How important to paint the inside?

I haven't read all these pages, but here's a huge caution for you.

Don't paint. If you want your hens to move in now, let them live au naturel. The chances are (and I'm taking a guess) you're going to buy paint from a hardware store that doesn't specialize in green materials. If the paint isn't non-toxic and certified safe, then don't use it around your hens.

TONS and tons of people don't paint, never have, never will.

If you find it's best to paint, wait until summer for good ventilation and quick drying times. But please use non-toxic paint. I order all of my paint from ecopaints.net. It's pricier but so worth it, and since you usually only need to paint once, it's not like you'll have to buy more in a year.

I converted an old shed into a chicken coop. I stained the exterior with Hemp Shield, a wonderful non-toxic product. I'm chemically sensitive and do detect a noticeable smell, and stupid me wasn't thinking when I stained the side of the coop with a big window, on a hot day, and let them all sleep in there. The little chick who wasn't growing as fast as the others, and who, at five months old, was still smaller than everyone, got a respiratory infection the very next morning. She came out there with an open beak and difficulty breathing. I'm 100% certain it was her exposure to freshly applied oil ... and as I said, it was non-toxic and natural and safe.

So, timing is everything should you choose to paint.

ETA: I left the interior of the coop unstained, except for the douglas fir I used for the door casing.
 
The OP did paint. She also is delaying the move in.

I appreciate that you had a bird become sick. I am sorry that happened.

Thousands of coops have been painted without bad effects.
When my big coop got the inside painted my birds moved in the next evening. No one got sick.

Perhaps your bird was already feeling poorly.
 

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