Use the sand until it gets caked up and starts to clump. Then shovel it into a big trashcan with a screen over it or rinse the sand out. Take the liquid/dry manure for your garden.
Those who have sand in the coop--how does that work?
- Thread starter WalkingOnSunshine
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #12
Oh, I like this idea. Thanks!
I use sand in both my run and coop. It has been working well in both. I mix in PDZ and that really helps in the coop to dry poop up and keep odor down. Your coop is much bigger than mine, but regardless you could clean it periodically as one would cat litter. I use a kitty litter scoop (again, I have a very small coop). One your size would require what I read another poster uses...a pitch fork of some sort with very small holed hardware cloth or some sort of mesh affixed to it to act as a jumbo kitty litter scooper. Poop stays on the screen while the sand sifts through.
- Jun 11, 2012
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I hope that someone reads this and helps me. I have linoleum over wood subfloor in my coop, i cleaned it out in september and put in 4 inches of cleaned river sand. I was so excited after what i read here, first time i raked it and scooped it there was such a strong amonia odor i bought passed out, so i left the coop open for 24 hours to air out, my sand is staying damp all of the time. Im in oklahoma, im scared to clean it now because its to cold to leave it open over night. How can i dry it out so i can clean it?
Any suggestions please!!
Any suggestions please!!
- Thread starter
- #15
This is exactly my fear of putting in sand. Anyone have an answer for this one?
- Jun 11, 2012
- 18
- 1
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WalkingOnSunshine
Thanks for reading. I did some more reading here on BYC and a lot of people use sand. The one thing i remember was not to use play sand. I think i realized my problem after reading other posts. My sand had moisture already in it and once in the coop, did not completely dry so therefore its not drying my poop out so its staying moist too. Others have suggested PDZ to maintain their sand. It is a horse stall neutralizer and is completely safe. I'm excited and going to tractor supply tomorrow to get some, Merry Christmas my little chickies!
Thanks for reading. I did some more reading here on BYC and a lot of people use sand. The one thing i remember was not to use play sand. I think i realized my problem after reading other posts. My sand had moisture already in it and once in the coop, did not completely dry so therefore its not drying my poop out so its staying moist too. Others have suggested PDZ to maintain their sand. It is a horse stall neutralizer and is completely safe. I'm excited and going to tractor supply tomorrow to get some, Merry Christmas my little chickies!
I use a turkey fryer skimmer to sift the sand. My run is only 4'x8' so it doesn't take much time to clean. If I do it every day, it's like a five minute job.
- Thread starter
- #18
How do you make sure that your sand is completely dry before putting it in the coop? I've bought lots of sand in my life, and it's always delivered with at least some moisture inside.
- Apr 3, 2012
- 67
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Couldn't you just dry it out in a garage or something? Spread it out on a tarp in a dry location... I have my furnace in my garage. Anything wet there dries very quickly.
I purchase contractor's sand from Lowes. They come in 50lbs bags. Always been dry. So much so... that when I place it down I wear a mask as not to breathe in the dust it creates.
I purchase contractor's sand from Lowes. They come in 50lbs bags. Always been dry. So much so... that when I place it down I wear a mask as not to breathe in the dust it creates.
Sand does not retain moisture. It's why plants don't live in it very well. If you have soil that doesn't drain, you amend it with sand because it's so good at draining. Beaches aren't a muddy mess because of sand.If your sand won't dry then there's something wrong.
I had gotten my sand from a landscape place. It wasn't bagged or anything. They take a front loader and just dump it into the truck. It was moist when I got it because it had rained but it dried quickly.
If sand isn't drying, then whatever substrate underneath it isn't draining, it's located in a low spot of the yard, or the ventilation is poor. My run also uses sand. I just tossed it down over the ground. We have clay soil here which doesn't drain but the sand still dries out.
I had gotten my sand from a landscape place. It wasn't bagged or anything. They take a front loader and just dump it into the truck. It was moist when I got it because it had rained but it dried quickly.
If sand isn't drying, then whatever substrate underneath it isn't draining, it's located in a low spot of the yard, or the ventilation is poor. My run also uses sand. I just tossed it down over the ground. We have clay soil here which doesn't drain but the sand still dries out.
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