I built my coop two years ago and am pretty happy with it, but during the clean-out this spring I noticed some places had really accumulated a lot of manure and dust. It took a lot of scrubbing to get the wood surfaces of the nesting boxes and the perches back to their original state and I wanted it to be easier next time I cleaned.
I also have noticed my birds being rather adamant about dust-bathing and I've battled scaly leg mites on two of the birds so I wanted to do a better job of eliminating external parasites that can live in the crevices in the wood of nesting boxes, perches, etc.
So, I did a bit of research, made up a whitewash solution, applied it yesterday, and am already really pleased with the results. I didn't quite understand, before I did it, that whitewash is essentially a thin plaster. It completely seals the surface. I can see how this will protect the wood and also be antimicrobial.
It was pretty cheap--under $10 for a bag of hydrated lime and pennies for the salt, plus a few bucks for a disposable paint brush. This filled a 3 gallon bucket and covered four nesting boxes, and two 6x6 walls in two coats and I still had several inches leftover in the bucket.
You can look up a recipe by Googling "whitewash recipe". I recommend getting three or four different recipes to compare as there is quite a bit of variation. I chose the simplest method:
Slowly mix a bag of hydrated lime with water until you have a thick consistency, becoming firm as you stir. Do this in a well-ventilated area and wear a dust mask. Stir slowly to minimize the amount of fine dust kicked up from the lime. Let this mixture sit overnight--this is essential as it allows the lime to "slake" which is something about calcium dissolving into the water (I'm not gonna pretend to understand the chemistry here).
(I read a recipe from someone who skips this step and then warns of chemical burns from the lime. I accidentally got some of my whitewash on my skin several times but never experienced any chemical burn...not sure if that was because I did the slaking step, or was a coincidence. I just couldn't help notice that every recipe calls for this step and none of the others mention chemical burns except the lady who says she skips it.)
The next day, in a separate bucket mix one cup of table salt into two cups of water. Stir well to dissolve. Then, add the salt solution to the slaked lime. Stir slowly to mix--lime will be very thick and stiff. Repeat this step until your lime mixture is the consistency of pancake batter--easy to pour but more thick than watery. Don't add too much of the salt solution at any one time, add in small batches and stir thoroughly in between.
Some recipes call to add glue or whole-fat milk at this point to increase the "stickability"/longevity of the whitewash. I added a small bottle of white glue, don't know that it really did anything, though.
Now apply. You'll probably want to use a cheap paintbrush you can throw away. Also wear gloves, long-sleeves, and long pants to avoid getting the solution on your skin.
It goes on gray and dries white. Allow the first coat to dry thoroughly before putting on a second.
Warning: don't put whitewash in areas you'll be brushing up against as it tends to rub off onto clothing.
Anyone else do a whitewash? How does it work for you?
I also have noticed my birds being rather adamant about dust-bathing and I've battled scaly leg mites on two of the birds so I wanted to do a better job of eliminating external parasites that can live in the crevices in the wood of nesting boxes, perches, etc.
So, I did a bit of research, made up a whitewash solution, applied it yesterday, and am already really pleased with the results. I didn't quite understand, before I did it, that whitewash is essentially a thin plaster. It completely seals the surface. I can see how this will protect the wood and also be antimicrobial.
It was pretty cheap--under $10 for a bag of hydrated lime and pennies for the salt, plus a few bucks for a disposable paint brush. This filled a 3 gallon bucket and covered four nesting boxes, and two 6x6 walls in two coats and I still had several inches leftover in the bucket.
You can look up a recipe by Googling "whitewash recipe". I recommend getting three or four different recipes to compare as there is quite a bit of variation. I chose the simplest method:
Slowly mix a bag of hydrated lime with water until you have a thick consistency, becoming firm as you stir. Do this in a well-ventilated area and wear a dust mask. Stir slowly to minimize the amount of fine dust kicked up from the lime. Let this mixture sit overnight--this is essential as it allows the lime to "slake" which is something about calcium dissolving into the water (I'm not gonna pretend to understand the chemistry here).
(I read a recipe from someone who skips this step and then warns of chemical burns from the lime. I accidentally got some of my whitewash on my skin several times but never experienced any chemical burn...not sure if that was because I did the slaking step, or was a coincidence. I just couldn't help notice that every recipe calls for this step and none of the others mention chemical burns except the lady who says she skips it.)
The next day, in a separate bucket mix one cup of table salt into two cups of water. Stir well to dissolve. Then, add the salt solution to the slaked lime. Stir slowly to mix--lime will be very thick and stiff. Repeat this step until your lime mixture is the consistency of pancake batter--easy to pour but more thick than watery. Don't add too much of the salt solution at any one time, add in small batches and stir thoroughly in between.
Some recipes call to add glue or whole-fat milk at this point to increase the "stickability"/longevity of the whitewash. I added a small bottle of white glue, don't know that it really did anything, though.
Now apply. You'll probably want to use a cheap paintbrush you can throw away. Also wear gloves, long-sleeves, and long pants to avoid getting the solution on your skin.
It goes on gray and dries white. Allow the first coat to dry thoroughly before putting on a second.
Warning: don't put whitewash in areas you'll be brushing up against as it tends to rub off onto clothing.
Anyone else do a whitewash? How does it work for you?
