Interior: to paint or not to paint

[ShannonR]

Outdoor showers = pure bliss.

Absolutely! Unless it's winter, things get a bit uncomfortable if it's snowing outside.

 

[feathermaid]

My coop is made of OSB siding, it's similar to particle board and I wouldn't use it again. I think it must be painted, and it takes about 3 coats (at least for me anyway). The exterior side is smoother, but the interior side is rough, and it swells up if it gets wet, which of course your coop shouldn't get wet inside, but you may get condensation. And like others have said, it'll be impossible to clean and, chickens like to peck at dots or imperfections on the walls, so I could see the OSB eventually getting hole-pecked and once something like that gets started, it becomes like a shredding game or something!

Actual plywood or wood boards wouldn't need to be painted, but I think soft materials like OSB or drywall should be protected. I used exterior semi-gloss latex paint/primer. After the 1st coat dried I sanded it to a smoother surface before painting more coats.

I wonder why anyone advised against painting? Maybe it was for the old kind of lead paint or kinds with higher VOS fumes or oil-based paint. I'd stay away from those.