Minnesota winters....PVC strips?

[Mayakovsky]

Has anyone considered installing (or actually installed) PVC strips across an open coop door to help keep the temps warm during a cold winter day, while still allowing chickens to enter and leave the coop at will?

I have heard that one's chickens could be trained to pass through the PVC strips quite easily.

This is what I found online as a possible source....

https://www.pvcstrip.com/replacement-strips/extra-low-temp/

Ideas? Reactions?

 

[BYCforlife]

Seems interesting! As long as it's really light, I think the chickens could learn. I can also see it keeping the chickens "stuck" inside, it just depends on the flock.

 

[Mosey2003]

I can't imagine chickens really pushing their way out through strips, clear or not. And you know how chickens are once they get out of an enclosure, they never seem to find their way back in
You could cut a couple in order to make a hole the size of a pop door, that would probably work.

 

[Mayakovsky]

There is a previous thread that touches on this -

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/will-chickens-go-through-a-flap-like-a-dog-door.44987/

I will try to do it gradually - strip by strip - and see what happens....

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
I'd like it if it kept the house wrens out of the coop!
Be careful that you aren't blocking necessary ventilation, which is most important.
Mary

 

[aart]

There is a previous thread that touches on this -

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/will-chickens-go-through-a-flap-like-a-dog-door.44987/

I will try to do it gradually - strip by strip - and see what happens....

There you go! Have read several installs working well like this.

Please post some pics as you go.
Here are some guides to assist you:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3/?prefix_id=3

Oh, and...Welcome to BYC! @Mayakovsky
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[Justso]

Yes! I used it in my first coop. Since then I found it unnecessary, I now leave my door completely open in the winter. Even in the polar vortex.

 

[Alaskan]

It can work.... but remember that you need lots of ventilation to keep the chickens healthy....

I can only see it useful if the pop door is in a funky location where rain and snow are always blowing in...and for some reason you can build a shelter for the pop door.

 

[aart]

I built a glass foyer, and an awning, for my pop door.
Pop door faces our wicked west winds,
it also protects the area of the run that's under the coop,
the only shelter in the run and has another window panel put on on the north side during the winter.

 

[ChickenWaterer]

Folly and Alaskan make a good point. The reason you want ventilation of your coop is because your chicken's poop when they roost and the poop gives off lots of ammonia gas. This gas needs to be flushed from the coop so your chicken's don't experience difficulty breathing. You don't want cold wind blowing on your chickens when they are roosting, but you don't want the coop so tightly sealed that ammonia gas builds up. At very least, you should have a vent in your coop.