To Paint, or not to paint.

[Prospector]

Some folks on here have done an amazing job of painting their coops. Some haven't painted at all. Some have painted all surfaces, inside and out. Some have only painted the outside. I am almost finished framing th ecoop, and its time to look at plywood. Before I do that, it would be easier to paint the framing with the plywood off it.

So now I need to know - do I need to paint the inside of the coop? Is there an advantage to this?

 

[Mahonri]

I wish I would have painted the inside with a glossy paint... for easier cleanup.

 

[blueskylen]

outside painted - inside not on mine

 

[teach1rusl]

Paint provides a barrier against moisture. As mahonri mentioned...much easier to clean/wipe down if it's painted, because liquids (such as runny poo and even spilled/spashed water) don't soak in. Plus it's just looks bright and cheery...lol

I didn't paint mine, but did cover the inside in a white, masonite-like paneling. So it's very easy to wipe down. I think I can safely say that you'll never end up thinking "Dang...I wish I hadn't painted this thing." But the odds are fairly high that if you don't, you'll someday think "Dang...I sure wish I'd painted this thing."

 

[AnnainMD]

I highly recommend painting at least the inside of your coop with semi-gloss or gloss exterior paint, it makes cleaning the coop so much easier. Poop goes EVERYWHERE and considering how I like things kept clean, I couldn't imagine the poop on bare wood. Ick, it would seep in and stain everything.

If you didn't paint the inside of the coop, I would install a poop/droppings tray or board.

Painting or staining the outside helps to preserve the wood, plus it looks nicer. So whatever you want to do.

 

[AnnainMD]

Perfect timing:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4112151#p4112151

 

[Prospector]

Based on what I'm seeing here...

I think I'll paint the insides, and build a droppings tray. I think I can get a scrap of linoleum for the droppings board, but we'll have to see what the design looks like once I'm done. I'm guessing the droppings board negates the need for shavings in the coop??

 

[patandchickens]

You don't *have* to paint, but it will make your coop last longer, be far easier to clean, reduce the ability of mites (should you someday acquire some) to find hiding places, and brighten the coop (useful in areas that get very short days during wintertime).

Personally I think it is WAY worth the minor effort (and if you score some leftover paint, it needn't cost much of any money). Prime properly first, and use several THIN (not thick) coats of paint.

But it is not like your chickens will curl up and die if you don't paint

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[AnnainMD]

No it doesn't, since they walk and poop, think and poop, eat and poop, drink and poop. As you know they poop everywhere so shavings in the coop help tremendously. The shavings dry up the poop very quickly leaving just dust. I was actually quite surprised to NOT have piles of poop on the floor and all because of the shavings. Plus it gives them a softer landing from the roost.

The droppings tray/board goes under the roost and catches the majority of their poop when they're sleeping. I have a dropping tray filled with Stall-Dry that I use a cat litter scoop on one a week. So far I LOVE it. It's amazing how well it works.

Good luck.

 

[Prospector]

Annain, can you post a pic of how yuor droppings tray integrates with your coop? I thought it was basically a double-bottom to the coop with th etop being hardware cloth, and th ebottom being the droppings tray. If that was the case, then the shavings would prevent th edroppings from going through the hardware cloth. I'll have to take a closer look at the coops page to see some interiors.