Chicken-friendly timber treatment?

[wortgames]

Hi all,

I am currently building the new coop / roosts / poo bin and I'm using just pine plywood and 2x4 from the local hardware.

I was thinking I would use linseed oil to help preserve the timber - I'm guessing it's going to be a lot friendlier than something like creosote. Any other suggestions for a good, simple timber treatment that won't offend the girls?

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Why not just use exterior paint? That's what I used and it helps protect against the rain too. Mine is battleship gray with black shingles. Alot of the interior boards are particle so the paint really helped seal them and keep them from warping. ...just a thought..

 

[wortgames]

To be honest I really can't be bothered painting it - the coop itself is very 'agricultural' (made out of scraps), and I'm not rebuilding the whole thing so I'm happy to leave the timber visible and save myself the mess of painting.

It's all under cover so it would probably be fine to leave the timber totally bare, but I feel the need to try and protect it with something to reduce the speed at which it degrades. I guess I was just fishing for any tips on whether certain things (like linseed oil) are toxic or unpleasant to chooks, or whether there is a 'standard' timber treatment that chook keepers like to use?


EDIT - just found this interesting tidbit while Googling:

Painting roosts with linseed oil or mineral oil will kill roost mites and eliminate the need for insecticides (from http://www.plamondon.com/chicken-coops.html)