New Coop - Paint Inside?

[Backyard Hencam]

Wow, that is a beautiful coop. I visited your website to see it and I think you are using the same theme that I use for my gardening site and yours looks great. Best of luck to you!

 

[rancher hicks]

Very nice, can you give us the demensions of the exterior nest boxes? I'd like to add some to my coop but am not sure how high, (front and back) and wide to make them. Anyone here in the north country use exterior nest boxes?

 

[JustOneMore]

What a beautiful coop! Painting the inside is a great idea. The clean-up in mine is so easy with its painted surfaces. I also think that having it painted with a white interior makes it brighter in there so I am hoping that will encourage winter laying in upstate NY.

Good luck with your new family!

 

[LaurenM23]

Something to consider outside of "paint" is the use of a Spar Urethane such as that produced by Helmsman (MinWax). It can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot and comes in a variety of sheens, designed to seal and protect wood surfaces. Something to remember for the sheen is: the higher the gloss, the tighter the finish. A high gloss will be easier to clean and have less penetration from surface contaminents than a satin, but will also have a shiny look that some may not like. Also, the more coats, the higher the sheen.

We used Helmsman Spar Urethane Gloss (red label on can) on all interior surfaces of our barn (for horses). As a result, we could completely hose down the barn interior with no damage to the wood. The result has left our year old barn looking brand new compared to that of a friend that looks well worn (at the same age). Also, once the product cures (after 24 hours), the animals could eat clean through the barn without adverse effect. We own a historic restoration company and did extensive research during barn construction.

We plan to do this to our coop interior, as well.

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

Thank you all for the advice on painting the new coop inside

As a result of the unanimous response, we are definately painting .... and will post pictures of finished interior when done.

Rancher, the nest box dimensions are 15" deep x 14" high x 12" across, and I was wrong - there are actually 9 nest boxes across the front.

SarahBeth, it was built by an Amish establishment called Twin Oaks Barns in Dundee, Ohio.

The Spar Urethane certainly sounds like something to consider - we might want to think about using it for our barn too!

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

Quote:
Yes, we're definately using the same theme, and yours looks great too. Your hencam site is really cool too

I'm planning to stop by and spend some more time checking them out and saying hi

 

[mags2009]

WOW! I love your blog...(website) It is SOOOO informative!! I can't wait to freeze some strawberries now! Yes, I would say to paint the coop. I just cleaned the walls today, and it is so much easier with painted walls. We also have vinyl flooring as well, and yep, easy cleaning!! You can check out our page for pics of our coop. Our kids painted the walls, they're cute too!!! We had to insulate our floor and walls though, because we live in Wisconsin, the "frozen tundra!!!" Take care!

Kerry

 

[write2caroline]

I built two coops - painted the inside of one and not the other - Lesson learned - I wish I had painted the inside of both because the unpainted coop is so much harder to clean and the painted one cleans with such ease and little scrubbing.

Caroline

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

Well, thanks to all your responses, the inside of the new chicken coop has been thoroughly coated with Minwax (Helmsman) Spar Urethane in Clear Gloss. Pictures of the inside of the coop can now be seen here: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/07/04/new-chicken-coop-protection/

And just in time, the youngsters need more space!

 

[JanetSmithery]

I'm using an oil-based floor/porch paint to paint the interior and exterior of my coop. If it holds up like the porch paint on my porch, it will be the best thing I could have ever done in that coop. That enamel finish is STRONG, coats nice enough for the inside of a chicken coop in one coat, and lasts forever. I'm also putting a linoleum scrap in for the floor.