How To Keep Rain Out Of Chicken Coop

So many people are getting chickens for their backyard, but unfortunately many are not getting the coop constructed properly. Keeping a chicken coop dry is a very important task and if your coop is not constructed properly you might get into some big trouble when the rain comes. The best thing you can do as a chicken keeper is to know how to keep the rain out of the chicken coop.

Keeping the rain out of a chicken coop takes a good design. The coop should be built in a way so that minimal water comes in and any water that does should run off quickly and dry quickly. Build the coop on an elevated spot facing the sun and build a waterproof roof to keep the rain out.

Keeping chickens happy is the only way to keep them healthy and one way is by keeping the rain out of the coop using the methods below.

How to keep rain out of chicken coop

Many backyard chicken keepers do not put proper planning and effort into constructing their chicken coop. This almost always leads to leaks and thus water getting into the coup. Once you have a leaky chicken coop there will be a wide range of issues to follow.

Follow our step-by-step guide on How to seal and waterproof a leaky chicken coop below or simply click the link to jump straight to what you need and how to do it

It will make the chicken coop muddy, messy, and hazardous. It will make it easier for a variety of bacteria and diseases to breed. It will also make your chicken cold, wet and dirty.

Keeping the rain out of the chicken coop is, therefore, a must. There are many ways to do this and the easiest of these will be preventive designs to make sure rain never gets in.

Once the rain starts getting in you will need to take different steps to get the water out of the coop, get the coop dried, and then seal the coop so that it is properly waterproof.

So then, how to keep rain out of a chicken coop? Easy. Build a waterproof roof.

If the roof is well constructed it will keep all the rain out of the coop and it will take the runoff water to the sides of the coop where it can be absorbed into the soil or be channeled into a catchment area.

Sometimes a well-built roof is not enough, rain can come with strong winds that push water from all kinds of directions into all the small areas you did not expect. Here you need to apply all the measures you can, just a good roof is not always enough. If you build the floor of the chicken coop at a slope you can have any water run out of the coop and if the coop is facing the sun it can dry in no time.

If you live in an area where strong storms are a regular occurrence you need to take extra precautions. You might want to install plastic covers as walls, but still, make sure the coop is well ventilated.

I recently wrote an article on how fix a muddy chicken run, if this applies to your chicken run then it might be worth checking out.

Best sealant for chicken coop

The best way, and probably the only way, to keep the rain out of your chicken coop is to make it waterproof with a good sealant. The sealant gets applied after you have constructed the chicken coop. Once everything is built, you can apply the sealant to seal all those small openings where air and water could come through.

Doing this will not only keep the rain out of your chicken coop but will also keep it nice and warm during the night because there are no icy winds coming in.

In terms of what type of sealant to use – there are a few options but usually, the best is a type of waterproof paint or liquid rubber. The Liquid Rubber Color Waterproof Sealant (Amazon link) is one of the best for waterproofing a chicken coops

Before you paint the coop you should make sure that there are no big gaps or cracks. If there are big cracks you can use seam or sealing tape (Amazon link) . The tape is durable and will keep those bigger gaps closed. You can then go ahead and paint over it with liquid rubber or with any other waterproof paint.

If you do not need as much durability you can use any outdoor paint that is rated as waterproof. If you want something a bit stronger you can look at the different liquid rubber options. The rubber will work out a bit more expensive but the coop will be much more protected.

You can also use the sealant tape on the outsides like on the corners to block unwanted winds.

How to seal a chicken coop

What you’ll need to seal and waterproof a leaky chicken coop roof

The first step of how to seal a chicken coop is to use sealing tape (Amazon link) to tape over all the areas that have big gaps between the wood.

The tape is strong and will keep out all wind and water. This sealing tape should be applied on all openings on the inside and also on the outside if you so wish.

After the tape has been applied you can use a liquid rubber (Amazon link) or waterproof paint to paint the sealed areas or the entire chicken coop from top to bottom if you wish to do so.

This paint will seal it off completely so that no rain can come in.

How To Waterproof A Chicken Coop

To waterproof a chicken coop you need to build a big waterproof roof. The roof needs to hang low enough to stop any rain from coming in. The coop roof needs to be completely sealed. You can seal the roof with a combination of sealant tape and waterproof paints or liquid rubber.

The best investment that you can make towards waterproofing your chicken coop is an investment into a well-built and high-quality roof. Nothing else will keep the rain out of a chicken coop like a good roof.

The roof should have a big overhang with a slanted angle so that any rainwater runs off far away from the inside of the coop. The roof should also be made waterproof with sealing tape and waterproof paint. The tape can be used on top of the roof too to cover any big openings. The liquid paint can then be applied to cover up any small gaps where water could leak through.

Both the tape and the paint can also be used on the inside. The best would be to seal the outside of the roof to make sure no rain comes in, but if something does come through – you can seal the inside too.

How to cover a chicken run from rain

Covering a chicken run from the rain, as discussed above, is a very important thing to do. It will help greatly with keeping your flock happy and healthy and with keeping them in high egg production.

It can be done by constructing a good chicken coop with a waterproof roof, or it can be done in a disastrous situation with whatever waterproof material you can find. Plastic tarps work especially well, you can cover the whole coop with a plastic tarp and then tie the tarp down with anchors. This is only a short-term solution until you build something better.

Check this tarp cover (Amazon link)  it comes it different sizes and colors and would be ideal for keeping the rain out of your coop.

There is no replacement for a good waterproof roof – so the best thing to do is do your research, and get building on that roof!

Conclusion

How to keep rain out of chicken coop is done but using a waterproof sealant. You can apply it to the leaky areas of the coop to stop rain from entering.

You can also use a tarp and a temporary solution to your leaky roof problem.