Non-toxic tarp?

We all use tarps, right? Right now, I want to at least partially moderate sun, rain, and wind for part of a chicken run to give more 'outdoor living room space' for the chickens (their truly indoor area is on the small side). Well, like most tarp uses, I know if I slap a woven plastic tarp on there, I will put micro-litter all over the place within just a few years. Birds will nest in it, mowers will mow it, before long I will probably eat it. I don't want to eat plastic. I want something I can reuse or compost, or at least let biodegrade in a wood pile over decades, that will be non-toxic. And during its usable life, I want to pin it to a hardware-cloth hoop house that chickens shelter under, in zone 6ish mild winters and hot and sunny summers.

What do you use for tarps that balances being strictly not toxic gick with being relatively functional and relatively affordable?

Painters canvas seems very affordable and mildly functional. More than a 100% cotton bed sheet from the thrift store, in that it is a little thicker (I guess? I don't know much technical details about all these fibers).

Waxed canvas seems far more waterproof and durable, but is also hundreds of dollars more. It seems like I could buy many generations of painters canvas tarps for the price of one high-quality beeswax 'duck canvas' like those used for primitive camping.

Fleece tarps, to put over compost piles, is something I just learned about. This sounds promising. I am in the northeast USA and it would be great to support regional wool markets. Maybe this makes sense but I'm just guessing as to how nice a fleece tarp is for chickens seeking drier, shadier space out of the wind.

Any other ideas? Any votes for or against the above ideas? Thank you!

I can't speak to the efficacy of it, but this video might be of interest to you.



I might try this project.

Interesting challenge!

Fabrics break down in the sun. I guess you could make a deal with a local motel for their discards (and handle with some care! all sorts of things go down in motels).

I'm thinking about steep A-frame structures made of wood pallets, supported by T-posts.

Shade, sheds some rain, not too toxic, mostly free, and adaptable.

Back in 1916 airplanes were covered in linen and treated to be weather and fire-resistant, unfortunatly I don't know exactly what the treatment process was but it might be worth researching if you need something cheap and light.

For something widely available I'd go with waxed 16oz duck canvas which is naturally rot-resistant.

Painter's tarp can be bought really cheap at harbor freight and then waxed but they are usually thin 7oz tarps.

Be careful with anything from Harbor Freight, I recall their wool blankets are not 100% wool.

It seems like 16oz canvas might be the best starting point, considering sheets and whatnot are just so thin.

I'm trying to decide between:

- untreated canvas which tends to be thinner and certainly not as weather resistant. Here's an example, maybe I could DIY making it into oilcloth with more natural 'treatment' using beeswax or natural oils https://www.chicagocanvas.com/product/10oz-untreated-natural-canvas-tarps/

- treated 16oz canvas which has unidentified oils and wax for weather resistance: https://www.chicagocanvas.com/product/16-oz-canvas-tarpaulins/ I could ask what oil and wax is used but undoubtedly it's petroleum-derived

This is just for an over-chicken hoop house, nothing too major, but ultimately what I put there will make its way to soil, grass, bugs, chickens, my community and my compost.

It would be cheaper to buy it by the yard on Etsy, then just melt whatever wax and impregnate the cloth in a 5-gallon bucket.

Though if you decide you want grommets the tool to add those is ~$32. It's basically a stapler.

You can certainly get duck canvas by the yard: this company appear to have some pretty heavy duty fabric, but you would need to either invevt in some pliers and grommets, be very creative or outsource making the bare fabric more useful.
Certainly canvas can be very durable, but only if it used intermittently and put away dry. I suspect that in my environment it would only last a year or so before rotting - albeit then returning safely to soil. I remember going on guide camp in canvas tents with wooden poles - looks like they still make them :) that makes me happy!

source

I have a weird, none plastic but very artificial method.
SHOWER CURTAIN -- Silicone and Glass Fiber Mat

Here's a quote from the linked  Instructible:

This is an outdoor curtain which separates a bathroom area from a patio area.  It is made of fiberglass mat material impregnated with clear silicone rubber.  The blue plastic tarps I used previously looked cheap, deteriorated from sunlight and had to be replaced every couple of years.  The silicone is supposedly guaranteed for 50 years outdoors, so hopefully this curtain will be more economical in the long run.  I used about $35 worth of silicone to make the curtain.  A friend gave me the mat material.  

Years ago I read about using boiled linseed oil as a traditional way to harden fabrics.

This guy suggests a traditional recipe of beeswax and boiled linseed oil to make "tin cloth."

(Though he cheated and used wax toilet rings instead of beeswax.)

https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/waterproof-fabric-using-tin-cloth-zb0z1303zpit/

How about building a quick structure? I built a goat feeder using scrap wood. The roof was thin plywood with aluminum flashing screwed on overlapping. The rolls of flashing cost around $40 for a 50 foot roll, and could be reused if you ever take down the original structure, since it doesn’t rust or wear out that I have seen. You could use solid wood instead of plywood if you were inclined.
Might also consider living options. A thick vine canopy would not be rain proof, but it would block lighter rain, as well as sun and wind. I am thinking grape, wisteria, ivy maybe?

It's still plastic, which I don't want to buy (and be the cause of it being produced) but I don't feel bad about using the huge pieces of plastic that I get from the lumber yard. They come covering the big packages of lumber that they get regularly. Some of them are in great condition and one of them was about 25' long, maybe 10 or 12' wide. If I were dedicated enough I'd turn down a hem and put grommets in it and have a proper tarp. But I usually just put weights on them and it works well. This keeps it out of the landfill for a while anyway, and I didn't cause it be made so I don't feel so badly about it.

I made a tarp by inundating a bedsheet with beeswax, and then folding up & putting in the oven at 200F for a while to melt and even out the wax. I then rubbed it all over with clay powder to seal the pores. It worked well and was lovely!!!….until I put it in the wrong place overnight and the chipmunks chewed it up. Which they would do for anything, probably. Unless you put it right in the middle of a chipmunk superhighway, it should be fine.

I know I posted about this somewhere…

"  Back in 1916 airplanes were covered in linen and treated to be weather and fire-resistant, unfortunatly I don't know exactly what the treatment process was but it might be worth researching if you need something cheap and light. "

The dope the aircraft fabrics were covered with was not simple, fire resistant or cheap. Was a cellulose/solvent product of some well researched sort. Shrank when it dried to stretch the fabrics taught. Waterproof. Model builders use something similar/more modern to stiffen paper over balsa.

Painters taps work great hung vertically. I used my heavy ones from painter's supply Dunn-Edwards in SW USA to curtain my woodshed. They are I think, a 13?oz canvas. Don't allow moisture through by being dense and heavy, but will breathe. Not super expensive if bought on sale, in fact cheaper than good poly. 8x12 might have been less than 30USD. Would last long enough to be a very good compromise for all things tarp except for maybe construction of roof.
NOT the thin wannabe stuff purchased at Home Depot which is predictably garbage. Had a thin waterproofing layer of plastic bonded to it instead of density, which flaked like millions of fish scales after sun exposure. More expensive than Dunn-Edwards, amazing.

Hand grommeting is simple and cheap with a little purpose made anvil available from General Tool.

Hayfield tarps are not a withering compromise. 12mil poly, silver one side black the other, heavy rope edges and grommets. Last a very, very long time outside here in B.C. 250CAD for a 30x50ft at Princess Auto. We use them black side up to cover fallow gardens 2yrs at a time. Scoop water making snow up off of the smoothed out dirt surface.

I have a number of various treated canvas tarps from Tarps USA. 21oz treated. Expensive but have lasted a few years outside now. Snow/rain cover for heavy equipment and timbers. I am willing to pay for quality, and the heavy canvas reminds me of my dad's back when quality outdoor goods came as a matter of course when purchased from Sears. New 21oz still not as heavy the old remaining Sears tarp I have.

The heavier canvas 18oz.? from Princess Auto, bought on sale has been good fulltime in the weather as well. Color has faded, tarp has softened more than my USA (made in India).
FWIW - the old waxed canvas tarps could be used to filter water from gasoline. Gas would pour through, water was retained. Needed to be rewaxed after.

Canvas tarps can be torn a little more easily than ripstop poly if you are the kind of person who drags tarps across things rather than lifting and folding. You will be sad if you do.

+1 to Carmen Rose for suggesting lumber wrap that would be otherwise landfill bound.  Waterproof, reinforced, typically has a few holes, one side black. I have used it as blackout curtain for a greenhouse, and covering of outdoor goods, tarping small patches of garden. Lasts quite awhile, free. Stretches flat easily, lightweight, takes staples.

I have much better luck up here than in Nevada/Arizona. Sun is murder.