chicken-safe waterproof wood protector?

[dftkarin]

What would be the best thing to use to treat the wood bottoms of coops or tractors that will be in constant contact with the damp ground? Thompson's water seal? I already see mildew on my 2x4s from sitting in the yard waiting to be painted and put together.

 

[spook]

DH uses Thompsons water seal and so far, so good. Even on the Particle wood it seems to help. I would suggest that you let it dry and then slop it right on letting it penetrate for a while before laying on the ground.
Under the meat birds he Thompson water sealed and there are no signs of deterioration, and most of us know how wet and yucky they are even with a deep litter!
Good luck!

 

[mrsengeseth]

we used a different material for what's touching the ground. We used trex...got it cheap from a Habitat for Humanity Resell store.

I think that the Thompson's would work real well. Just let it dry real good before letting the birds out near it again in case they have want to peck at it.

 

[patandchickens]

If it is a permanent structure e.g. coop I would really suggest using a rot-resistant lumber like cedar, or pressure-treated, for the portions actually in contact with the ground. Anything else will not do much good, the wood will rot out in short order no matter what you paint on.

For a tractor, where you can turn the thing over every year or few and scrape/sand/repaint the wood that sits on the ground, your best bet is probably a coat of primer and then three or four THIN coats of good exterior grade paint. (NOT thick coats that will get peelier). Of course, cedar or whatever woudl also be good in that case but not everyone is going to spend the money on that for a tractor <g>

Good luck,

Pat