, 1 Rouen Duck. They all live together. Thanks everyone.

This message was edited Sep 29, 2009 2:32 PM

I don't know how cold your winters are, our's get down to 10 above and mine are not insulated, the girls do fine. I know your colder though and that would cause me concern for frozen combs and wattles more than anything else. I surely would put carpet remenants over the windows to keep the cold out. Wished I could hellp more but I just don't know the area, I'm sure some in your area will respond though. Haystack p.s. welcome to the forum.

I live in northern maine so it gets really cold here at times,down to 20 below a few nights out of the winter,I had a really small coop last winter and its not insulated but I did run a heat lamp when it was really cold and my rooster did get frost bite on the very tips of his comb.I have a new coop now and it is insulated,and I allso insulated the little one this summer and my silkies will stay there this winter.

If you do insulate and use styrofoam, cover it with something. Chickens will eat it for some unknown reason. I do think for the comfort of your chickens, I would insulate.

On our MN farm (in the good old days) we used straw bales for insulation, stacking them up the walls. As we depended on even diminished egg supply, we would also keep heat lamps on the ladies. Just don't put heat lamps too close to the straw bales.

Usually insulation works for temp control both summer and winter, but maybe that's not an option right now. Do your chickens and live in the coop, or do they have outside access during the day? If it's only a "night" residence, plan on closing off the windows with as little air exchange as possible. Often the enerated "chicken heat' can help to moderate temps, but you don't have enough to count on that (see p.s.). I might even try to divide the coop to make a smaller space. Use deep litter, and if possible, get a wire/cord in there that you can hang a light from. They don't really need it to be "warm", just not bitterly cold. If they live in the coop, I'm not sure what your options are other than a heat source, but closing it up would reduce the ventilation that they surely need.

p.s. It's obvious that you need more chickens....:)

Hi again. Well to answer a few questions and ask a few more. I plan on running a heat lamp - how low does it have to be? As I don't want them to break it and start a fire. I will check into styrofoam insulation and some paneling to cover it. Would straw bales on the outside of the coop covered mostly with a tarp (to keep them as dry as possible) be as effective? If I put straw bales on the inside they would only have a very small area to live in. I don't want fights or the rooster to sexually attack them constantly. Men geez. :) The chickens are inside the coop to lay eggs and to sleep. The rest of the time we have a fenced in area behind the coop for them to spend their day. Well I will cover the windows, get a heat lamp and heater for the metal water dish in the coop. Also check out insulation/paneling. The other idea I got off another posting was to let them out of the fence for a few hours each night to forage. The dug up everything down to dirt in their fence. p.s. I do need more chickens and I tell my husband about it often. He just looks at me like he's going to kill me. LOL. If I go missing from the site - you'll know what happened. Thanks for the welcome too. I feel at home here. See you soon.

We are the same zone you are in, and we don't insulate our coops. They are draft-free but do have ventilation at the roof level. You don't want moisture levels in the coop to be too high.

Last winter we had two NH Red roosters (big combs) and they got the tips of their combs frostbitten but that was it. We had a few nights that got down to -25F but most of the time it's not quite that cold. This year we have a Barred Rock cross rooster with a small comb so I expect he'll be fine.

Put a good deep layer of bedding down - wood shavings, straw, etc. - at least 8-12" deep I would say. Fluff and turn it every so often so it will start to compost and that helps not only insulate the floor but will help moderate temps.

The windows you have should provide some passive solar warming during the day. Our chicken coop has big windows on the south and west sides and the people door also has windows in the top half. The temp inside on cold days is noticeably warmer than outside.

Make sure they have plenty of feed on cold days, and either use a water fount heater to keep the water thawed or change the water as necessary. We give ours lukewarm water when we change it and they seem to like that.

Research has shown that small birds that overwinter in the north (chickadees for example) can maintain a temperature of 70F under their feathers next to their skin if their feathers are in good condition and they have enough to eat. Chickens have more body mass (obviously) to generate heat, and if healthy and well fed will be fine in cold weather. Buff Orpingtons in particular are like walking duvets. We used to have one that when she roosted would become a round ball of feathers with a beak sticking out of the middle. :) But the other breeds you listed will be fine too.

All that being said, do whatever makes you feel most comfortable regarding your chickens. :-)

I agree with catmad too, except I would add that you obviously need more ducks as well! :)

Well Tony won't let me have anymore Ducks. They are so messy. They are constantly motorboating in the drinking water. I can't keep things dry in the coop because of them. BUT they give me eggs too. Tony thinks I should get rid of the ducks and I've been considering it. If anyone nearby me wants them...let me know. I would prefer them not be eaten though.

My chickens would not go outside once the snow was on the ground,I had to put starw and hay down for them to walk on, that was the only way I could get them outside in the winter.

Gallesfarm gave you some very good advice, and I would add that the very best thing to keep them warm is to have at least 12 to 18 inches of shavings on the floor, they are inexpensive and offer food and heat for the girls. I keep 24" of shavings and when the girls till it under with the fecies it composts and creates microbial bugs they can find but you can't and they will dig down at night and keep very comfortable. deep litter is the way to go and needs to be cleaned once every 2-3 years. Haystack

You only need to clean the litter every 2-3 years? I clear all of it out every 2-3 months and add all new litter to the coop. I plan on doing one really good cleaning just before it starts snowing and add a bunch of pine shavings. Good advice. Thanks.

edited to say... I usually only have 6 inches of pine shavings on my coop floor lately. So maybe thats why I feel like I need to change it more often.

This message was edited Sep 29, 2009 7:02 PM

Deep shavings on the floor is excellent in country where the ground freezes solid. The manure will give off heat also.

Just for my own education ~ Haystack, you said

Generally no they don't roost on the floor, but what they do is during the day they will dig down in the shavings and dust themselves and keep warm at the same time. I have the same holes in the shavings as I do in the dirt during the summer when they are dust bathing. I can tell the difference in the heat as they constantly til the shavings. I have a fold up roost that I keep up so they can't roost during the day. Thanks for asking.

Niki your working to hard and wasting your shavings if you clean the coop every two or three months. Also it gives your shavings no time to compost. Haystack.