Mold in our coop:☹️

[Chick3nLover]

Hey Y’all, I had a question about treating mold.

So just a few weeks age we built a beautiful new coop for our girls, and just a few days ago I noticed little black spots of mold growing on the upper roof support beams. I think it’s because we left them unpainted, seeing as I don’t see any on the painted parts of the coop.

I’ve looked up some natural mold killers such as: white vinegar, thieves, and baking soda. I plan on using one or two of these, since I want it to be safe for my chickens, while I’m cleaning. And after I clean the mold I’m then going to add a preventative paint called Kilz.

Does anyone have any tips about white vinegar? Is it chicken safe?

Thank you, for reading and for your help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The white vinegar shouldn't be an issue to use for cleaning.
Your birds are not going to be drinking the solution right?

Bleach also works well to kill mold.

Was the wood wet when put in place or is the ventilation poor?

You'll want the wood to be relatively dry before you paint.

 

[WthrLady]

Mold isn't because it isn't painted, it's a moisture problem. The spores may have been on the unpainted wood, but it grew, and continued to grow until you spotted it.
The moisture is harder on your birds than the mold, but you certainly don't want it there either.
A 50/50 bleach/water mix wipedown should do the trick. Do it in the morning and the bird won't be bothered as they'll be outside. The fumes aren't that strong.
Then figure out your ventilation issue. The coop shouldn't be a locked down box. Heck, mine is missing a whole 5x8 foot wall and is nothing but hardware cloth, open to the world (before you ask, NEBRASKA, where it will be well below 25'F all week for highs, down to -12F at night with chills of -40 in the wind (but the birds aren't in the wind so they're fine)
So what is your air venting situation?

 

[3KillerBs]

Could you show us photos of the coop and the problem area?

Also, where are you located? Climate matters.

 

[SourRoses]

Like @WthrLady explained, ventilation is the most probable cause. If you post some pictures of your coop, we can provide suggestions of where to add ventilation for a better environment inside the coop.


For myself, in a fully ventilated coop, I did once experience mold on the low, baseboard area when we tried deep litter, but that's because we're in very humid Florida during a time of year when the air is so fully saturated that you can feel the droplets around you. The deep litter molded first and worked its way up the walls. Potentially there was some way to prevent that, but I was so grossed out by the fungal takeover that I can't bring myself to try it again. We use sand now, and since it's on top of yet more native sand it drains very well and keeps things dry. I only have to dig a few feet in the yard to get a clean source of it.
Yet despite the moldy baseboards, the untreated rafters were fine because plentiful ventilation kept moisture from building up high.

 

[McChooky]

Hey Y’all, I had a question about treating mold.

So just a few weeks age we built a beautiful new coop for our girls, and just a few days ago I noticed little black spots of mold growing on the upper roof support beams. I think it’s because we left them unpainted, seeing as I don’t see any on the painted parts of the coop.

I’ve looked up some natural mold killers such as: white vinegar, thieves, and baking soda. I plan on using one or two of these, since I want it to be safe for my chickens, while I’m cleaning. And after I clean the mold I’m then going to add a preventative paint called Kilz.

Does anyone have any tips about white vinegar? Is it chicken safe?

Thank you, for reading and for your help.

Mold spores become airborne once you disturb them .You should definitely wear a mask when working around it. Moisture will cause your flock to stay damp and cold.