Removable wind/rain protection....... how do I do it?

[purpledonna]

My girls are housed in a bird aviary at night and free range when I am home. There is a small covered run attached to the aviary for times when I am out. The aviary is made of galvanised tin and wire. My first winter is coming and I would like to add some kind of removable wind/rain protection. I live in Australia and our winters are fairly mild....I have never seen snow!.... the protection would need to be removable due to our extremely hot summers.

Any ideas?

I thought of using fibreglass sheeting or perspex in order to allow the light in still....


I am a beginner when it comes to 'making things' but will give it a try!!!

Thanks

Donna

 

[SoJoChickens]

Greenhouse-grade plastic sheeting may be another good option if you can secure it so it does not flap in the wind. I used this for my brooder and it has worked well.

 

[purpledonna]

Thanks for the idea.

Will investigate what I can find and then give some thought on how to attach it....... before I buy anything!!!

 

[eastbaychicks]

I have a sunbrella awning on top of their run. It keeps the rain off, sun out and blocks the wind a little. I made it custom for the top of the run... a few grommets (hammer and you're done) anyone could do it. I love the stuff. It would probably work on the walls as well. outdoorfabric.com had it for really cheap. Removable and it folds up really small. I'm in Cali so I have the same need.

 

[teach1rusl]

I don't know whether your fabric stores would carry it or not, but here major chain fabric stores carry a super thick clear vinyl (comes in a roll...just like regular cloth material). You could make a light weight wooden frame (think 1 x 2s or some other thin type of wood) with the vinyl stapled on, and then just screw these frames (staple side toward the aviary for even better stability of the vinyl) onto the aviary. Just get a small bit that will drill through metal. It would really only take a few screws for each panel, and could be removed easily.

 

[Intheswamp]

Howdy Donna. If you could post a photo of your coop we could get a better idea of what you are working with. Being as you will not be in a very cold place you probably don't have to go to an extreme. Something as simple as a light colored tarp placed on the side that your prevailing wind comes from might even work for the winter. What are your normal low temperatures? Fiberglass...unless *well covered* with epoxy/resin I just don't like it...when it ages it gets a bit scary to me, of course I've never had a lot of interaction with it and probably have only been exposed to cheap examples of it.

Best wishes,
Ed