best way to seal wood for coturnix pen

[clovergirl78]

I am building my own pen from various lumber that i have access to and am close to being done (hopefully ). Since it is made out of wood, i am wanting to treat it to protect it from the elements. What would work well but be safe for my birds? I know they can be sensitive to chemicals. I've seen someone recommend Thompsons water seal. I need something along those lines because I'm wanting something i can paint (or spray) on the whole thing. Will that work and be safe, or is there something better?

 

[Quailsong]

I sealed my quail tractor with wood butter. It's a mix of oil & beeswax. You can use food grade mineral oil with pure beeswax (1c:3tbs) melt, stir in & let cool. Then just rub into the wood.

 

[clovergirl78]

That's really neat, but is it permanent? I built a 2 level pen out of wood and hardware cloth. I'm wanting to seal both the inside and the outside to protect it both from the birds and the weather. Would that hold up? Does it have to be redone periodically?

 

[Quailsong]

Nothing's permanent. Yes, you would have to re-treat every year, just like most other natural methods. You could go with non-natural, but as you say you wouldn't want that.

I use wood butter for all sorts of things, from my cutting boards, wooden utensils, right down to pens & tractors. The food-grade (or natural) oils & wax soak right into the wood, rather than coat it like an unnatural varnish.

Easiest method is to 'paint' it heavy onto the pens with a paint brush, let it soak in a few days, then wipe excess up with a cloth.

The better method is to paint light, rub it in with a cloth, & repeat this once a day, for a few days, till it's saturated to your liking.

Best of luck!

 

[clovergirl78]

Well, thank you so much. I really like that idea and will have to make sure and keep that recipe for wood butter. Now i just have to figure out where to get food grade mineral oil and beeswax. The mineral oil should be pretty easy. I know they sell that at most pharmacies. The beeswax will be the harder part. I'm sure i can find some....will just take some looking. Thanks again!

 

[Quailsong]

Well, thank you so much. I really like that idea and will have to make sure and keep that recipe for wood butter. Now i just have to figure out where to get food grade mineral oil and beeswax. The mineral oil should be pretty easy. I know they sell that at most pharmacies. The beeswax will be the harder part. I'm sure i can find some....will just take some looking. Thanks again!

Food grade mineral oil is easy to find, yes. Local drug marts sell them as a laxative. Non-food grade you could find at a hardware store if you're really desperate. You could also use almond oil but it's more likely to go rancid. Common olives, sunflower, coconut & rapeseed (aka canola) will also go rancid quickly.

As for beeswax, they'd be found at a natural food store. Either sold by the pound as bricks or candles (which you could just melt & discard the wick). You could also check your local Craglist or Kijiji for local honey merchants, they're bound to have wax for sale.

Btw, I make this stuff & pour into little jars to give away as gifts. It gets strange looks at first, but then people will start to poke (and then beg) for you to send them more. It's just so handy to have on hand!

 

[clovergirl78]

That shouldn't be too hard then

 

[dougjefferson]

What's the ratios mineral to wax please