How to insulate a chicken coop for the winter with your own hands: instructions and are birds afraid of frost

With the advent of winter cold, the egg production of chickens falls. This is due to a decrease in daylight hours and a drop in temperature. Having carried out simple work on warming the chicken coop, you can support the layers, create comfortable conditions for them, and thus provide the family with eggs in the cold season. Consider what conditions chickens need for wintering, how to properly insulate the chicken coop.

Are chickens afraid of frost?

In winter, the price of eggs in stores is steadily rising, as in order to maintain egg production, you have to spend money on lighting and maintaining heat in chicken coops.Although chickens are unpretentious, they can withstand a significant drop in temperature, they do not want to rush in such conditions.

Features of the life of chickens at different temperatures:

1. Chickens can live comfortably at a room temperature of at least 15°.
2. It is acceptable to release chickens for walks at temperatures up to -10 ° for no more than 1-2 hours.
3. Chickens are laying without reducing productivity, with indicators of 23-25 °. If the temperature is lower, the number of eggs decreases. Below 15 °, the egg production of chickens drops markedly. Below 5 ° hens do not lay.

The cost of obtaining eggs in winter increases significantly, many consider the maintenance of laying hens in winter to be of little use. In order to have domestic eggs in cold weather, the chicken coop will have to be insulated for the winter.

Important: when preparing the chicken coop for winter, it will be necessary to insulate, disinfect the room, provide lighting and ventilation.

How to insulate the floor?

Cold air sinks down, so insulating the floor in the chicken coop is the most important task. A thick layer of heat-insulating material will provide chickens with a comfortable stay indoors. The cheapest and most effective way to make the floor warm is natural bedding. You should not feel sorry for the material - a thin layer will not cope with the task.

The layer should be 10-15 centimeters. Chickens will be happy, because they love to dig in the husk and earth with their paws.

Moss peat

Excellently absorbs moisture and litter marsh moss peat. The legs of chickens remain dry and he althy, fungal diseases and dermatitis develop less often. Peat absorbs the smell of chicken coops.

The use of peat protects against general unsanitary conditions indoors. After replacing the litter, the peat is preserved, it will still be an excellent fertilizer for the beds.

Straw

Straw serves as an excellent thermal insulator for the floor. For chicken coops, it is combined with hay, which makes the layer soft, fragrant. Useful herbs will additionally protect chickens from infections. It is important to find clean, fresh straw and dry grass, with no signs of decay or excessive moisture.

It is recommended to lay a layer of 15-20 centimeters, regularly stir up the litter, add fresh straw when caking and chopping.

Shavings and sawdust

Pleasant material for chicken legs - wood shavings. They have a lot of useful properties:

• absorb moisture;
• scent the room;
• shavings of coniferous trees emit essential oils - disinfect chicken coops, protect laying hens from diseases.

Shavings are combined with sawdust in a ratio of 3 to 1. The litter in the chicken coop is regularly stirred up, when caking, a new layer is added.

We warm the walls

If the owners dream of getting eggs all winter, you need to insulate the walls. Most chicken coops are built of wood, the thickness of the walls is usually determined by the climate of the region. Log and plank walls need to be insulated. The building is thermally insulated from the outside and inside, using different types of materials.

The most effective way to keep the heat in the chicken coop is to build a crate of timber and lay insulating material inside. In modern conditions, these are usually synthetic fillers - mineral wool, foam plastics. You can use natural - straw, sawdust.

Hay and sawdust

Before laying in the walls, natural materials are thoroughly dried, mixed with slaked lime in the proportion of 1 part calcium hydroxide to 25 parts of insulator.

A layer of vapor barrier is laid on the walls inside the chicken coop, the seams are fastened together. Then the boards are laid tightly butt on top. Between the boards and the vapor barrier, the main material is poured - hay, sawdust, straw, dry foliage, coniferous needles. Pack firmly.

Mineral wool

For fixing mineral wool, a crate is installed with a distance between the bars less than the width of the material by 1-2 centimeters. A vapor barrier is placed on the wall, sheets of mineral wool are tightly butted, and they are attached to the wall. Another layer of vapor barrier is covered with mineral wool on top, it will keep the moisture coming from the chicken coop.

Styrofoam

Excellent lightweight material with a fine mesh structure that retains heat due to air bubbles inside the polymer. Supplied in handy sized sheets. They are attached to the wall of the chicken coop with plastic "mushrooms" with wide caps that do not destroy the plastic material.2 "mushrooms" are used for each sheet.

A vapor barrier is laid on both sides of the foam, sheets can not be connected to each other.

Polyurethane foam

Lightweight insulation material based on polyurethanes. Possesses low vapor permeability and high waterproofing properties. Produced in the form of plates, building foam, which quickly hardens.

You can use any option to insulate the chicken coop - the slabs are attached to the walls, the mounting foam fills the gap between the wall and the plank crate.

Reference: any kind of finishing material is put on top of the insulation and battens - non-corrugated slate, drywall, lining. The trim helps protect the insulation from chickens that love to peck at everything.

How to insulate windows and doors with your own hands?

Heat leaks out of the chicken coop due to drafts, through ill-fitting doors and windows. In order not to freeze the chickens, before the cold snap, work is being done to close up the cracks, restore the integrity of the door and window frames.

During construction, a double frame is provided for the window. The opening itself is best done from the south or east side in order to increase the flow of light. When cold weather sets in, a sheet of dense polyethylene is attached to the frame, filling the gaps with foam rubber or felt.

The door frame is insulated around the perimeter with felt or dense fabric tape, the threshold is raised so that it does not blow on the floor. The door is upholstered on both sides with insulation - an old carpet, carpet, felt.

The main thing is not to overload the door so that it does not lead in the frame.

Ceiling and roof insulation

To prevent the rising warm air from leaking through the ceiling and roof of the chicken coop, they are carefully sealed using hydro and vapor barrier. Use heat-insulating materials with a thickness of 5-15 centimeters.

Sequence of work for the roof:

1. Waterproofing is laid under the roofing material. It is attached to the beams with a construction stapler, the joints are connected with adhesive tape.
2. Lay insulation (mineral wool, polystyrene) so that the sheets do not fall out, pull the rope or twine between the rafters.
3. Covered with a vapor barrier fabric, sealing the joints with tape.
4. On top of the insulating protection, a decorative finish is laid - drywall, plywood.

The same materials are used to insulate the ceiling. To prevent the insulation from getting wet, put a vapor barrier film. If the attic is not used, cheap bulk materials can be used for insulation - sawdust, shavings. Most often put mineral wool or polystyrene. The cracks are sealed with crumbs with polyurethane glue.

A ventilation gap is left over the thermal insulation and boards, plywood sheets are laid on which you can walk or lay food for chickens, inventory.

Heating systems

Even in an insulated chicken coop, hens cannot maintain the temperature necessary for the production of eggs with their heat. In most regions, laying hens will please with an abundance of eggs only in heated rooms.

If the chicken coop is located near the house where the family lives permanently, the most cost-effective and safe is to connect it to the house heating system. It is advisable to build a chicken coop near the house so as not to pull and insulate pipes with water.

Let's consider what heating systems it is advisable to use in chicken coops, how experienced amateur poultry houses heat their laying hens.

potbelly stove or brick oven

The most simple and affordable option is a brick oven or potbelly stove. Heating requires a boiler or stove and a chimney. Pros:

• easy installation;
• simple inexpensive fuel;
• easy care.

Significant disadvantages of this type of heating are almost open fire and, as a result, low fire safety. From an accidental spark, the chicken coop bedding can quickly flare up. In addition, fuel has to be constantly thrown up, which is possible only for those who are at home most of the time and can watch the chickens.

Diesel oven

Diesel-fired chicken coop stoves are safer, have a temperature control to keep the heat at the right level. They are smokeless, do not poison the air with an unpleasant odor.

When choosing a diesel oven, a power calculation is required to ensure the correct heating of the chicken coop. You must always have a supply of fuel. For many, diesel prices are too high to operate diesel stoves.

Installation and purchase of a chicken heating stove also requires significant costs.

Radiator

Radiators are a safe and convenient way to heat your chicken coop. Electric radiators do not require the constant presence of the owners, they supply a constant flow of heat, its intensity can be set by the regulator.

If necessary, put an additional device for heating chickens, radiators are mobile, they can be moved to the right place.

Obvious drawback - high electricity bills, which many can not afford. When installing radiators, it is necessary to take all the wires into special boxes, install reliable electrical outlets so that curious chickens do not damage the equipment and do not suffer themselves.

Infrared lamps

When using electrical devices to heat the chicken coop, the easiest way to reduce costs is with the help of infrared lamps. These devices do not heat the air, but directly the objects to which they are directed. Advantages of infrared lamps:

• easy to install;
• complete security;
• low power consumption;
• positively affect the he alth of chickens, protect against infections;
• large selection of types - stationary and mobile, panel, film.

With the help of lamps it is convenient to heat individual places, directing them, for example, only at chickens. Among the shortcomings, experienced poultry farmers note the high price, the need to have a constant supply, as the lamps often fail.

Many people keep chickens for the summer, but, getting used to the delicious eggs from their laying hens, decide to keep the bird in the winter. Insulation of the chicken coop helps to provide the chickens with a comfortable and safe existence in the cold season, and the owners - to eat he althy and tasty eggs all year round.

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