We are unsure about how to make sure the coop is weathertight.  Hubby says that we can use paint, but durability and adding more chemicals are a major concern.  Does anyone know of a good water sealer?  We want eggs that are:  , not & sickly.  

Any and all hints are welcome!!  Thanks in advance.

exterior grade plywood, mostly.  there is some OSB too, but that is all on the inside.  Do we need to have a sealer on the inside and outside?

I suppose i am worried about the chemicals for the sealer/paint/coating materials used could get into the chickens somehow.  We don't want them to get sick–or us get sick.  Non-toxic seems to have various definitions now.  Kind of like "natural" vs. "organic."  It gets confusing. 

Thanks Pete, I wasn't sure.  I just know that our winters are quite cold and hot &humid in the summers.  We get quite a bit of rain and snow. 

I have , but this was such a specific question.  I thought too that since so many people are getting chicks this time of year that they may need to build their own coop. 

Monica—-I'm certainly no "expert", but I built/had a coop in a past life and have one now. I've never painted/sealed/caulked them, and both were made with plywood and old barn wood.  The corregated metal roof has about a foot or so overhang all the way around and that keeps the rain and snow out.

The top two or three feet of the walls are chicken wire and hardware cloth on all four sides and always open(no shutters)——there needs to be good ventilation and we don't have any trouble with the wet weather getting inside.  Plywood, especially exterior grade, shouldn't rot or come apart when it's vertical on the walls.  The problem would be if water stands on it, like it would on the floor, but the roof overhang takes care of that. It gets down to and below zero here, and we've not lost/damaged any chickens yet.  Nor did I in that past life.

Suzanne probably had to do some serious bribing with chocolate donuts to get 52 to write!!!!

Thank you everyone!!!!!!  

I do have another question about which fencing is best:  the Hex fencing or the square holes?  Does anybody have a preference??  We do have hawks, eagles, fox, racoon, dogs in the area.  Thanks everyone!

Hey Monica—-We (and I use that term loosely) used  5 foot tall  2x4 inch welded wire fence in the yard with chicken wire around the bottom so little chicks couldn't get out.  For the house itself, we (and I use the term loosely again—I remember doing it after dark one cold night) eventually used hardware cloth—-the very fine (1/4 inch squares) stiff metal stuff on the upper part of the house.  It's more expensive, but when you have to go back and do over ( in the cold and dark) because Someone suspects something tried to get in through the chicken wire I used originally, the cost is worth it.  Then we (again) put chicken wire over the top of the yard so the non-existent hawk attacks wouldn't happen.

I'm not bitter—I love her and her chickens :)