chickens are pecking/eating the insulation in the coop

[gossamer]

Hello. We live in Wisconsin and have foamboard insulation in our coop. Unfortunately I didn't know that chickens would eat the insulation if left uncovered. Any recommendations to cover it easiyl?. The coop is 3x4 and unfortunately if there isn't an easy way to cover it I feel we'll have to remove it. We are also in the middle of a blizzard here which adds to the fun! Please let me know if anyone has any easy helpful tips! It is a vented coop and I use a heat lamp and have a water heater in there as well right now. Thanks so much, J.Oliver

 

[nhnanna]

I was going to say cover it with luan (sp) or particle board until you said you were in the middle of a blizzard. Do you have cardboard boxes you could use for now to cover it?

 

[crtrlovr]

if you don't have any cardboard, what about using some old sheets or towels tacked in place to cover it until you can do something more permanent?

 

[PortageGirl]

Use whatever you have and staple it over the insulation for now.

My thought is there needs to be a sticky or huge note in a building section about this because I know it's been talked about over and over, (not that you didn't read things gossamer, I'm sure you did) This is such a well known issue with chickens but new people seem to just get sideswiped with it over and over, but yeah, chickens seem to be fascinated with foam insulation!

It's hard for us to gather all these warnings in one spot, but it's hard for new Peeps to research it all too. Sorry this happened gossamer, just get it covered with whatever you can. Understand though that your chickens don't really need heat, just no or very limited drafts, you could even take it out, and I've lived in cold places too, so have chickens. Research the info about chickens and cold and insulating coops. It's rarely if ever truly necessary and usually causes more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Elphaba2140]

I just went through this exact same thing! Every day or so for about 1 week (starting 2 weeks ago) I would find a new sheet on the floor of the coop. I kept bothering the husband to fix. Now with the approaching Blizzard it was really important. So yesterday he tacked it on top of the roof as he couldn't get inside due to the weather and then wrapped it in heavy black plastic sheeting. I also wrapped the North side of the house and the pen under it with a tarp. We shall see how it goes over the next few days.
He plans to reinstall in Spring and also put a thin sheeting over it to protect from curious beaks!

 

[Vanessabuffsnsilkies]

I used old feed bags and the plastic the pine shavings come in to cover styrofoam insulation. Isn't the prettiest thing you've ever seen but it works. And I like the idea of recycling plastic bags.

 

[gossamer]

Thank you all so much for the replies. Very helpful .I'll get to it! Take care, Jessica

 

[bjash]

I used the cheapest paneling I could find at the hardware store and screwed it in through the insulation into the OSB behind it. Works great!