Doggie door windbreak---what do you use?

[DixyDoodle]

I have a small shed that I use for my goats and poultry. I have a hole cut into the wall for a "doggie door". Come winter, I need a good windbreak for it. It faces south, which helps also, but there are a few days where the wind still does brush around the snow pretty good, and a door aso keeps the heat in.

So, what do you all use for coverings? It has to be pretty simple. My goats are good at understanding how to get in, but the chickens and ducks are another matter.

First, what I do is I nail the carpet (or whatever) over the door and cut into strips. I leave the middle strip nailed up also for a bit, about 2". This shows the chickens that they can still get in there, and it does work, as eventully I can pull down the other strip and the chickens still use the door.

However, finding a suitable material to use is another matter. So far, here's what I've used:

--regular carpeting. Works well, is soft and pliable even in low temps, so stays straight down and keeps the warmth in. I nailed it down so the rubber is facing outside, to keep ice and snow from building up on it.

The downside is that the goats (who are all hornless except for those in a separate buck pen) somehow get the fabric torn into shreds, and I'm left with long threads of rug everywhere. Probably not the safest thing, as it could wrap around legs, etc. If you decide to use carpeting, avoid any that have the kind where the material comes out of the rubber and then "loops back" into the rubber (not sure what that is called).

--harder, tougher black rubber mats. Works great til the cold hits, then it becomes stiff and doesn't make much of a decent seal around the door, so the cold gets in. Depending on the material, the flaps will sometimes curl up or just not lie straight down anymore, becoming useless.

I have been thinking of trying burlap, perhaps several layers on top of each other, but the only burlap I can seem to find is very thin and woven loosely. I suspect it will also pull apart once a thread gets hooked on something. Ditto for the plastic burlap feed bags (of which I have a lot of).

I was thinking of maybe getting some polar fleece (as it doesn't shred or pull easily) remnants somewhere, maybe getting a blanket from GoodWill. Any other recommendations for material?

It's amazing how well a flap works to keep heat in. Several of my chickens will lay eggs all winter long if the heat stays in, all without the use of a heater. Then again, we have windows in the shed to keep it bright and the walls are light-coloured also. I go into the goat pen to "warm up" while doing barn chores.

[Big Dave]

Ok I have never had this but I have an Idea. Think of an Igloo. The entrance was long to let the dogs sleep in it,keep cold out ect... Now since hot air rises build a longer entrance with a dip in it. Like a pee trap. If your door works for your birds build a separate door for the goats. good luck, Just my .02

[soulsurvivor]

This is just off the top of my head and I don't have any experience for saying this, but have you tried tent awning? or leather? I would think these materials could be found in a military surplus type of store, like in old tents or dufflebags. As for the leather, sometimes out of style leather coats can be found cheap in thrift stores.

[Speckledpup]

We use the legs off of worn out Blue jean.

[GoatsRus]

I purchased a small roll (long enough for my needs) of that heavy almost see through walk-in refrigerator plastic. I think I ordered the 6 inch wide roll and cut the roll into strips to fit the length of the opening. I used angle iron with holes in it to secure it at the top drilling screws through the holes. My goats even the babies have no problem going in and out and the plastic is a heavy enough gauge that it doesn't blow around unless it's a good wind. I don't know if your chichens or ducks would go through it but you could pin one of the strips up until they were comfortable with it.

[watcher]

You need to build a 'dragon gate' which is a series of 90 degree turns. Think of a maze. The critters can get in but the wind can't blow directly into the house.

[DenverGirlie]

A hallway is needed...

A couple bales of straw with one 90 degree turn, can cut most of the wind, can put a roof (tarp, carpet, whatever) over the top of it as well.

[wogglebug]

Ex-military canvas duffle bags are good tough material, as are US Post mail bags. Any canvas picked up in yards sales (old canvas awnings, old-style tents, pickup-truck tonneau covers, old above-ground pool liners) is useful. A length of heavy chain sewed in with a few heavy stitches will keep it hanging fairly-well in place. Works well as a literal doggie door over the face of a 55-gallon drum as a dog kennel too.

[highlands]

We went with the long tunnel and multiple flaps hanging down technique. Worked well for cats and dogs (different size tunnels).

[DixyDoodle]

Some great ideas, guys, thank you!

[Minelson]

Yes! I nailed up a couple of old rugs for extra wind block today thanks to this thread

[DixyDoodle]

I didn't find what I wanted to use, so I tried some really heavy bath towels I got at Good Will. I cut them to size and then cut into strips. I made a total of three layers (two nailed to outside of door, one on the inside). It seems to be working great. So far, no threads being pulled or being frozen into weird shapes. They seem to be really good at blocking drafts; so much that the goat shed is actually almost too warm!

I did the same with the girls' shed, but did start with leaving a maybe 3" strip tacked up to teach the chickens. They now go in and out with the strip down and don't seem to mind pushing it aside to walk in.

[ibcnya]

Straw, and lots of it. I made one dog house out of an old truck topper and purposely tunneled it, put a tarp on it and then put the topper on. The dogs figured out the rest. No wind, no snow. They have even dug into the straw to make a sort of nest. They all have dog houses filled with straw to the point of having to tunnel in. The old female German sheperd don't care much for cold. I have a dominant male sheperd that will lay at the front door until he is absolutely miserable and another long haired male that lays in a snowbank most of the day.