What material should I use on top of the plywood floor of my chicken coop?

[BigBlueHen53]

I still have bare plywood flooring and don't know how I would paint or seal it at this point with chickens going in and out all day. Especially that Black Jack stuff, how long does that take to dry? I have close to 30 hens/pullets and they want in to use the nests, and I don't want them getting paint or rubberized material on their feet or in their feathers. Would vinyl tile be a better choice for me?

 

[saysfaa]

.... Would vinyl tile be a better choice for me?

I would still paint. Black jack would be my second choice.

I would fence off of a section at a time so the hens can still get to at least some of the nests.

Black jack cures about a day if I remember correctly. Slower in cooler weather. Probably slower in rainy weather. As in cures enough to touch lightly without getting any on your fingers or to put another coat on or walk across if you don't scuff your feet or such. By three days or so, it seemed done enough to walk across without much thought. The label says a minimum of 15 days to fully cure.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I still have bare plywood flooring and don't know how I would paint or seal it at this point with chickens going in and out all day. Especially that Black Jack stuff, how long does that take to dry? I have close to 30 hens/pullets and they want in to use the nests, and I don't want them getting paint or rubberized material on their feet or in their feathers. Would vinyl tile be a better choice for me?

To fully cure, it depends on weather and temperatures, but it could take a few days up to something like 2 weeks. And it takes at least 2 coats.

I've read of people using it in an occupied coop by choosing a day that's optimal for drying, locking the birds out (yes they'd have to lay in the run or wherever), applying it first thing in the morning and letting it dry as much as possible during the day, then putting in bedding late in the afternoon when it's hopefully mostly surface dry to minimize any sticking. The chickens shouldn't have an issue since they're walking on the bedding, not the BlackJack. As I haven't tried it myself I don't know how well that method works.

I'll need to touch up my BlackJack next year under the feeder, where all the scratching as finally started wearing down on the coating, so I guess I'll find out for myself if that works once that happens.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

As high as our humidity is, I wouldn't bet on it ever fully curing out. I'm talking 78 to 98% humidity always.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'll go with vinyl tile.

 

[saysfaa]

It cures rather than dries... So it might not matter much how humid it is. Like cement "drying" underwater.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It cures rather than dries... So it might not matter much how humid it is. Like cement "drying" underwater.

Ah, makes sense, thank you.

 

[jillybeansisme]

My chicken coop floor is currently plywood and a friend recommended linoleum for easier cleaning. I saw someone somewhere on this forum say they used a roof coat material. It was black Jack rubr roof coating #57. He said it didn't smell like petrol because it was water based. We are trying to get this done as cheaply as possible but I do want to keep the floor relatively clean. At least as long as I have toddlers.

Do I have any other options for making the floor easier to keep clean?

Just go to a big box store such as Home Depot and get some vinyl flooring off a roll. I ran it a foot up the sides of my coop. It didn't cost much, and is easy to clean.

 

[Borders3]

I went to my local flooring shop and bought a piece of vinyl offcut cheap, put it on the floor with a sprinkling of straw also installed poop boards and put it on there as well. Only poop on the floor is as they walk in and out of the coop, so very little.

 

[Rock and Rhode]

My chicken coop floor is currently plywood and a friend recommended linoleum for easier cleaning. I saw someone somewhere on this forum say they used a roof coat material. It was black Jack rubr roof coating #57. He said it didn't smell like petrol because it was water based. We are trying to get this done as cheaply as possible but I do want to keep the floor relatively clean. At least as long as I have toddlers.

Do I have any other options for making the floor easier to keep clean?

I just used Linseed oil and cover the floor with straw and a sprinkle of stall dry pellets (for horses that absorb moisture and odors) and my floor is just a sweep up after I fork out the straw.