Eco-Insulation

[AK-Bird-brain]

We use foam board insulation behind 1/4 inch plywood. (has to be covered or they eat it)
We dont live at the arctic circle but were close!

 

[TerrasCritters]

No doubt we just got back from a cruise up there.
We ended seeing Hoonah, which was not on our plans, but since we had to skip Skagway because of the winds our captain took us to Hoonah (the other ships that were supposed to go to Skagway, just spent the day at sea) it was a nice little town, we didn't go INTO town, we stayed over by the cannery.
Anyway, thanks for the idea, my coops do not have walls, they have houses they go into, my buttons however do have a large house with lamp on because they are SOOO tiny, my DH was talking about insolating it but cant remember what the stuff is called, something with aluminum? Anyway we are going to put it up above the button level so they cant get to it, and I can take it off easy in the spring time, because it gets a little toasty in there.

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
Ditto on the foam board and plywood. We get well below freezing here in southern New England and it helps keep the drafts out. We have a very small coop so it didn't take much to do it.

 

[kayri]

Do you think if we cover foam board with a burlap they won't eat it? I am winterizing my coop ( a little late I know) and was going to just insulate the roof with pink hard styrofoam. For the most part they can't reach it to eat it except when they are up in the nesting boxes. I was just going to glue the insulation to my roof (which is on hinges and can be lifted) and then maybe staple burlap over the top of that. The coop is new, a little bigger than a large doghouse and is made of 1/2 in pine boards with battens (?) over the joins in the boards to keep out the drafts. I'm hoping it will be enough for my 5 girls. That and the deep litter method. (I am also in southern RI where we drop below freezing and even into the single digits for a week or so during the winter.)

Thanks

Worried in RI

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
They really will eat the Styrofoam. I'm not sure about how well the burlap will protect it. I'm going to be watching for the answer.

 

[McGoo]

If you want to go eco and use straw, you could do it like a straw-bale construction which would require totally encapulating the straw with a cement stucco product. That way rodents wouldn't get into the straw. Here's a site:
http://www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/strawbale.html
My son is insulating his coop with straw. He's covering it with wall board and/or plywood.

Actually no matter what the insulation, unless covered with wood or some type of sheathing, the chickens will peck at the foam or styrofoam. I can't imagine that burlap would deter them. And I don't think eating insulation is good for chickens!

 

[kayri]

I actually ended up just putting that pink foam styrofoam on the outside of the coop. the coop is raised about 3 ft off the ground so the chickens won't peck at it. The roof overhangs about an inch on all sides so hopefully it will keep the water out from between the styrofoam and the wood of the coop. There is also an air space 1/4 inch or so between the styrofoam and the wood so things cound dry out if they get wet. Hopefully it will work for the winter. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[patandchickens]

Probably the "greenest" option is to have used a high-insulation-value construction in the first place, such as straw bale or cordwood construction

if you're retrofitting an existing stud wall structure I suspect the best you can probably do, eco wise, would be to use sawdust or commercial cellulose insulation (made from wood/paper type fiber) or bulk wool. However, ALL of these materials need to be plastic-bagged -- sawdust and cellulose fiber lose most of their insulating value when damp and can grow mold (although they will do so less than straw would!), and wool can mold as well as becoming a moth farm. Therefore you would want to stuff them into heavy-duty plastic bags, then stuff the bags carefully between your studs as insulation batts AND COVER THEM OVER with plywood or what-have-you so the chickens don't peck them.

if convenience, durability and insulating value are more of an issue than "green" when retrofitting an existing building, any conventional material like rigid foamboard or fiberglass batts will work fine, but you still have to cover them with something to keep the chickens outta them.

Pat