Thin material to cover insulation?

[GardenChickens]

Hey!

Our coop is insulated with pink styrofoam sheets and the walls are covered with thin wooden boards but there are some areas around the door and the sides of the door that are not covered. Unfortunaely the chickens love to eat it so I need some way to cover it. I need a very thin material, otherwise the door won't close which will also look halfway decent. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[junebuggena]

Why do you have your coop insulated? If you're coop has enough ventilation, then insulation is kind of pointless.

 

[GardenChickens]

Why do you have your coop insulated? If you're coop has enough ventilation, then insulation is kind of pointless.

It gets really cold here and insulating the coop was suggested to me by many. I'm not going to take it down...and that wasn't the question I was asking.
Thanks for your time anyway

 

[Dmontgomery]

"Linoleum" countertop material? Sheet metal? I assume it needs to be thin but strong enough they won't peck it apart.

 

[GardenChickens]

"Linoleum" countertop material? Sheet metal? I assume it needs to be thin but strong enough they won't peck it apart.

Linoleum could work.. I might try that. Would I just glue it down though? I don't know about the sheet metal because I'm not sure how I would cut it, I'm assuming a regular saw wouldn't do it?

 

[junebuggena]

The problem is, in cold climates, sealing up a coop to make it airtight is a really bad idea. Ventilation is critical in cold climates for preventing frostbite. And if you have enough ventilation, than the coop won't really be much warmer inside than the outside temp. If you are trying to hold in heat, you will also be holding in ammonia and moisture, both of which can be deadly to your flock.

 

[Howard E]

Whoever told you to use insulation gave you bad advice. The only insulation I would ever consider using would be under a metal roof (if I had one) to prevent condensation. Otherwise, insulation is not needed. What birds need to stay warm is to stay dry and that means a lot of ventilation to vent the moist air they themselves create and that means a high turnover with fresh outside air. The insulation / ventilation issue is counter-intuitive, so is a common mistake a lot of coop builders make.

But you already have it and so need to button it up to keep them from pecking at it, which is almost universal where it exists and is exposed. Is this something trim boards of the type used around doors and windows can cover? This could be any old type of board or even plywood, it's the concept of being like a trim board I'm thinking of. If not, and this is a different issue, there could be a lot of options to help, but I'm having trouble visualizing what you are describing.

Any chance you could post a photo of where this is taking place?

 

[TalkALittle]

I wouldn't waste my time or money on something to cover it up. I'd just rip it out. I'm in New England. My coop has 4 inches open all the time all around the eaves and an 18×24 inch window that I leave open on all but the coldest days.

Other posters are right. You might think it good to insulate to keep heat in, but your also keeping in moisture. If you vent enough to remove the moisture properly, you lose any benefit of the insulation anyway. Moisture will give you more problems than cold will though so an uninsulated and properly ventilated coop is the better choice.

Where are you located and what are your average winter temperature as well as the extreme lows that your area sees?

 

[PingoBags]

1/8 plywood works well. Super cheap and durable enough to stop pecking through.
It's thin enough you can score it with an utility knife or easily use a small hand saw.

Another thing people use is old feed bags. If you have enough feed bags, it wont cost you anything.

 

[SueT]

I had same issue of chickens eating insulation. I covered it with cardboard and it has been fine for a year. (Our coop has metal walls on 3 sides so I insulated it to keep heat out, and it's much improved.)