Spray Foam Systems for Broiler Houses, Layer Units & Poultry Buildings Across Ireland and Northern Ireland
Temperature is the single biggest controllable factor in poultry production economics. Ross 308 broilers — the most common commercial broiler strain in the UK — require a house temperature of approximately 33°C at placement, reducing to 18–21°C at processing weight. Even minor deviations from this programme have measurable impacts on feed conversion ratio, average daily gain, and mortality rates.
Layer hens are most productive between 18–22°C. Below 15°C, energy is diverted from egg production to thermoregulation. Above 25°C, feed intake decreases, shell quality deteriorates, and production drops. The optimal temperature window is narrow, and maintaining it in an uninsulated building is expensive and difficult.
Uninsulated chicken sheds — particularly older corrugated metal or asbestos cement structures — lose heat rapidly through the roof. Heat loss through an uninsulated metal roof accounts for 60–70% of total building heat loss. Farmers run LPG or electric heating systems continuously, at enormous cost, to compensate for the heat escaping through the roof.
The condensation problem in poultry houses is especially severe. Cold roof surfaces and very high humidity generated by birds create conditions where condensation is constant and heavy. Wet litter — caused partly by condensation dripping from the roof — is the primary driver of pododermatitis (footpad dermatitis) in broilers, a major welfare and financial issue for UK producers.
Nexseal LE spray foam applied to the internal roof and upper walls of a broiler house creates a continuous, seamless thermal envelope. Unlike traditional insulation systems — which rely on mineral wool batts retained by secondary framing, with joints and gaps at every fixing point — spray foam has no joints, no gaps, and no cold bridges.
Between each flock, houses undergo thorough wash-down with hot water and biocidal detergents. Nexseal LE is resistant to the full range of poultry house cleaning chemicals — quaternary ammonium compounds, formaldehyde-based disinfectants, and high-pressure hot water. The closed-cell structure absorbs no moisture, so it will not harbour bacteria or provide a medium for pathogen survival between flocks.
Egg production per hen per year declines measurably when temperatures fall below 15°C — hens divert metabolic energy from production to thermoregulation. Many UK layer houses are older buildings with corrugated steel or asbestos cement sheeting erected in the 1970s and 1980s with no thermal specification whatsoever.
Spray foam retrofit transforms these buildings. The insulation is applied internally — the roof covering is undisturbed. There is no need for secondary framing, no loss of internal headroom, and the installation is completed during a normal depopulation window of 2–3 days. The result: stable year-round temperatures, elimination of condensation, and a building that now meets modern welfare standards without the capital cost of a new shed.
For free range systems, the Lion Code and Red Tractor standards require specific temperature and humidity conditions. Retrofitted spray foam often enables buildings to comply with welfare requirements that they could not previously meet.
Specified based on building type, substrate, target U-value and humidity levels.
Achieves 0.33–0.50 W/m²K. Eliminates condensation, reduces LPG consumption by 30–40%, and improves litter quality significantly.
100mm achieves approximately 0.25 W/m²K — near-passive thermal performance for year-round temperature stability.
25mm achieves 1.0 W/m²K — sufficient to keep the roof surface above dew point in all normal UK conditions.
No obligation. Our surveyor visits your farm, assesses the building, and provides a fully itemised fixed-price quotation — usually within 48 hours.
Complete overview of spray foam insulation for all UK farm building types.
Learn moreSpray foam that bonds to every profile of corrugated metal, steel and iron roofing.
Learn moreThe permanent fix for dripping metal roofs — spray foam raises surface temperature above dew point.
Learn moreProtect your harvest from condensation and temperature fluctuation with spray foam.
Learn moreImprove animal welfare, reduce pneumonia risk, and eliminate condensation in livestock buildings.
Learn moreHSA-compliant spray foam encapsulation of asbestos cement roofing sheets.
Learn moreTell us about your building and we’ll recommend the right system — foam, waterproofing or both — surveyed, specified and quoted at no cost.
