Do you use bedding in your run or leave it bare dirt?

So it's open to the rain/snow?
How deep is that sand?
Just wonder if it will eventually become saturated with pulverized poops and stink when wet....time will tell.


That is exactly what happened to my run. I had blissfully enjoyed sand all summer, fall and winter. But come spring thaw and rain all that poop that had "dried up and crumbled away" started to reek. Best of luck with the sand. I truly hope your results are better than mine. Especially since it sounds like it would be a pain if you had to haul it all out of there.
 
Yeah, we considered a bunch of options because we had read this from others, too. In the end we have 6-8" of sand on top of about 4" of gravel all in a concrete foundation with French drains along the two lowest sides. The pipe empties down the hill. There's landscape cloth between the sand and gravel so I can turn the sand with a shovel every once in a while. Most of it is open to the elements but if the rain isn't enough, I can wash it down well with a hose. Theoretically..........fingers crossed! :)
 
Yeah, we considered a bunch of options because we had read this from others, too. In the end we have 6-8" of sand on top of about 4" of gravel all in a concrete foundation with French drains along the two lowest sides. The pipe empties down the hill. There's landscape cloth between the sand and gravel so I can turn the sand with a shovel every once in a while. Most of it is open to the elements but if the rain isn't enough, I can wash it down well with a hose. Theoretically..........fingers crossed! :)


That does sound like a good drainage system.
 
Honestly, none. My property is on low lying land near wetlands. The water table is very high. The bit of reading I did on sand prior to using it claimed it to be a great answer to areas prone to wetness which was why I opted to use it in my covered run.

It did a fabulous job in the summer, fall, and all through the winter. With the spring thaw and rains however, it became saturated from water seeping up from the ground. In retrospect, I'd have needed to have a drainage system like yours for sand to work for me. Unfortunately, everything I'd read prior to installing the sand had led me to believe that it alone would be the "magic" fix. Sand might work for those lucky enough to install it in an area already blessed with good drainage, or for those with the foresight and ability to prepare the area with a good system such as yours before installing the sand, but it wasn't for me.

Honestly, my birds like the deep litter better and I like not scooping and raking daily. Knowing what I know now about the maintenance required for both sand and deep litter and what I know of my particular setting I would never go through the bother of preparing a coop area for the proper application of sand. It just wouldn't be worth the effort or expense. Not when I can have a successful deep litter that functions perfectly well even in my moist environment with absolutely no site prep at all.
 
It sounds like we have exactly the opposite type of location. My coop is on the very top of a hill of packed clay and rock that tends to go bone dry really quickly. There's nothing that resembles deep litter until you get at least 50 yards further down the hill into the forest. Also south far enough that it just goes through a couple freezing cycles every winter. Part of the reason for building all the infrastructure was because there wasn't enough flat space to start with. I try to give them various things to scratch around in, climb, and play with to keep them entertained on the sand. Time will tell but I sure hope it'll turn out as planned. :)
 
Only time will tell if the sand holds up...or rather drains out poops.
You still have a heck of a foundation and coop and run.....if you have to swap out the sand later, you're still miles ahead of many others.
 

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