What can I seal the coop floor with after chickens have moved in? (fast drying time)

[K0k0shka]

5 years ago I stapled down vinyl sheets ("easy wipe tablecloth") on the floor when I was building my current coop. The floor under them is OSB that's sealed with a solid color wood stain. The vinyl was sold by the yard and wasn't wide enough for my 5x7 coop, so I laid down two sheets, one overlapping the other by a foot or so. The vinyl has held up very well and has made the deep clean really easy. However, the edge where the sheets overlap started lifting after a few years (sine the staples are every 6 inches or so), and debris was getting stuck underneath, making sweeping a pain, so I decided to rip out the sheets and replace them with a new vinyl sheet I found which is wide enough to cover the whole floor. However, once I removed the vinyl, I saw that moisture must have been getting underneath where the sheets overlapped, despite the wide overlap margin, and there was black mold on the wood in that area! I scrubbed the mold off, but now I'm hesitant to use vinyl again, even if it's one continuous sheet. So I'm looking for something else to seal the floor with, ideally something I can paint on instead of laying on top. I know a lot of people love Blackjack 57, but it has a very long drying time. Other rubber paints do, too. I don't have a second coop where my chickens can live while the floor cures. What else can I paint on the wood to make sure it's well protected, that can ideally dry/cure within a day so the chickens can go back in to sleep that night? (they can stay in the run during the day) The floor might be fine with just the solid color stain I have on right now, but given that it's OSB, I want to give it more protection if I can. The coop bedding is a thick layer of pine shavings and it stays quite dry on the surface, but I guess there's some moisture at the bottom.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You could still do BJ57 but you'd definitely want to aim for a warm, dry day, and do it early as possible in the morning. It actually doesn't have a long surface drying time, it's the full cure time that's long. Ideally you want it to surface dry enough that it's just slightly tacky, and then throw a thin layer of bedding over it and give it time to cure. Repeat in a few days for second coat.

I need to touch up my BJ57 this year so that's what I plan on doing.

 

[K0k0shka]

You could still do BJ57 but you'd definitely want to aim for a warm, dry day, and do it early as possible in the morning. It actually doesn't have a long surface drying time, it's the full cure time that's long. Ideally you want it to surface dry enough that it's just slightly tacky, and then throw a thin layer of bedding over it and give it time to cure. Repeat in a few days for second coat.

I need to touch up my BJ57 this year so that's what I plan on doing.

This is very helpful, thank you! I could even remove the thin layer of shavings the following morning and leave it uncovered to dry/cure for another full day (with the chickens locked outside) until it's not tacky anymore.

How long have you had yours on that you need to touch it up now? How long does it last before needing repairs?

 

[Ted Brown]

I used BJ57, two coats, 6 years ago. Last Spring when I did my annual coop clean out floor had lightened in colour (dust) but was intact. I used to keep water fountains inside and spill would cause the bedding underneath to freeze, I just ignored it; those areas are no different than the rest.

I used 1x6 rough cut pine for the floors so no possibility of delamination. Check that your floors are completely dry before applying.

 

[K0k0shka]

I used BJ57, two coats, 6 years ago. Last Spring when I did my annual coop clean out floor had lightened in colour (dust) but was intact. I used to keep water fountains inside and spill would cause the bedding underneath to freeze, I just ignored it; those areas are no different than the rest.

I used 1x6 rough cut pine for the floors so no possibility of delamination. Check that your floors are completely dry before applying.

Thanks! Do you remember how long it took for it to dry, and how long between coats?

 

[Ted Brown]

Thanks! Do you remember how long it took for it to dry, and how long between coats?

My sister actually did the application so my memory is a bit foggy. I believe it took 3 days elapsed; first application was done morning of day 1, 24 hours to dry (warm sunny day and huge ventilation from coop); 2nd application PM of day 2, 24 hours to dry. We immediately added bedding and moved the chickens in.

I will reach out to my sister to confirm, will update if different than above.

BTW I strongly recommend BJ67, it is very tough, easily renewed in patches or a complete redo. Get the worst rag clothes you have cause you will get some on you and it does not wash out.

Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

How long have you had yours on that you need to touch it up now? How long does it last before needing repairs?

Mine was applied in 2018. The majority of it is fine, the area directly under the feeder is scratched up from the birds constantly scratching for dropped pellets, and the part by the human door is also worn down from having been scraped repeatedly to remove ice.