Need Help with Paint Options/Other Ideas for my pre-fab coop!

[Lemon-Drop]

Chicken math is real. Be aware of that. And that coop is fairly expensive for the size.
Guideline is
4ft inside the coop per hen.
10ft per hen in the run.

So if you have 4 (I know you say 3 most likely, but...)
then 16sqft inside the coop (not cubic)
and 40sqft in the run
1sqft of ventilation per hen


As far as your actual question
Barn paint is good. I have heard other people use it, and it doesn't need primer.
What I did, for the inside, was primed, then used paint for baby nurseries. I used pure white, matte finish (from Sherwin-Williams) although it was fairly expensive, so beware of that.

 

[CleaverFox]

So, I do a lot of home repurposing, fabrication, building, restoring and junk just for fun, hobby, necessity or what have you. I have some recommendations just based on my own experience with stuff, and of course past failures. I live in Virginia now, but lived in Louisiana for 9 years. With that hope I have a general idea of what you’ll be dealing with. I can tell you what I would use as far as specifics, but they’re just my preferences. The general type of products remain the same.
So! First thing, I would coat the coop with whatever you choose to coat it with, before you put it together. This will allow you to get between the cracks, inside of seams and offer even coating. Having been one to personally paint AFTER assembly (developing new and creative uses of profanity in the process) I can’t recommend this enough.

As for coating (in your area) your best bet for humidity, rain and UV protection is going to be a penetrating sealer. This soaks into the wood, to create its seal. If you’ve seen something coated a few times with a Poly-type sealant, and after a few years the sealant is still there but the wood is faded, grey or dry looking? And/Or the coating itself is sort of popping or bubbling off? Well that’s why; it’s a coating sealant. It lays on top and doesn’t soak into the wood. So while the water may not soak in, it’s still cooked by the sun and usually still taking on humidity from the air.
I personally like this one:
https://www.ecosafetyproducts.com/acri-soy-concrete-sealer-wood-sealer-1gal-p/a1-3000-1.htm

Another thing I would be worried about, is ground contact. Direct contact with the ground opens your backyard builds to all sorts of new issues and annoyances. Rot, mold, mildew, fungus, bugs...loads of fun right? If you want the bottom footing structure to last for years, putting it directly down on the ground as built is probably not the best option.
If it were me, I would buy wood made for ground contact. Build a footprint frame on the ground, and bolt the coop to it. A footprint frame is just you building basically the bottom of your structure in boards. So it will be a couple of inches higher, but that contact directly to the dirt, is made by something intended and treated for exactly that purpose.
Hope all this helps! If you have any specific questions, let me know.

 

[hugene]

So, I do a lot of home repurposing, fabrication, building, restoring and junk just for fun, hobby, necessity or what have you. I have some recommendations just based on my own experience with stuff, and of course past failures. I live in Virginia now, but lived in Louisiana for 9 years. With that hope I have a general idea of what you’ll be dealing with. I can tell you what I would use as far as specifics, but they’re just my preferences. The general type of products remain the same.
So! First thing, I would coat the coop with whatever you choose to coat it with, before you put it together. This will allow you to get between the cracks, inside of seams and offer even coating. Having been one to personally paint AFTER assembly (developing new and creative uses of profanity in the process) I can’t recommend this enough.

As for coating (in your area) your best bet for humidity, rain and UV protection is going to be a penetrating sealer. This soaks into the wood, to create its seal. If you’ve seen something coated a few times with a Poly-type sealant, and after a few years the sealant is still there but the wood is faded, grey or dry looking? And/Or the coating itself is sort of popping or bubbling off? Well that’s why; it’s a coating sealant. It lays on top and doesn’t soak into the wood. So while the water may not soak in, it’s still cooked by the sun and usually still taking on humidity from the air.
I personally like this one:
https://www.ecosafetyproducts.com/acri-soy-concrete-sealer-wood-sealer-1gal-p/a1-3000-1.htm

Another thing I would be worried about, is ground contact. Direct contact with the ground opens your backyard builds to all sorts of new issues and annoyances. Rot, mold, mildew, fungus, bugs...loads of fun right? If you want the bottom footing structure to last for years, putting it directly down on the ground as built is probably not the best option.
If it were me, I would buy wood made for ground contact. Build a footprint frame on the ground, and bolt the coop to it. A footprint frame is just you building basically the bottom of your structure in boards. So it will be a couple of inches higher, but that contact directly to the dirt, is made by something intended and treated for exactly that purpose.
Hope all this helps! If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Thank you for your response! Penetrating sealer seems like the right answer here. I'd like to put a color paint after that, so I'll need to look into that more. I am definitely planning on painting prior to assembly.

Question on the ground contact--I have an HOA restriction that forbids my coop to show from outside the fence, and I don't have a lot of room here (less than an inch!). Would penetrating sealer not be enough? If not, would laying some bricks also do the same job?

 

[saysfaa]

Could you tell me why?

Chickens exude (through respiration and poop) more moisture relative to their size than most animals. And at least their share of ammonia. And have very small lungs relative to their size so are very susceptible to respiratory stress (such as dampness and ammonia). It is essential to their health that the moisture and ammonia are vented.
Chickens are also very stressed by heat -both in itself and because it makes the moisture/ammonia affect them worse.

I watched the video on the link you gave...the only ventilation in that coop is the pop door and the tiny side window opposite the door. Most people close the pop door every night for predator protection but even if you leave it and the window open 24/7, it might be barely enough for two chickens at the rule of thumb amount for any climate. In a hot or wet climate, more is needed. If you close the window (rain, maybe?), all the ventilation is onone side so no air flow.

The pop door is under a roof so has a bit of protection from rain entering; the window isn't under a roof. Rain coming in some can be acceptable if it can dry out again fairly quickly - as in, a dry enough climate AND enough ventilation.

It is 40x42 inches (11-2/3 sq ft) in the coop and 42x72 inches (21 sq ft) in the run. Rule of thumb minimums of 4 sq ft per chicken in the coop and 10 sq ft in the run make it enough for 2 chickens... if they use the run at least most of every day. Or they have a larger run or free range at least much of at least most days. These are rules of thumb; people can and do give chickens less space. And sometimes the individual chickens are inactive and passive enough and/or have enough enrichment to occupy them and like each other well enough or are easy-going enough to not have problems (or they get managed by things like debeaking or medication to keep problems under wraps enough to satisfy their keepers).

 

[saysfaa]

Question on the ground contact--I have an HOA restriction that forbids my coop to show from outside the fence, and I don't have a lot of room here (less than an inch!). Would penetrating sealer not be enough? If not, would laying some bricks also do the same job?

You can bury the ground contact wood (or cement blocks) so they are less than an inch high. It won't be as much protection but will help enough to be worth doong. You might still check and redo the stain on the legs a little more regularly.

 

[hugene]

You can bury the ground contact wood (or cement blocks) so they are less than an inch high. It won't be as much protection but will help enough to be worth doong. You might still check and redo the stain on the legs a little more regularly.

Thank you that’s reassuring.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you MUST buy that coop I'd strongly suggest modifying it to give you more space and suit your climate - turn it from tiny coop & run to a bigger coop (you will need to add a proper run regardless). Otherwise it's basically a chicken oven.

So to turn it from 2 small "boxes" (tiny coop above tiny run) into 1 bigger "box" you'll want to remove as much of the inside coop wall as possible, plus the floor. Take out the old roosts too.

Nests might be able to stay as is, or may need to be relocated elsewhere or replaced - depends on the structure of the coop and how things inside stack up once done.

Run a new roost(s) lengthwise across the newly open space. Ideally you’d like 12” per bird but 10” can suffice in many cases.

Board up some of the external wire walls so that the roost area is protected from winds and rain. Do NOT fully cover up all the wire, you need ventilation and natural light, so at the very least a few inches under the roofline should remain open. If your climate allows for it, you can leave entire walls open with just the mesh, or make it convertible for the season by covering up open walls for winter, and then uncovering for summer.

Here is an example of a modified prefab coop. In your climate you'd want to leave a lot more ventilation open: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-renovated-prefab-coop.1440258/

 

[CleaverFox]

Thank you for your response! Penetrating sealer seems like the right answer here. I'd like to put a color paint after that, so I'll need to look into that more. I am definitely planning on painting prior to assembly.

Question on the ground contact--I have an HOA restriction that forbids my coop to show from outside the fence, and I don't have a lot of room here (less than an inch!). Would penetrating sealer not be enough? If not, would laying some bricks also do the same job?

Bricks sunk into the dirt would be great. The problem is when you’ve got ground contact you have more organic material for things to grow. Even with sealing the wood, ground contact is something entirely different. Either sinking the frame or putting in sunken in bricks, with just a bit above the dirt would be a good option. Just don’t make it completely level with the ground. A bit above would be better. Just as much as you’re able.
As far as putting paint over the penetrating sealant, I don’t know how well that would work. They make ones that are colored. So it would be like staining it. Anything beyond that and you’re going to be essentially coating over the sealer and the wood. It’s going to have a tendency to peel and bubble. Just for your info.

 

[hugene]

It’s going to have a tendency to peel and bubble. Just for your info

You know so much! I definitely don’t want that! Are all penetrating sealants going to react the same? I was thinking using Behr’s red barn paint after penetrating sealant.

 

[hugene]

If you MUST buy that coop I'd strongly suggest modifying it to give you more space and suit your climate - turn it from tiny coop & run to a bigger coop (you will need to add a proper run regardless). Otherwise it's basically a chicken oven.

So to turn it from 2 small "boxes" (tiny coop above tiny run) into 1 bigger "box" you'll want to remove as much of the inside coop wall as possible, plus the floor. Take out the old roosts too.

Nests might be able to stay as is, or may need to be relocated elsewhere or replaced - depends on the structure of the coop and how things inside stack up once done.

Run a new roost(s) lengthwise across the newly open space. Ideally you’d like 12” per bird but 10” can suffice in many cases.

Board up some of the external wire walls so that the roost area is protected from winds and rain. Do NOT fully cover up all the wire, you need ventilation and natural light, so at the very least a few inches under the roofline should remain open. If your climate allows for it, you can leave entire walls open with just the mesh, or make it convertible for the season by covering up open walls for winter, and then uncovering for summer.

Here is an example of a modified prefab coop. In your climate you'd want to leave a lot more ventilation open: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-renovated-prefab-coop.1440258/

I’ll have to look into that! While I was going through reviews I saw this expansion someone did. I think once I make that expansion, I can expand the coop as well.