Alternative Insulation?-(especially plastic bags)

[barnkat]

Any advice/info/experience on using plastic bags as insulation? I'm starting to build coops/pet houses to sell and it would be nice to use cheap "green" recycled material for insulation.

I have access to a LOT of big plastic bags at my job that are just getting thrown in a dumpster right now.

I've read some old threads about using cardboard (don't think I want to use it because of poor insulating value + possible mold), packing peanuts (mixed with other filler sounds nice but I'd have to go looking for it), recycled paper cellulose (nice but not free)...so I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts about using plastic bags or some other free recycled material as insulation.

 

[redoak]

Synthetic carpet pad, I think the R-value for 8 LB synthetic carpet pad is like 4.5.

 

[speckledhen]

I insulated an 8x12 addition to my coop with plastic bags. I think cardboard would be a mold issue in damp weather. Personally, I wouldn't use cardboard. Plastic bags work great.

 

[happyheart]

I put plastic up on the one side of the chicken house that is open for summer ventilation and it has really cut down on the wind and the cold, and also for blocking out the rain and keeping my bails of straw dry. I actually found rolls of plastic in someones trash and DH thought we might use it for something and it has proven very handy. Gotta love trash picking never know what you might find LOL.

 

[leasmom]

Okay, I know this will probably sound gross and stupid...but I have a question on the same lines. I have a rabbit hutch so the floor is wiring. I have three babies that are too small to go in with the adults yet and I take them daily and put them in their own run area and at night I put them in the rabbit hutch. I have a light and I have tarp covering to block air but with the floor being wire...air can come right in...I have some carpet that was brand-new and I don't need it...could I cut it up and put it in the coop and then put sawdust on top of it and change it out frequently...but would that be a health hazard for them??? Will the carpet be a breeding ground for bacteria??? Or should I just put down tarp???

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

leasmom, i use rabbit hutches as sleeping coops for some of my chickens. You can put down a piece of plywood with hay or pine shavings on top. Or i have used newspaper with hay on top, also. The newspaper works well to protect little feet from slipping through, it's cheap, and you can just toss it when it gets dirty.

 

[barnkat]

What I'm unsure of is: would plastic bags make a thermal bridge, conducting heat from the inside to the outside?

 

[leasmom]

THis is what I did...I took the carpet and put it in there and covered it with the tarp and then put the sawdust, that way the sawdust could be removed easily and the carpet wouldn't harbor germs and it would protect their feet and add warmth to the coop...being just three little ones I didn't think they could create enough heat even with the heating lamp to survive the extreme cold. Its already in the 30's here and has already dropped down before but I had roosters with them that kept them warm then now its just them. It is still ventilated because the front has nothing covering it but the sides and back have tarp but air can still easily flow through...

Thanks for the advice!