My brother-in-law has built two four-bay nesting boxes for me. They are made of wood on the sides (and a kind of countertop, textured surface on the top and bottom), and he's making them so they'll be removable for cleaning. The wood is bare wood, and we were talking about using easy-clean paint (the kind you use in kids' rooms) to make the walls easier to clean. My mother-in-law is concerned about whether the paint would be toxic to the chickens. I know parrots are super sensitive to respiratory irritants, so I think it's a valid concern. I would like the ability to keep the boxes super clean though. Thoughts? Could I just lacquer it, or would that be just as bad? Is there any kind of paint that would be safe to use that would make the wood easier to wash? I appreciate your input!
Eileen
Painting Nesting Boxes
I am certainly no expert but I think just about any paint would be safe and make cleaning easier.
I wouldn't worry about it either...they don't spend that much time in the nest box unless they are broody. But you could always look for low VOC paint:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4667134_voc-paint.html
I have parrots so i can tell you a parrot will chew the wood and eat paint shavings that is why they can be toxic.However you can use any paint that is child safe to paint your chicken boxes.Just make sure its good and dry and not producing fumes anymore.Chickens rarely peck the paint enough to get chuncks off but even if they do a child safe paint would go right thru.
My brother-in-law ended up putting sealer on it and then gloss so it would be easy to clean. Everyone here agreed that paint would chip and peel and would be harder to keep up with in the long run. Thanks everyone!