I need some kind advice please.

[electrycmonk]

It is a great opportunity to do maintenance but will breathing those vinegar fumes hurt you?

FWIW I have had a lot of experience with vinegar over the last few years. Having to do a vinegar cleanse of our well water pump; initially bi-annually, then ~5 months, now ~ every 3-4 months. I have had fun procuring different percentages of bottled vinegar since covid-19-mare became a real logicitial issue.

Given the users admitted lung and health issues and the fact they stated they use vinegar for cleaning I'll share a semi-metaphor. For ya.... Have you ever sat next to someone or stood near someone pouring vinegar on a salad or into a bucket or bowl? Even though retail food grade is ~5% acetic acid & "cleaning vinegar" is supposed to be ~6% that really isn't much different then a really good-fresh jar of dill pickles or hot salsa. And, *Those* are when at full strength straight from the bottle. So, I'm gonna bet they are likely one to smell it as a positive freshness scent - almost invigorating.

@Caffus what say you to that assumption of mine?

Now, when you start to get into horticultural vinegar 20% and higher, yes outside & great ventilation is a must, otherwise your nose will instantly be assaulted..... When I used 30 & 40% a couple months ago it was still a surprise to me *AND I Was braced for the accidental waft* of the odor while pouring it down the funnel. I too have damaged lungs from my tour in the Navy but, it didn't "hurt" for that nanosecond of a slight wiff, it did make the nose hairs tingle....

 

[Caffus]

Sounds good to me. Keep in mind people add chicks to existing flocks all the time and the hen houses are NOT sanitized ahead of time! They are usually just swept out with new shavings on the floor. What is the lyme supposed to do? Are you sure it is non-caustic?

Do have a plan to separate the chicks from the hen initially in case she takes offense to her coop being over-run by little strangers. If you end up with some used chicken wire fix a small chick pen so the babies can be enclosed initially and give the hen some time to adjust.

Oh and try to clean it out 2-3 days before the chicks go in. You don't want to freak out your older hen by tearing up the hen house and then filling it with strangers all in 1 day.

Yes, I will separate them at first. I have read about sasanitizing coops once a year..I dont get that. Chickens are messy by nature. Its powdered limestone. It repels mites lice bugs in general. It deodorizes and dries.

 

[electrycmonk]

Yes, I will separate them at first. I have read about sasanitizing coops once a year..I dont get that. Chickens are messy by nature. Its powdered limestone. It repels mites lice bugs in general. It deodorizes and dries.

Our coop is "painted" in lime & I am preparing to give it this summers coat before August is done.

 

[David61]

This is not so hard. Kerosene is oily and will soak into everything if you let it sit for an hour. Anything needing to be cleaned will get cleaned as soon as to light the match. LOL total rebuild unless the roof is good.
Rip everything out only leaving the support poles and the roof. Run a garden tiller around the place. Rake and or shovel all the stuff out down about 9" to a foot. Repair the roof if needed and add some to it if the roof doesn't have 12" or better over hang. Set more support poles for a good door jam/ frame. Now you are ready to set your apron, run hardware cloth/animal wire and back fill. If the dirt you dug out is OK to back fill cool. If it needs something mixed it OK. If it not worth going back with it, use it in you compost or run. Fill dirt is cheap if you know where to get it.

 

[Caffus]

It's not pretty! I have alot of work to do...but I did rake out as much poo as I could and added bedding with dry lime. How do you mix it for a spray?

 

[electrycmonk]

It's not pretty! I have alot of work to do...but I did rake out as much poo as I could and added bedding with dry lime. How do you mix it for a spray?

Function over form is safest way to be wise with funds and re/up-cycling to make a safe place for chickens.

I did a bunch of web searches for "lime wash" recipes. Learned alot of history in the process.... Then one day last summer I was dropping off a bunch of stuff at the recycling dumpsters and some Yahoo left a torn open bag of lime sitting next to the plastic/paper/cans/glass dumpster. There was a broken kitchen trashcan next to it. I slide the 25+lb bag into the trashcan set it in the bed of the truck and brought it home. Used surprisingly very little in the mix.

There are a few accents that you can add to the recipe if you wish. The key I have as a take-away is the have a mixing stick like this on a drill to stir it up every couple minutes as you paint with it.


Any leftover can stay In a sealed can for upwards of a year just fine. Some debate that it can last a few years in said sealed can. However the nearly 100% agreed upon detail = repeated coats is best for so many reasons. Whether it's once a year or once a month. It doesn't need to be washed or cleaned, just spray over anything on the wall. It's gonna help with adhesion and increase the odor and bug defense as you add layers.

When I did it. I did put a water based primer inside on everything but, didn't try to get 100% coverage of every nook & cranny of the wood. THAT'S what the lime mix is for.

I used the wanger power painter sprayer tool. Easy to clean and I actually made a 3 day event outta it IIRC, so the first coat is really like 3+ coats.

Food for thought?

 

[electrycmonk]

Sorry had to edit a few times to get the picture to load and fix a few auto-correct headache's.

 

[Caffus]

Function over form is safest way to be wise with funds and re/up-cycling to make a safe place for chickens.

I did a bunch of web searches for "lime wash" recipes. Learned alot of history in the process.... Then one day last summer I was dropping off a bunch of stuff at the recycling dumpsters and some Yahoo left a torn open bag of lime sitting next to the plastic/paper/cans/glass dumpster. There was a broken kitchen trashcan next to it. I slide the 25+lb bag into the trashcan set it in the bed of the truck and brought it home. Used surprisingly very little in the mix.

There are a few accents that you can add to the recipe if you wish. The key I have as a take-away is the have a mixing stick like this on a drill to stir it up every couple minutes as you paint with it.
View attachment 2281201

Any leftover can stay In a sealed can for upwards of a year just fine. Some debate that it can last a few years in said sealed can. However the nearly 100% agreed upon detail = repeated coats is best for so many reasons. Whether it's once a year or once a month. It doesn't need to be washed or cleaned, just spray over anything on the wall. It's gonna help with adhesion and increase the odor and bug defense as you add layers.

When I did it. I did put a water based primer inside on everything but, didn't try to get 100% coverage of every nook & cranny of the wood. THAT'S what the lime mix is for.

I used the wanger power painter sprayer tool. Easy to clean and I actually made a 3 day event outta it IIRC, so the first coat is really like 3+ coats.

Food for thought?

Yes, my coop is small right now, but so are my chickens. Im going to add hardwear cloth wherever theres holes in the chicken wire. My husband said he will make it a little bigger and later move it into a caged run twice that size. About the lime...can I just use a regular spray bottle and shake as I go?

 

[electrycmonk]

Yes, my coop is small right now, but so are my chickens. Im going to add hardwear cloth wherever theres holes in the chicken wire. My husband said he will make it a little bigger and later move it into a caged run twice that size. About the lime...can I just use a regular spray bottle and shake as I go?

It's free to test, go for it. I will advise that you be ready with brush, roller & sponge to spread it as you back up. You will see that this "powder" does clump easily. Hence the need for nearly constant stirring to keep the fine particals suspended in the water solution. And the one extra detail that *REALLY* was helpful; super tea kettle hot water in the mix.
They are after all thee original and still very effective tool for spreading the lime 'paint' recipes.

We already had the Wagner power sprayer from a previous project; I got it on sale a couple years back and then had the military discount on top of that at Lowe's.