Here's a joke: Knock, knock. Who's there? A dairy goat. A dairy goat who? A dairy goat who ate all your paint. hahahaha

March 29, 2011 8:42 PM

Not a joke: What kind of paint do goats prefer?

... and I don't mean to munch on.

Getting some dairy goats this weekend. They will be living in a shed that was here when we moved in, which has bare wood inside and out -- I think it is cedar. There is a window in the east wall, but the shed is in the woods, more or less, so it's pretty dark inside. We will be putting artificial light, and opening it up during the day and whatnot, but I thought it might be good to paint the interior white, as well, to reflect what light there is. But I don't want to make them sick from the fumes when they arrive in 4-5 days.

Anyway, the goats are just for context; obviously you are not required to be a goat expert. I am looking for paint that is low-odor and/or non-toxic, easy-to-clean, reflective?, preferably mildew-resistant, and quick-drying if possible. We would like to be able to spray it on with a rented paint sprayer, too, for faster application. It would be best if we can hose it down and possibly scrub when we muck out the shed. We are OK with reapplying every few years or whatever if needed.

(I know nothing about paint, obviously. This is outside of Seattle and it is supposed to rain for the next several days. Will this affect drying time? We can certainly leave the window and the top half of the Dutch doors open for it to air out. Should we put a fan in there or something?)

posted by librarina to home & garden (6 answers total)

You could use milk paint which is non-toxic. It might not give you a super bright white, but my friend painted her kid's furniture with it in a periwinkle that was a lovely deep purpley blue after just a couple of coats.
posted by agatha_magatha at 8:53 PM on March 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Almost all retail paint lines have non-toxic options that will work great for your purposes. You'll want to look for something with low/zero VOCs (volatile organic compounds). I was going to suggest kids room paint (snort!) but you'll probably want indoor/outdoor (it's more durable and can handle temperature fluctuations) and of course make sure it's washable.
posted by amyms at 9:39 PM on March 29, 2011

We have a herd of dairy goats at our place, but they're completely my wife's specialty area... I just go out and pet them every now and then and feed them when asked. I asked her advice about this just now and she says this: "I recommend making and using white wash, because it is specifically for this purpose. Here is a good source of info on how to make it: http://www.fiascofarm.com/recipes/whitewash.html. Also I highly recommend that website for ALL information related to dairy goats... this is my go-to site for everything and so far she's never been wrong."
posted by crapmatic at 9:42 PM on March 29, 2011 [4 favorites]

I was just about to go in the other room to dig up my whitewash recipe, but the link from crapmatic is perfect! Mix the lime in slowly, and use cheap salt (I use water softener salt).

Have fun with the dairy goats!
posted by Nickel Pickle at 9:52 PM on March 29, 2011

crapmatic, please thank your wife. That's a great link!
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:09 AM on March 30, 2011

I looked into making my own milk paint but it sounded like it would wash right off if hosed off -- though it's so cheap that it would be super easy to re-apply. But in any case I think whitewash is the way to go (especially if Fias Co Farm recommends it) even if it has the same issues with washability.

(amyms, I had no idea there was such thing as kids' room paint -- that is useful to know for the future.)

Thanks, all!
posted by librarina at 8:08 AM on March 30, 2011