Tending Livestock in [Freezing] Winter

[tortoise]

can't you stack some hay bales to create a wind-break and another layer of insulation around a chicken coop to keep more of the heat in?

i'd think that for birds as long as they are dry and out of the wind they can pretty much cope with a lot more than we can.

I have a rat problem under my coop. Yikes. Otherwise, straw bales around would probably help a lot to keep the wind from drawing warmth away from the coop floor.