Got sand? You should!

First, I have a question. Has anyone used the limestone sand that we use in horse stalls under the rubber mats? It's really cheap to buy - it's often used as a topcoat for gravel driveways to make them very smooth and solid. It also acts as a leach bed under the horse stall mats to keep the urine odor down. I don't know if it would be too acidic on their feet or not. It's basically limestone that has been ground down.

Second, everyone seems to have questions about cleaning with a cat litter box scoop. I'm surprised that none of the Florida people haven't mentioned the "Florida Snow Shovel." It is only termed that. LOL. It is used for finding and sifting through sand on the beaches of Venice, Florida for fossilized shark's teeth. I've grabbed a couple of photos from the web, but you can also do a google search for the mentioned phrase. You can find these "shovels" in surf shops and beach shops on Florida's west coast. I think the metal one would be easy to make with some aluminum bars or some long L-shaped corner reinforcers used in construction to make the box part of the shovel. You can then screw hardware cloth on the frame and attach a broom handle. It sure would save on time and bending for floor or run cleaning.

Me likey that looks like it would be easy to make too.

Dang.. and i used to dig in the sand with my bare paws....
Huh...
Cheaters...

I made myself something similar with half inch hardware cloth (wire mesh) but I think it lets too much pass through. Quarter inch would be better, but I didn't have any on hand at the moment, so I used what I had. These look like they would do the trick.

Almost forgot the first half of your post. I have no idea if the crushed limestone is a good idea or not. No experience with it, and not smart enough to venture a guess.

Ok... I'm sold... sand in the coop AND in the run. What in the nesting boxes... that the hens will like and will clean up easy when kicked out and into the sand?

I live in the PNW, the coop has a cement foundation and I use sand. I don't know if it's the damp Oregon coast or not, but I have to change out my sand about three times a year. Fortunately, here on the coast, I have an endless supply. I don't garden, so no need to compost.

My dad has a pellet stove and buys a couple tons of pellets in the fall. He usually loses a couple bags of pellets each year to moisture and can't use them in the stove. I use them in my nesting boxes and it works nicely.

I put shavings in some nests and sand in others and found the hens showed no preference as to where they laid eggs. I now have sand in all nests.

After reading all these posts, I finally gave it a try. And two days later, I'm totally sold as well. Granted I only have 3 hens so my clean up is minimal. I can scoop up their dropping from their house in just a few seconds and dump it into the composter each morning. This way I know they are breathing fresh air while sitting in the nest boxes laying eggs.

And my girls are not digging in it. They would scratch the pine shavings moving them to one side of the house and I had to go out each night and scatter it back or else I was scrapping turds off the wood floor the next day.

Great idea. Thanks for sharing.

I'm sold on sand. Been using it for two weeks and love it. Scooping it out give me time with the chickens. I scoop awhile then stop and watch them play.

Question........won't the sand become saturated with the urine odor(ammonia) ? I have a sand bath area for them and I rake it daily but I know some of the droppings fall apart and stay in the sand.