Anyone use SAND in the run/coop

[jennifleur]

I recently looked online for something better, and there are sand rakes they use to clean up beaches that look perfect. There's one called the Shake-N-Rake that looks promising, easy to make at home. There are also some that you just drag thru the sand to collect the stuff. Happy hunting!

It may sound strange but a carpet grooming rake works really well on sand. I got mine from amazon. Alot of small tines that comb the poop out leaving clean sand behind.

 

[cjnason74]

That DOES sound strange! But only in the sense of "they still make those?!" HAHAHA I bet they work great. I was also thinking it might work to take an old push broom that has begun to fall apart, drive some nails through in a 1/8 inch grid, and see if it works.

 

[CountryChic95]

I build my coop at the end of a building. I sloped the dirt away from the building... The slope drops about 6-8" from the building to outside of run. I then built the coop. There is wire all the way around the bottom of the run. I then filled the are with coarse sand(it had small pebbles in it). I have had no issues with run off. But, my run is covered... I love the sand! When I clean the run it takes a bit of sand out...I need to re-fresh the sand twice per year... About a wheelbarrow full each time.

 

[MonicainAZ]

I have my first chickens and I've had sand in my coop and run and I LOVE it! But what do other people use in the nest box? My girls are getting close to laying any day now, so I bought straw and filled up the nest box. The silly girls have been taking it out and spreading it all over. The inside of the coop is now sand and straw, lol, and it's not as easy to scoop out their poop! Should I just let them do what they will or is there something else that I should consider? I'm wondering about the pads that they sell. Or, maybe I just have to resign myself to the idea that straw will be everywhere!

 

[CountryChic95]

I have sand in the run and I use pellets (deep liter method) in the coop and nest boxes. I clean it out prob 3-4 times per year. Very easy. Never ammonia smell. Easy!

 

[lynnehd]

I have my first chickens and I've had sand in my coop and run and I LOVE it! But what do other people use in the nest box? My girls are getting close to laying any day now, so I bought straw and filled up the nest box. The silly girls have been taking it out and spreading it all over. The inside of the coop is now sand and straw, lol, and it's not as easy to scoop out their poop! Should I just let them do what they will or is there something else that I should consider? I'm wondering about the pads that they sell. Or, maybe I just have to resign myself to the idea that straw will be everywhere!

In my case, I use those grey nesting pads first, then aspen in the nesting boxes. I added a lip at the opening of the nest boxes (my nest boxes are flush with the floor of my raised coop). That helps keep the aspen in to some extent.

I have a vinyl floor in the coop, and it isn't a very big coop, but I use Stall Dry on the floor, 2-3-4".
I have a poop board covered with vinyl flooring, which is also the roof of the nest boxes
The roosts are over the poop board of course, and I sprinkle some Stall Dry on there as well.
I just scoop poop with a cat scoop each day, takes 2-3 minutes.

This system works well for me in our climate. My hens are only in the coop to sleep and lay eggs.

 

[jennifleur]

That DOES sound strange! But only in the sense of "they still make those?!" HAHAHA I bet they work great. I was also thinking it might work to take an old push broom that has begun to fall apart, drive some nails through in a 1/8 inch grid, and see if it works.

They use them more for fluffing up wet pile after your carpet is cleaned and for artificial turf. But my husband had wall to wall shag in the family home growing up that he remembers being raked. I think it was orange!

 

[lynnehd]

They use them more for fluffing up wet pile after your carpet is cleaned and for artificial turf. But my husband had wall to wall shag in the family home growing up that he remembers being raked. I think it was orange!

And I use sand in my run floor (covered) and it looks exactly like the first picture!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Our run right now is 6x12 and it was a muddy muddy mess anytime it rained. Usually it dried out but there was a week or two,or so where it didn't and was probably very unhealthy. I wanted to put sand down but finally i caved the other day and put pine shavings down since I accidentally spilled some anyway. They LOVED it and instantly started scratching around. Not sure how deep it is but I used almost a whole 3 cu ft bag and its a few inches. I thought they were hiding cause of weather but really their feet were gross. Seem much happier and healthier now and hopefully no adverse effects. I put DE down first to,help dry out the mud but then thought of the shavings idea right after. I do think sand may be better though. We have not had any rain yet since then so can't say if shavings will get muddy too. They also scratch to get to the dirt.

However the coop and run is way too small, mostly the coop, so in the spring we plan on building a bigger coop and run and will likely use sand in that. But it will also be on a downhill slope so I may just put the sand at the bottom where the water would gather or add just a small layer they could mix in to help with drainage. Not sure.

The new coop will be probably 4x8 but maybe 8x8 and the run will be 8 feet wide by like 50 or so feet, give or take a few feet. Anybody know how much sand about I would need for such a large area? Haven't decided if I want sand on the floor yet and will be adding a poop board anyway so mostly talking about the run.

 

[lynnehd]

Are you considering a covered run?
With the size you are considering, maybe a covered run isn't practical, but it sure makes a different in keeping any bedding/flooring in the run drier, and of course, prevents snow from falling in.

Sand would work fine with a covered run. You'd want it at least 6" deep.
'To determine how much sand topdressing you need to cover an area: Measure number of square feet in the area. # of square feet x depth of application in inches x 0.0031 = cubic yards of topdressing needed for surface coverage.'
You also could cover the lower 2/3 of a side of your run with plastic on the worst weather side.

Or the deep litter method would also work very well in a covered run.