Anyone use SAND in the run/coop

[dthompson]

I read the WHOLE thread, started last night & finished this afternoon...I'm sold on trying sand for the soon to be run. Right now my girls are sleeping in a "coop" that's under/enclosed my work table (8'x10'x24") in the patio that I used to raise hatchlings to 2 months (for a breeder). Mornings when I'm out running errands, they go in their run (mobile) that was also used for the chicks I raised for the breeder, just got a dog house for them to get out of the weather. When I'm home, they run the fenced yard; cats, hawks, mongoose & rats our major predators here...Oh we got a neighbor who has dogs that have tried coming through the fence

Having Hubby build a bigger run (8x10) with roofing, he'll raise the dog house off the ground, & put a roost in too. The weather side will put up tarp/plastic but thinking the other three sides we'll be able to leave open having plant protection. It's on the high ground with grass for now which I know they'll kill Once they do that want to put sand down for easy cleaning & it does rain here.

Live on the Big Island of Hawaii, east side so it rains ALOT! Have found Home Depot Quikrete Play Sand, Basalt Sand, Coral Sand, Coral Rock & Crushed Rock....The rock is coarse so plan on that going down first (drainage) with the "sand" on top. But what kind? Need to call the gravel company here to find if I can get "construction or mason" sand. Here in Hawaii we can't/don't get what you can on the Continental USA So I've got researching to do on the types of sand we have here....No, we can't take sand from the beaches anymore.

So any other advise? Below I got pictures of the set up I got going now, I stopped "raising" chicks for the breeder so I could have a few "pets with benefits" of my own. I got 2 EEs & 2 RIRs - They LOVE their "under the table coop", come in on their own every night or when something scares them.

Nice Job. I put sand in the chicken house and under poop board (w/ PDZ) late summer. I love it. I have extremely low humidity and there is relatively no odor in the chicken house. The run is another story. I did not put sand in their run b/c they have full access to the dirt. It does get to be a muddy mess in the rain though. I tried putting sand down in one area and it just got 'mixed in' with the earth. So I felt it was a waste of time and money. But I LOVE it in my chicken house. if you have not already experienced it, they will eat your grass down to NOTHING in the area of your mobile run. I did that whiel I was building my attached run... they scratch and dig up everything. So if you can, limit their time in any one area.

 

[Benbala]

Good day all,

I use sand in my coop for both digestion and bathing. Have a look at my videos on youtube.

Enjoy!

 

[jtbass2756]

I have an enclosed run in winter, roof and sides being translucent, so I get a greenhouse effect where the sand acts as a heat sink, mediating the temperature. The sand warms up during the days when the sun is out, and it's out 300 days a year here, and holds the heat pretty well over night. My chickens love the sand.

My chickens always loved the all-purpose sand I have used. I'm in the process of changing out and cleaning out and have 10 more bags to go in there. I will use it more in the run than I have in the past due to the hens completely wiping out the grass. They have been free-ranging for a while so I haven't worried about it. I may put in some straw for the run. we'll see.. As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with the all-purpose sand I get from the garden shop at lowe's.

 

[cjnason74]

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!

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.

 

[cjnason74]

I have a question on this. I have sand now and do love it, but if I were to install a raised concrete pad and then have 6" sand on top of that, does anyone know if I would end up with drainage issues? My thought is that the water would drain through the sand to the concrete, then follow the slope of the concrete and then roll off the pad. Any thoughts? My sand is on top of heavy clay, so when my girls dig I end up with more clay than sand which is defeating the purpose of having sand.

 

[Hholly]

I have a question on this. I have sand now and do love it, but if I were to install a raised concrete pad and then have 6" sand on top of that, does anyone know if I would end up with drainage issues? My thought is that the water would drain through the sand to the concrete, then follow the slope of the concrete and then roll off the pad. Any thoughts? My sand is on top of heavy clay, so when my girls dig I end up with more clay than sand which is defeating the purpose of having sand.

If you have water flowing, your sand would end up flowing away too. I only use sand inside my coop since it stays dry in there. The only way i think sand would work in a run, would be if it's covered by a roof.

 

[lynnehd]

If you have water flowing, your sand would end up flowing away too. I only use sand inside my coop since it stays dry in there. The only way i think sand would work in a run, would be if it's covered by a roof.

X2.

A concrete pad would be fine, if you can improve drainage or move the coop to a better drained spot.
But if you install a concrete pad, I'd install a cover as well. Without it, any bedding will wash away, and damp concrete isn't a good idea.

 

[Kusanar]

I have a question on this. I have sand now and do love it, but if I were to install a raised concrete pad and then have 6" sand on top of that, does anyone know if I would end up with drainage issues? My thought is that the water would drain through the sand to the concrete, then follow the slope of the concrete and then roll off the pad. Any thoughts? My sand is on top of heavy clay, so when my girls dig I end up with more clay than sand which is defeating the purpose of having sand.

How about putting landscape fabric down under the sand? Then make the sand deep enough that the chickens don't dig to the bottom and rip up the landscape fabric. That would keep the clay from mixing in. Or, you could do the concrete pad with sand on top, but you will need to make sides to keep the sand from washing away, you can use the landscape fabric to contain the sand while letting the water through.

 

[cjnason74]

All good points. This part of the run is covered, and I don't have drainage issues anymore, so the concrete would be mostly used as a flat surface to scrape against with shovel/rake/scoop when cleaning the sand. I think in that instance the landscape plastic would be a hindrance, but the damp concrete sounds like it could be bad too. Wood would rot, so that's out, as well as using wire under the sand. It's sounding like there's no good solution.

 

[lynnehd]

All good points. This part of the run is covered, and I don't have drainage issues anymore, so the concrete would be mostly used as a flat surface to scrape against with shovel/rake/scoop when cleaning the sand. I think in that instance the landscape plastic would be a hindrance, but the damp concrete sounds like it could be bad too. Wood would rot, so that's out, as well as using wire under the sand. It's sounding like there's no good solution.

How about a 3-4" layer of drainage gravel.
Then set 12" pavers down over the same area you were going to fill with concrete, with a small spaces in between.

Cover with your sand. Some will go into the cracks, which is fine.
It doesn't have to be perfectly even. You might sometimes have a rake catch in the paver cracks, but not usually if your sand layer is ~6"
At least this would drain a lot better than plain concrete, and I don't think the chickens will dislodge the pavers if the layer of sand is thick enough.

(make sure you use 'masonry' or 'construction' sand= variably sized pieces)