Mold or ... ??

[chickneggs]

Last winter, my dad tried helping me out, by insulating my coop and placing inner walls up. He did so on the ceiling as well and I mentioned that I could not leave it that way, as my coop's ventilation was there... so my dad headed to town and came back with two vents and added them into the newly placed ceiling. I mentioned to him that the insulation he had placed within it would create issues, but he told me it would be alright (in his defense, growing up, we had chickens in a basic barn, so no worry about ventilation then).

Jumping ahead... I tried removing the ceiling with my fiance and struggled. My dad had in up there, TIGHT and with a heavy piece of lumber. We had to abandon taking it down last winter. Turns out, there had been a misplaced screw NOT part of the roof, that was in the way of taking the ceiling down... We did finally get help getting it down though this fall.

Well, today, after cutting the board down smaller, so that the coop's ventilation is COMPLETELY open, we placed it back up to cover the middle of the ceiling. Figured I would take the insulation out as well, if we could get it out. My dad had it jammed between the rafters, tight. Thank goodness my fiance has a good grip. He got it down for me.

Well, besides lots of mouse droppings and obvious signs of a mouse nest, we found this... (sorry the photo is dark; I'll try again tomorrow to get a better one). Is this mold I'm looking at? And if so, how to I go about getting rid of it? I'm very frustrated as I never had issues with my coop until now... I should have just told my dad to take the ceiling out. Period. I have a small flock with five chickens and my oldest is 9 and I do not want to jeopardize their health at all. I'm planning on taking a break from the chickens after she passes, but want her to live out a full good life. Had her since she was a chick. Please help with any ideas or solutions.

 

[nuthatched]

Spray it down with bleach water, let it dry then kilz it.

 

[chickneggs]

Spray it down with bleach water, let it dry then kilz it.

Okay, thank you, nuthatched. I went out tonight (11pm), as I'm an over-worried chicken mom, and wiped it down and sprayed it thoroughly with vinegar. I do not have bleach or Kilz, but will get some ASAP tomorrow.

 

[Ted Brown]

@nuthatched has the right idea although I would also wipe the mold off before using Kilz.

The picture seems to show a metal roof, if that is true it is possible that condensation has formed and that caused the mold to form? If this is true I would be concerned that you do not have sufficient ventilation in the coop OR the dampness is caused by temperature inversion ie cold on the outside VS warm inside. The are many posts herein that refer to this problem.

Your comments about evidence of mice is one of the main reasons that folks recommend against insulating and enclosing wall. It can also provide locations where red mites can hide.

I would find a location on a wall where you can open to inspect for further evidence of mice intrusion; if they got into the ceiling they are most likely elsewhere. You will not find mites as they are too small to see easily, your first sign will be on the chickens.

I would be tempted to remove both the wall covering and the insulation altogether as it is likely to be a source of continuing problems and it is not necessary in a coop (again lots of posts herein on this topic).

Good luck!

 

[chickneggs]

Yes, the issue is caused from condensation from my dad enclosing the ceiling. And my fiance and I putting a smaller board up, yet exposing the full ventilation; I did rethink that tonight and we will be taking it down next time he is over here. I will allow the full ceiling to breathe. Again, this isssue is new this year. Never had issues with the coop prior to my dad covering the ceiling...

But where I live, our winters can be brutal and I had to have the side walls insulated. My poor girls experienced frostbite after I moved to my current location (never happened previously where I used to live) and my coop just wasn't built for winds blowing off a lake. And I have experienced mites here too... that was a nightmare. Lost one chicken. I never dealt with them until moving here either. It was a brutal first year on this property for my chickens. But I'm definitely opening up the full ceiling ASAP. Hoping the last of the insulation my dad has up there (nowhere near the vents though) has left no issues to the coop itself.

And yes, tonight when I went out to spray the area with vinegar (gave me peace of mind until I can get bleach), I did wipe the areas down first. But here's a photo of my coop/run during the winter...

 

[Ted Brown]

Mold will not harm the coop once removed, it is more of a health issue to humans and, I would guess, chickens as well. Vinegar is a mild form of bleach so has probably killed the mold spores, bleach is obviously not expensive so if it makes you feel better go ahead.

I live in Canada with severe winters. My coop is not insulated and my flock survives very well. You need to focus on sufficient ventilation (1 Sq ft per bird) and elimination of drafts particularly where they roost.

 

[chickneggs]

Mold will not harm the coop once removed, it is more of a health issue to humans and, I would guess, chickens as well. Vinegar is a mild form of bleach so has probably killed the mold spores, bleach is obviously not expensive so if it makes you feel better go ahead.

I live in Canada with severe winters. My coop is not insulated and my flock survives very well. You need to focus on sufficient ventilation (1 Sq ft per bird) and elimination of drafts particularly where they roost.

I'm glad you can understand harsh winters, being from Canada. I'm in Michigan and I used to live in a wooded/farmland area - lots of tree coverage between fields. Then I had to sell my house to buy one more affordable; the situation? I'm right across from a lake now and get a lot of wind off it. And there is absolutely no good place for a coop on my property. But I refused to abandon my girls. So here we are, keeping on with whatever is thrown at us. I do use a tarp on one outer wall, because I need airflow specifically there during the summer - it's near the roost. But the others, I needed closed off as snow/wind was coming through the wall slats and causing frostbite; again something I never dealt with when I had the tree coverage... Oh and I did have 8 chickens, but over the years I have lost a few, so body heat is one thing I'm lacking. But being that I want to retire from chickens for awhile after my oldest passes, I really don't want to stock up on more right now. So we're pushing on. I know once we get the smaller board off, the coop will be fine. I judge it by any condensation on the window and we had none of that on the inside after taking down my dad's mistake! I just need to get the mold removed! Then we should be good again!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Wipe it down liberally with a bleach solution. One cup bleach to one gallon of water. Once it's dead there is no need to paint over it. The wood will be fine air dried.

 

[Ted Brown]

@Egghead_Jr is correct about paint not being needed. Kilz is a special stain blocker paint designed to cover up dark colors sometimes even scorching resulting from fires.

 

[chickneggs]

So, my amazing fiance picked up some bleach and came over today, unplanned (until this morning, of course). Him and I took the board and insulation down and wiped mostly everything above where it was at, down with bleach water. Yes, it was a mess up there. I'm still not sure what it is though, as some places looked like it was seeping down and not just "growing" in an area. Can mold seep? Lol But lots of mice activity. It does make me want to check the two walls that my dad did close off (I didn't let him do all four), but maybe another day. This was def enough for today... plus Christopher had to get to work. Him coming over was way out of his way for what he had to do today. He is definitely an amazing man to drop what he was doing and come to help me clean. Lol Clean up something so disgusting... and all before his full day of work.

So If anyone -in my life- asks why I am marrying him, today would be a great example of how amazing he is... He really does go above and beyond!

But back to the coop... After two hours of cleaning (I'm thorough) and getting the coop back in order with fresh bedding, food and water, I'm hoping the issue is resolved. Thank you to all of you for the replies and answers, making this mess so easy to deal with... I don't handle chaos or issues popping up randomly, well. And this issue was solved quickly.

...I thought I took more than just 4 close ups, but I was bombarded by happy chickens, so I guess I only got a few... but still all good examples of whatever "it" may be...