Door draft deterrent

[amarsano]

I live in the northeast US and have automatic doors on my coops and runs. I also have thermostats with IR heaters that run to keep the two above 10°F in the winter. Ive noticed that when the doors open the temp drops, which is not remotely surprising. I was wondering if anyone has used anything like the plastic slit "doors" that they use in industrial facilities to help keep the cold where it belongs. Obviously, they wouldn't be that big. If you've used something like this, do the birds enter and exit without issue? I can't use plastic sheeting because my birds think it's a tasty treat. Aside from the standard temperature flow, a couple of the doors that get hit hard by the wind, I'm already thking about putting up some aort of wind break. Any thoughts?

 

[StinkyAcres]

Do you have other sources of ventilation? Lots of airflow is important, so I wouldn't close everything up, especially during the day.

I made my own curtain flaps by cutting up an old shower curtain liner and stapling them over my pop doors. My chickens quickly learned on their own how to go through them. I can't say they keep the cold air out, but they do keep most of the snow and rain out.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Here's another photo of my door flaps. In order for them to close properly they need to sit just above the sill.

 

[TheDandyLion]

I added the same thing this year to my coop. I don't know if it really helps that much, but what it does do is tell me just how much airflow comes through that door.

With my hens, I added the plastic to their door while they were still inside. Then opened the door. They at first were very hesitant to go near the door. Something is wrong with this... normal chicken behavior. The desire to go outside is far higher than the fear of change, and out they went.

 

[Penpal]

In a commercial application there is no draft. The air is still. In your application the plastic would always be moving even just a little.

I wouldn't worry about the draft. The fresh air will be warmed up soon enough. A wind break might be more useful. I set up my hoop house so that a shed breaks the wind.