Housing for chickens in 5A climate

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

how many chickens are you getting? the red sex links will do fine..however i am more concerned that if they dont have enough room to move. they will peck each other..i would go bigger, and then do some insulating..my coop isnt tho, but i have golden comets and they are very winter hardy here in PA. they arent much different than the red sex links..
Good Luck!!! you will love your chickies!!

cindy

Also if it's too small, humidity will build up inside the coop which will cause more problems than chilly temps.

Welcome to the Poultry forum Msjuris!! We love chick pics! Thank you! We may not answer right away sometimes, but any questions you have are more than welcome here.. there are a lot of wonderful folks here to help, or give suggestions.

I agree with Cindy.. I'd go at least 4x8 cause if you end up with any more chickens.. LOL(which is not impossible) You will wish you went bigger in the beginning.. Cindy is right.. crowded leads to all kinds of problems.

Don't worry.. I'm betting they will have a wonderful home.

Oops, I forgot to mention how many chicks. I bought 4 pullets and one roo. I got the rooster with the hopes of future expansion of the flock. Plus I saw some threads about how much enjoyment you all get from hatching your own eggs. I think my kids and I will enjoy that.

Cindy, thank you for setting my mind at ease about whether the chicks can tolerate PA winters.
Saanansandy and ZZs, thank you too for pointing out the other issues I didn't give any consideration. Looks like hubby is going to have to go ahead and build me a bigger coop right from the start.

Oh boy.. let the games begin! :)

The first very hard lesson I learned that I thought I was prepared for was predators.. I knew we had coyote, skunk, possum etc.. but I didn't prepare for the neighbor's dog! I had no clue how strong he was, or how much damage he could do in one night..

Now I've learned that if they can be seen, they are in danger at night.. so everything gets closed up at night... in wood, not wire. :)

Here is the rabbit hutch I thought was secure..