Painting interior of coop

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
I would first, test that old paint for lead!!! You don't want to mess with lead paint, and you don't want your chickens eating it, or in it at all! Also, old buildings generally have lead paint on them, so the dirt nearby has lead in it, and again, chickens will pick this up, and their eggs will have it too. Check this out and clean up what needs to be cleaned up first.
Painting over chipping paint, it will continue to chip off.
I used a stain on the inside of my old coop, and like it too. the water based Kilz isn't so smelly, so that's a good paint choice, or better yet, 'whoops paint' from the paint department or the Habitat Restore. It's a chicken coop!
This coop needs hardware cloth over those windows, and lots of ventilation, as mentioned.
Make sure that any rodent nests (in walls?) are dealt with too, and have a dig proof foundation. Is that a concrete floor? Wonderful!
You have a very nice building! Lucky!
Mary

 

[Cchurchill91]

What is the floor?

I agree a really good cleaning, no insulation, fix the ventilation and hardware cloth on the windows.

Which direction do those windows face?

Thank you. What would you recommend doing for proper ventilation? The windows face south. Here are pictures of the floor.

 

[DobieLover]

We were wondering if we should just take that whole middle barrier with the plastic down completely. Should it stay up at all? Ventilation is something I don’t know much about. There is a vent to the outside in the attic and a hole in the ceiling to get up there but right now it seems like it would be too big of a draft with it left completely open as is. As for the floor there looks to be no ventilation. What would you suggest? Thanks for your help! Excuse all the stuff outside, we’re still cleaning up everything that was left in there.

Is that "attic" space usable? I would personally tear down the ceiling and expose the ceiling joists. You would then want to staple chicken wire or something to the ceiling side of the joists to keep the birds from flying up there.
That gable vent is far from being too big. I would staple 1/2" HC to the inside of it and install another to the other gable side if one is not already there.
What is under the soffit area? If it is just trimmed out with a board, rip it off and staple up 1/2" hardware cloth for more ventilation.

 

[Folly's place]

I love your future coop!
If those windows face south, it's perfect! You will want them to be opened on the top, probably all year, for ventilation. Big vents in the upper sections of the walls, with those louvered vent covers, will keep rain and snow out, and all windows opened in spring, summer, and fall. Ventilation!
Mary

 

[DobieLover]

Mary makes a good point about the lead paint.
But wet scrubbing and washing is safe. You just want to make sure you get all the loose paint up and bagged.
Definitely get a flake of paint and the surrounding soil tested. It could be that the building wasn't painted until after 1978 in which case you'll be okay.

 

[Cchurchill91]

Welcome!
I would first, test that old paint for lead!!! You don't want to mess with lead paint, and you don't want your chickens eating it, or in it at all! Also, old buildings generally have lead paint on them, so the dirt nearby has lead in it, and again, chickens will pick this up, and their eggs will have it too. Check this out and clean up what needs to be cleaned up first.
Painting over chipping paint, it will continue to chip off.
I used a stain on the inside of my old coop, and like it too. the water based Kilz isn't so smelly, so that's a good paint choice, or better yet, 'whoops paint' from the paint department or the Habitat Restore. It's a chicken coop!
This coop needs hardware cloth over those windows, and lots of ventilation, as mentioned.
Make sure that any rodent nests (in walls?) are dealt with too, and have a dig proof foundation. Is that a concrete floor? Wonderful!
You have a very nice building! Lucky!
Mary

Thank you, lead never even crossed my mind. I will look into that ASAP. Thanks for the paint recommendations as well. There are definitely signs of rodents in there. I swept out a whole lot of mouse and rat poop the other day, as well as an old nest. Exciting to get this coop up and running again with all of your help!

 

[Cchurchill91]

Is that "attic" space usable? I would personally tear down the ceiling and expose the ceiling joists. You would then want to staple chicken wire or something to the ceiling side of the joists to keep the birds from flying up there.
That gable vent is far from being too big. I would staple 1/2" HC to the inside of it and install another to the other gable side if one is not already there.
What is under the soffit area? If it is just trimmed out with a board, rip it off and staple up 1/2" hardware cloth for more ventilation.

The attic space is currently filled with some old building materials but it could all be taken out and torn down. The soffit area is trimmed with board and there is another vent of the same size on the other side of the attic space. Thanks again for all your help with this. We will be taking all of your advice!

 

[DobieLover]

The attic space is currently filled with some old building materials but it could all be taken out and torn down. The soffit area is trimmed with board and there is another vent of the same size on the other side of the attic space. Thanks again for all your help with this. We will be taking all of your advice!

Keep us posted with your progress. If you have any questions about what to do, we'll offer more ideas.
Good luck and enjoy the renovations!!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The soffit area is trimmed with board and there is another vent of the same size on the other side of the attic space.

Those attic vents are just for venting the attic literally. And will be very insufficient for winter chicken coop.

Many folks start with the idea that closing them up makes them warmer. You can see though that is not the case and it may actually cause more issues than the cold itself. Buff Orpington.. are very over rated birds in my experience and their comb TIPS may get frostbite IF ventilation is not adequate. Usually the tips fall off and the comb is left fine IF that happens. Orps are also lovely fun birds though when not being compared to the excess amount of breeds I've had the joy of interacting with. Each chicken is such an individual!

I just love this community and all the caring and sharing! Here is ONE thread on ventilation, I haven't read it but presume it's decent if it's included in @aart tagline which I remembered seeing and is how I found it to post here.

 

[Cchurchill91]

Those attic vents are just for venting the attic literally. And will be very insufficient for winter chicken coop.

Many folks start with the idea that closing them up makes them warmer. You can see though that is not the case and it may actually cause more issues than the cold itself. Buff Orpington.. are very over rated birds in my experience and their comb TIPS may get frostbite IF ventilation is not adequate. Usually the tips fall off and the comb is left fine IF that happens. Orps are also lovely fun birds though when not being compared to the excess amount of breeds I've had the joy of interacting with. Each chicken is such an individual!

I just love this community and all the caring and sharing! Here is ONE thread on ventilation, I haven't read it but presume it's decent if it's included in @aart tagline which I remembered seeing and is how I found it to post here.

Do you think if we went through with taking the attic floor down to expose the ceiling joists as a PP suggested, the vents would be effective in providing some ventilation? We are planning on doing that.

I don’t have chicken experience but heard good things about the Orpingtons. Loving my chicks and their individual personalities already. We will eventually expand our flock with more breeds. Do you have a favourite?

I’m really loving all the support on this site. I couldn’t find the link on ventilation in your post but I’ll start researching as much as I can. I want to provide the most comfortable housing possible for my chickens and would hate to see them get frostbite over the winter due to my lack of knowledge. Thanks for your help!