Should I paint the roost and ramp?

[BoltonChicken]

Use pressure treated ACQ pine. No, it will NOT kill your chickens, and it is NOT poisonous. No, it will NOT rot. Yes, if you really want to you can paint it.

I used two 2 x 6" ACQ PT pine boards side by side and fastened them together with 1/2 x 1 x 11" strips. Some think that PT wood is dangerous, and and that which is treated it with arsenic would be. The
SAWDUST from it could cause problems if enough of it got into the body. I would NOT use PT arsenic treated sawdust as litter!

I sweep the dried poop off mine weekly and there has been no problems at all.

 

[Chocobo]

Quote:
It was my understanding that the issue was the constant contact the feet have with the pressure treated wood.
Is this something of an urban myth or perhaps once applied to older methods of pressure treatment?

 

[chickenjoefan]

Mine are all painted with a gloss. I haven't added sand or anything to it. It is easy to clean and no-one seems to have a problem with it. having said that I added another perch later which i didn't paint and it is no bother to clean either. personal preference - i would paint it - it looks nicer.

 

[BoltonChicken]

It was my understanding that the issue was the constant contact the feet have with the pressure treated wood.
Is this something of an urban myth or perhaps once applied to older methods of pressure treatment?

I would say urban myth. A great many people have pressure treated decking and I'll bet that they and their kinds go barefoot on it.
There would be a great hue and cry if people started dying from walking on their decks! The arsenic in the wood cannot be released
through contact.

The old PT method used arsenic with a binder that kept it in the wood. About the only way to release that arsenic is to burn the wood. If you want a quick ( but not easy)
death, eat the ashes from PT wood treated in the old method. The new AQC method contains no arsenic and is not poisonous.​

 

[Animalian]

I'd paint the ramp but first maybe nail on a few strips of wood first like this one a 'chicken step' apart
http://t2.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/13/05/07/400_F_13050774_zqUXP8TB7fAz8MUkzfMtpmlyTP6diZJX.jpg

Easy to keep clean and no slipping!

 

[bryan99705]

You should paint the ramp if you worry about cleaning but be sure to have cleats every few inches for traction. Chickens don't like a slippery surface to climb. Don't worry about painting the roost rods as they will wear it off and miss it when the poo.