Insulating and winterizing the chicken coop

We had a new queen sized guest bed delivered a few weeks ago. Part of the packaging included two great big sheets of styrofoam.

I'm not keen on packaging. And I'm especially not keen on styrofoam. There's a huge amount of this stuff that gets used once and then goes into landfill - forever. So it's a great idea to try and re-use it whenever possible.

Styrofoam packaging, despite its environmental pitfalls, is an excellent insulating material. Some brands of underfloor insulation, for example, are just pretty much the same stuff - flat layers of styrofoam, attached underneath the floorboards, creating an extra layer between living areas and the earth.

Instead of my styrofoam sheets being a disposal problem, I turned them into a useful tool, by using them to insulate our chicken coop.

If you ever score similar packing material, you could do the same. Or you could use it to insulate a potting shed, or a garage. Anywhere there are no exposed electric cables is an easy place to try your hand at DIY insulation.

Here is how I insulated our chicken coop.

Before insulation - winterizing the chicken coop.

Prior to insulating the coop, I had to winterize it. This means I made sure that there were no holes where the wind or rain could come through and make our hens cold or wet. I also didn't want water coming through the roof and causing the insulation layer to get heavy and break.

Our chooks needed a warmer home in winter. Time for insulation!

This was easy.

I just went inside the coop, and looked for cracks where the light from outside shone through. There were a few.

Then I got some flashtape. You can buy this from Mitre 10 and other hardware shops. My roll cost me about $5 from the local discount store (The Warehouse).

Once the holes and leaks had been found, I sealed them over with flashtape. Now our hens won't feel the winter wind blowing up their feathers at night!

Insulation

To insulate the "living quarters" of our chicken shed, all I needed was a roll of gaffer tape, which cost about $5 from our local discount store.

Then my husband held the large sheet of styrofoam in place, while I hacked it down to size, then taped it in place with gaffer tape.

Halfway through the insulation process.

It doesn't look fancy, but it will keep heat in a bit better throughout winter.

The total cost of weatherising and insulating the chicken shed was about $10 - $5 for each roll of tape, and the styrofoam was free.

Why insulate a chicken shed?

Insulating my chicken shed means the chooks will be a bit warmer over winter. It means they will be happier, stay healthier, and hopefully lay more eggs for my family.

From an animal welfare point of view, our hens are our responsibility. They depend on us for adequate housing, clean food and fresh water. It is my job to care for them and make sure they are well looked-after.

Permaculture: the problem is the solution

Permaculture principles teach us that the problem is the solution.

In other words, the solution to every problem lies within itself.

In this example, I had a BIG disposal problem with the yucky styrofoam. It would have filled our rubbish bin for weeks, and sat in landfill for hundreds of years.

Instead of just dumping the styrofoam, I turned the problem on its head, and used this "waste" product sensibly - to insulate our chicken coop and keep our hens a little warmer over winter.

I believe that a huge amount of our society's waste problems lie in simply not thinking well. We humans aren't particularly bright sometimes.

Permaculture teaches a positive response to the problems of our world, and a positive outlook. As strong, healthy communities that care for one another with love and are non-judgemental, we can solve any problem we are faced with - even if it is just a few sheets of styrofoam and some cold chickens!


--You've taken the time to drop by: I'd love to hear your thoughts as well! Comments are really appreciated! Thanks!