Anyone use SAND in the run/coop

[Billy7871]

I was wonder if you guy or gals use sand in your run or coop and if so what do you think about it? Can you still rake out the poop or what? Is it messy???

 

[Buff Hooligans]

My yard is made of sand so that's what my run has in it. I've found it to be fast-draining when it rains and perfect to rake the poo off of. Also, it's great for dust bathing. It can get compacted though after a few years of decomposing poo, so I use a heavy metal rake to fluff it up every other day or so.

I highly recommend it!

 

[verlaj]

We recently filled in the base of our open-air coop with deep sand. We have clay soil - i.e. very poor drainage. Over the last few years, the coop floor fell below the surrounding ground level, which made the situation even worse.

Now the coop floor is sand and several inches higher than the surrounding ground level. It is so much better - dries quickly after the rain comes in from the side! I periodically scrape off the surface poop, which is dry and easy to collect. I am still looking for a better tool than a manure shovel - need a giant litter box scoop! And of course, I should do the cleaning more often than I do. Nonetheless - the sand floor is a vast improvement on our old dirt floor or shavings in our environment.

I originally got the idea from the Greenfire Farms website. They also are in Florida and have open air coops, so rain comes in from the sides. You can see their coop construction on their website - look at the blog titles. Since they have such pricey birds, I figure that they wouldn't use the sand floor if it created health issues, similar to sand colic in horses. So far, I am not aware of any problems in my birds related to ingesting sand.

 

[tri-5-ron]

Just thought I'd toss in my .02 cents for those who have asked how much sand they will need,or how to calculate it out.
I own a Concrete Business, so I go through ALOT of sand.
maybe these figures will be of some help in calculating your needs...

1 cubic yard of sand weighs approx. 2500 lbs. ---(depending of course, on how dry/moist/wet, it is)

1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet

1 cubic yard will cover ...

81.8 sq. ft. @ 4" deep
108 sq. ft. @ 3" deep
162.6 sq. ft. @ 2" deep

(so now, just to keep the calculations and divisors simple, I'll do the table as approximations)...

1 cubic yard, (or approx. 2500 lbs. of sand) will cover...

82 sq. ft. @ 4" deep
108 sq. ft. @ 3" deep
162 sq. ft. @ 2" deep

SOOooo,.... to figure out how much sand you will need,...
first multiply the area you are going to put the sand in,... length X width,
Then, if you want the sand 2" deep, to would divide by 162, (example: Length X Width, divided by 162)
or, 3" deep would be... (Length X Width, divided by 108)
or, 4" deep would be... (Length X Width, divided by 82)

Now, to figure it by,
"How many pounds will I need for 2" deep of sand?"

Just multiply your Length X your Width, then divide by 162, then multiply by 2500.

Hence, a run that is say 8' wide X 16' long, and you want 2" of sand in it,...
do it like this...

8 X 16 = 128
divided by 162 = .7901234
multiplied by 2500 = 1975 lbs. of sand

hope this makes sence, and is some help to anyone trying to calculate how much sand they need.

 

[MonicainAZ]

I'm no expert, and lots of people recommend sand, but read this first:

http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2013/07/the-real-scoop-on-using-sand-in-your.html

Well, that is certainly one opinion. Here's my take on her main points:

• harbors E.coli - possibly, but I find it unlikely it does this more than other bedding methods, especially damp straw/pine shavings left over 6 months in deep litter? I clean my coop almost daily.
• allows coccidiosis to run rampant or in some cases eradicates it completely (both extremes are harmful) - this really doesn't make any sense at all from a logical standpoint. And again, how is some other material less likely to do this?
• dust can lead to respiratory/breathing problems - possibly true.
• can lead to impacted crops - in chicks? possibly. I don't think I would use it in a brooder. Then again chicks can eat pine shavings too. I do think the heat lamp on the sand could be a real issue.
• real possibility of 'breaded' feces being eaten by your flock - not even sure what this means. If feces are covered in sand are they somehow more likely to be eaten than feces covered in pine shavings? Doesn't make sense to me.
• hot in the summer - only in the sun, which around here is deadly anyway, the whole coop is shaded so not an issue. The hens can still dig down to the soil underneath anyhow.
• no insulating factors in the winter - not applicable to my climate, we get frost about 4x/yr
• not 'green', i.e. not compostable - baloney. I collect my droppings all the time and compost them, even though there is some sand on them. I use a kitty litter scoop to sift out the manure and compost. The soil at my house is very clay-like. Some sand in my compost (clinging to manure) is no issue whatsoever. The only issue is that I do need to have lots of other brown things to add to the compost, but dried leaves work perfectly fine.

I'm not really persuaded by these arguments, at least not for where I live. In addition many people near me live out of town essentially in the desert where the ground is basically all sand, and chickens seems fine (although obviously precautions have to be taken in the heat). YMMV.

 

[ksct]

after all the grass has died etc and right now we're having a week of rain.... it's a mud hole in the run. We are going to be getting enough sand (as requested by a BYC member to whom i asked a similiar question) to cover the run a couple inches deep. We are going to keep a section uncovered with sand for the spring so grass will grow for them. I haven't run across the cleaning of it yet so i'm not sure about that. I would like to know that answer myself. I figure they will eat the sand too and help with their digestion. So to me that's a plus in it if nothing else. IMO wet sand is better than mud anyday....

also, my birds LOVE LOVE LOVE fresh pulled grass anytime they can get it. We don't mow under our trampoline every other time so it gets a little high under there and we go pull grass for them. they love it. I think if you make sure they have natural things like that too then go for it!

 

[elmo]

I use coarse all purpose sand in my run and I love it. I use a kitty litter scoop to pick up poops; works great.

I've read that in very dry conditions sand can be dusty when the wind gets blowing, but it hasn't been dry enough for that to be a problem here.

I'm thinking of using sand instead of pine shavings in my coop this winter. Has anyone else tried that, and if so, how'd it work out?

 

[elmo]

Quote:
You're right about sand in the sun; I wouldn't put it in unless my run had shaded areas.

I've read that sand fleas don't infest the coarse sand as much as they do the very fine playground type sand.

You could try putting a couple of bags of sand down under your perches, to see how you like it. Sand dries the poops out (which cuts down/eliminates smells), and makes 'em easy to pick up with a scoop.

 

[KMHunter]

I put sand in a month or so ago, and I love it! If it gets wet, it dries pretty fast. I add DE or stall dry to it from time to time. It keeps the smell and flies down. I have 5 girls and can walk through the run with a cat litter scoop and scoop the poop, sift the sand out and, put in bucket and toss in compost. Viola! A fairly clean run.

 

[DawnSuiter]

I'm SO happy to see so many of you using sand in your coops! It really is fantastic and was nearly unheard of last year!

Good for all of you! I love my sand coops too, although I've never used anything else except in the brooder.

Nifty Linked my BYC Sand Page from the Learning Center... if you all can think of anything I should add to it, please let me know!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=11374-sand-for-your-coops