Oiled coop floor

[Marianne67410]

I'm new to the forum, but have been lurking for some time now.
Has anyone tried using linseed oil, used peanut oil (from the deep fat turkey frier - eeek), or similar cooking oils painted on the coop floor?
I knew a guy years ago that 'painted' his used motor oil on his coop floors and ramps to seal them from moisture. It didn't seem to have any ill effects on the fowl, but personally I wouldn't risk it.
We used linseed oil to oil forms for concrete work, and I have some left over. I thought it might put a good seal on a new plywood floor. Is this a good idea or not?

 

[FourIsWaltz]

Pros and cons... It'll weaken the plywood a bit, but I don't know if it will make a difference structurally unless you've built at the extremes of joist spacing and thin plywood. Also, without a binder, I don't know how long the treatment would last, but it would make a moisture barrier.

I don't know about the guy with the motor oil... too many other things in used oil I'd not want on my feet or too close to my food.

Oh, and be sure to have plenty of ventilation until it dries completely, as linseed oil has a pesky tendency to spontaneously combust.

Really, unless you've got a monster coop, a pail of Name Brand Super Fancy Water Seal is only around $20, and will probably last much much longer without the hassle or downsides.

 

[Brian]

I've looked at linoleum and other options. What I decided on recently, was to buy the thin (half inch, I thing) OSB "plywood" sheets. At $6.99 for a 4x8' sheet, I can cut it, and just tack in place on the existing plywood floor. This way, they can mess up, and spill water all they want, and the subfloor won't be harmed.
Brian

 

[Marianne67410]

OSB will start to degrade when moisture is involved. How long it would last here, I don't know. It's pretty humid here in the summer. I'm not a big fan of it, but it does have it's use and right now it's pretty cheap. I guess I'll go back to the vinyl thought. I have a small roll here, 6 x 8, but the girl's side of the coop is going to be 8 x 9, so I'll have to get another scrap or something.

We were going to start building the coop this next week, but we forgot that the ground is frozen hard and we won't be able to dig holes for the supports/concrete...duh. With my husband's work schedule, we'll have to wait another month before he takes a week off and we can get the coop built. If it rains all that week, it will be another month....as fast as they're growing, I might have to put the chickens in the library with a screen door!! Meanwhile, he's building a bigger brooder for our 8 girls this weekend - 2'x2'x6'. Hope that's big enough. Right now they are 1-1/2 weeks old.

I didn't know that linseed oil would spontaneous combust! We had that experience once with a trash bag full of rags that had Watco oil on them. Luckily we saw that smoke rolling out of the garage before the bag burst into flames.

Thanks for your posts!

 

[jdypat]

something that has worked for me wonderfully...... a large sheet of plastic.. comes in several thicknesses.. when i clean out the chicken house i just roll it up or pull it out and whamo.. clean as new.. done this for 3 years and it totally works for me. plus the fertlizer is already bagged and ready to haul to the garden or flower bed. or give away..

 

[patandchickens]

If you can't dig holes right now, perhaps you could lay down some clear (not black) plastic over the area where they will go. Preferably a good wide swath, not just a hole-sized patch. Weight the edges down really well. That way the ground will thaw more quickly there, AND it will stay marginally drier when you have rains, so it will be better for when you do have the chance to get out the shovels. It really does help.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Marianne67410]

Great ideas!

Pat, I had thought about putting black plastic down to help thaw that section of ground so we can get started sooner. I thought the solar gain would be better. I am curious why you said clear plastic instead?

And Jdypat, the plastic sheeting on the coop floor is a great idea. I have a boatload of that.

We are building our house by ourselves and moved into one room during the winter a couple years ago(we didn't even have our permanent heat system installed yet). We bought heavy, clear plastic to block off the rooms we weren't using so the space heaters weren't trying to heat the entire house. Some plastic is still hanging to help keep down on drywall dust, etc. But I have a pretty good stack of it not being used.

I'm putting the coop in front of my veggie garden, and using kennel panels to section it off down the middle. The plan of the moment is to let the chickens (currently 8 chicks) have half of the garden one year, the other half the following (it's a rather large garden area). Hubby said it wouldn't be that big a deal to put the netting over which ever part the birds are in to keep them out of the veggie area. I'm planning on using the deep litter method and changing the coop litter in the fall. Using the plastic would make it a lot easier to get it where I wanted it.

I don't know if the poo/litter will break down enough during the winter for me to be able to plant my veggies the following spring, especially after the hens have been in there for months. It might still be too hot. I do have room to expand the garden, so I might have to do it in thirds, letting one section just be the composting part, OR I could do a chicken run clear around the garden so they can nab grasshoppers before they make it to the growing area OR I could just have the litter be in a compost pile for flower beds, etc...IF I ever get to the point where I can have a flower bed, sigh.

Again, great ideas! and decisions to make.....

Thanks,
Marianne
'The procrastinators motto: It's a work in progress'

 

[twigg]

Vegetable oil will quickly go rancid in warm weather.

Use a mineral oil, but not motor oil.

Tung or Danish oil would work well.

I use Australian Timber Oil for all the outdoor funiture I make. It is durable and looks good.
Steve's Woodshop