Eliminating Drafts

[JABehrens]

Hi everyone! I am renovating an old coop that used to be a rabbit hutch. The boards on the sides and back have a slight gap, and I bet it's very drafty in the wind. You think I should use caulk or a liner inside of some kind to seal it from drafts?

The bottom is also open, covered with hardware cloth, a couple of feet up off the ground. I was thinking of putting removable panels around the bottom, or at least a tarp, to keep drafts from coming up below them, and adding some kind of litter or substrate below them. What do you think?

It's got good ventilation at the top, with vents under the eaves of the roof. It'll be nice once I've fixed it up! Thanks!

This isn't my actual coop, but the design is very similar.

 

[TalkALittle]

For the gaps between boards you could install battens.

 

[JABehrens]

That would work. Other options include cardboard, plywood, some kind of plastic board ...

 

[aart]

That's awful small for a chicken coop.

 

[blackdog043]

What size is your hutch and how many chickens do you want to keep?
If it's even big enough to use, I would cover the sides with plywood or something similar and put plywood over the wire floor.

 

[junebuggena]

Small gaps are not really a cause for concern. You do need to cover that wire floor though.