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1:12 pm
October 31, 2010
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While we're getting the "new" hen house ready, I'm trying to make new items as EASY TO CLEAN as possible. 
My husband just made the nest boxes and I wanted to paint them – thinking that they would be easier to wipe out when they need to be cleaned if the surface is painted rather than bare wood.
Then I got to wondering: Considering the fact that chickens peck everything, is a painted surface (alkyd or acrylic) going to cause any toxic issues? Perhaps they wouldn't be pecking vigorously enough to actually penetrate the surface, but thought I'd ask.
(I know fumes could be an issue but I'm guessing they will be aired out quite well before the chickens ever get in them…)
1:35 pm
December 14, 2010
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If they are reasonably smooth and kept filled with clean hay, I can't think of how they would get very soiled. Chickens won't poop in the nest.
1:45 pm
July 16, 2010
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Well, mine do from time to time but I never really needed to wipe them down. Usually I just replace the straw.
I, however, wouldn't think there would be any problem with painting them.
5:13 pm
February 10, 2009
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I should think it's safe enough to paint if you want to. I agree that they won't need cleaning very often, but painting would be fine, they don't peck much when they're setting on a nest, they're concentrating on the whole egg action thing I think!
6:03 pm
December 14, 2010
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I have seen used lumber reused in hen houses with no ill effects.
7:55 pm
February 22, 2010
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I have to chuckle thinking of painting laying boxes. My son's free range chickens have taken to laying in an old tire in the garage/shed. Maybe he needs to paint the nest boxes in the chicken house…for some reason the girls have rejected the "coop decor".
8:25 pm
December 14, 2010
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When an old hen get broody she is likely to also get clever and hide her nest. She wants to be left alone while she is setting the clutch. Mallard hens are even worse, we had a hen and drake decide that our front yard was just right and started a clutch under a mahonia bush. The fox found it and ate the eggs, so they moved.
9:00 pm
October 31, 2010
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Miss Judy said
I have to chuckle thinking of painting laying boxes. My son's free range chickens have taken to laying in an old tire in the garage/shed. Maybe he needs to paint the nest boxes in the chicken house…for some reason the girls have rejected the "coop decor".
"Coop Decor"…. Ha Ha!!!
(Maybe he should also put in a little sofa and lamp to create "ambiance"!)
It's really "lazy owner"
who doesn't want to work harder than I need to!!!!
2:35 am
March 12, 2012
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Chickens will poop like crazy if they decide that the nest is their bed and sleep there at night. I bought a 6-hole nest box last year that is over fifty years old. Must have at least five coats of white paint on it. Real classy with a hinged fold-down perch that doubles as a door so they can't roost in it at night.
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