What should I paint my chicken house with?

I'm just starting out and now have my hen house about to start building a larger run to it and hopefully get some hens in a couple of weeks.  I wanted to give the house a couple of extra coats before they move in and I have read of people using cresote to kill the mites.  Would this be better than a cuprinol preserver and my main concern is, is it safe.

thats what i thought but i have read posts of people painting their chicken houses with it to kill mites and i was confused as it does stink as well.

u need not to worry about painting the inside of the house as the paint fumes could maybe damage your girls  spraying with red mite spray of poulty shield on a regular basis will help pervent any red mite investion .

protecting the outside of the house is a must u can use cupinarol ducks back as it has added wax but dont do what i did  an paint it on when the day is cold an damp it doesnt dry to well .

Use a water based preservative such as either Cuprinol Ducksback which is guarenteed for 5 years or the Shed & Fence preserver which needs to be used every year.  Personally I use the latter and I paint the roof at least twice a year and the rest just once.  I think if the Ducks back lasts as long as they claim it will be worth the extra cost.  You should not paint the inside surfaces as it's not needed.  Don't use an oil based paint such as normal exterior gloss for example.  It flakes quickly and the birds pick it off and once you've used this it needs to be stripped down and sandpapered to reapply so take a lot of time and effort.

Creosote is now only available to professsionals and then can only be used for retreating previously treated wood.  It does help eliminate red mite but it is not animal safe so needed to be applied selectively and sparingly and allowed to soak in and dry for a couple of weeks before reintroducing the birds.  All academic now though and I'm not sure if it's replacement "Creocote" has the same red mite killing properities or is animal safe.
HF

thanks for all the advice, we sealed the joins and i have painted the outsides today, want to give them at least another coat.  But the concrete is down for the base and hubby is putting a layer of bricks on that to raise the house off the wet ground tomorrow.  I'm planning to use gravel around the house and in the run but the hens will have the garden to destroy as well.

I am sure I read on here somewhere that you could paint the inside of the chicken coup white as, although it wouldn't deter the red mites, you would at least see them when they turn up.  Is this good advice as I was thinking of doing it after filling up the gaps?

Red Mite aren't that dificult to see that it justifies this.  They hide in crevices and particularly around perches and once you know what to look for are easy to spot.  Any "white" paint will be picked off by the chx and potentially can be harmful. 

If you want to paint the inside of the house to benefitial effect then mix Diatom into a disifectant/ water base to form a slurry with the consistency of a light batter which you can paint on the perches and corners of nest boxes.  The Diatom will deter colonisation and kill RM it comes into contact with and will produce less dust than sprinkling it in the litter which isn't a good idea as dust in a confined space can be harmful as well as being a good vector for virus infections.
HF

If you want to know what red Mite look like here they are on the end of a roosting pole!