Building a henhouse, do I need to creosote it?

[vixfinn]

Hi all, my other half is going to convert our pirate forte playhouse into a coop! We will be lining the inside with marine ply. I was just wondering if we use wood sealant on all the joins/corners do we have to use a creosote substitute at all??
Been reading the thread about mites and although I'd like to use a preventative method I'm a bit worried about using something so toxic and strong. Does it really deter them? Does it affect the hens?
Won't be getting the hens for a while so not a problem with drying out. Will have tonnes more questions once coop is nearing completion!

[Bramble-Poultry]

if teh shed has never had chickens, then it is unliekly that it contains mite and therefore will not need anything more than a standard preservative treatment as you would normally to preserve the wood.

However, next season (or if we are damned later on this season) you will need to put some kind of preventative up. A good thing to use if this is your first house and everything is clean, is to use a good red mite spary. some are wax spray base and can remain active on the wood for up to 3 months. You will probably use up a whole can on the shed but at least you're covered.

I would also suggest stripping off the old roofing felt, covering the roof with mite powder, and then putting new felt back on top. THis will stop the mites trying to live under the roofing felt (a favoured place to hide) as if they crawl under the felt the will get nuked by the powder.

If all else fails, you can shut the birds out of the house dring the day, and set off a Bob Martin Flea Bomb. the smoke is pure pyrethrum and lethal to all crawling insects, and pretty harsh on chickens lungs too, which is why you shut them out. It burns for about a 1/4 hour, and i would then vent the house for a couple of hours before you let them back in.

Good luck with the conversion - we want pictures of course.........

[vixfinn]

Thanks very much for the advice, will get a waxy mite spray. It's going to be a very unusual looking house for sure so I will take a series of pics before and after conversion and put them up. Plus pirate hens of course!

[vicky]

We converted a wendyhouse too - they make a really useable coop and look fun too.
I painted the inside of mine with gloss (several weeks before chook arrival due to fumes) as this serves to seal cracks plus you can see everything against the white paint which means detection is quicker if you had a problem. I found it worked really well.
We also removed the felt roof and replaced with that corragated stuff (ahhggg! What's the name of it?)
Pictures please!

[vixfinn]

Good idea, was thinking of lining it all inside with lino but gloss would wipe down and seal better I think. The forte is on stilts with the roof beginning about 6ft up so I'm going to have to train the madams to climb the ladder thing!

[Suechooks]

We also removed the felt roof and replaced with that corragated stuff (ahhggg! What's the name of it?)
Pictures please!

Onduline

[Maddie106]

Hi all, my other half is going to convert our pirate forte playhouse into a coop! We will be lining the inside with marine ply. I was just wondering if we use wood sealant on all the joins/corners do we have to use a creosote substitute at all??
Been reading the thread about mites and although I'd like to use a preventative method I'm a bit worried about using something so toxic and strong. Does it really deter them? Does it affect the hens?
Won't be getting the hens for a while so not a problem with drying out. Will have tonnes more questions once coop is nearing completion!

Do NOT use creosote!!!
It's really nasty stuff.(all the phenols etc
Don't get paranoid about red mite. Just check under perches at night. If you have a problem, deal with it!

[Maddie106]

Do NOT use creosote!!!
It's really nasty stuff.(all the phenols etc
Don't get paranoid about red mite. Just check under perches at night. If you have a problem, deal with it!

Chill out about getting chickens!
They are really rewarding and SO relaxing to have.
You just need to provide them with a secure fox-proof run, clean water and a constant supply of layers pellets, plus some chicken "Treats".( Dandelion/grass leaves from the garden,pasta/rice, carrot peelings, stale bread, lettuce etc)

PM me if you need any more local Leeds advice.

[Bramble-Poultry]

Do NOT use creosote!!!
It's really nasty stuff.(all the phenols etc
Don't get paranoid about red mite. Just check under perches at night. If you have a problem, deal with it!

which is why creosote is now banned and we have to use a creosote substitute such as creocote.

once creocote is dry it is very stable, you just need to give it about a week for the vapours to subside before you lock birds into it at night

[vixfinn]

Note to self: Must stop fretting about everything chicken related!
I think I'm turning it into a much larger headache than it need be. Chillax Vix!!

[RichmondHens]

Hi Fix - Don't fret about fretting! You are going about things the right way. Ask questions first, get chickens later. Research into all things chook related and decide what is best for you. You will get a lot of different answers I'm sure.

We have used Creocote/creosote substitute for quite a number of years with no problems. As Bramble says, once dry it is perfectly OK. If you are lining the house with ply I would suggest painting between the ply and the outer wall with Creocote as this is where the mite will hide. You could then get away with just doing the joints/corners on the interior, ie the side the hens will be roosting. Give a good coat all round the ends of the perches, you don't need to do the whole length of perch. I would also suggest making your perches easily removable so you can lift them out when you muck out. You can then check for mite more easily.