Got sand? You should!

[sassifrassi]

Better google that. Lime is used in making cement and is caustic. Calcium oxide (CaO). Lye is Sodium hydroxide used in making soaps and is also caustic.

 

[Prairieview]

barn lime is crushed dolomite not hydrated lime

 

[Bicudo]

Half way thorugh our first Coop & Run All-In-One build and after reading all 48 pages here I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with Sand in our run. I'll lay a gravel base, roll some weed matting over the top for drainage, dump some course washed sand on top and see how we go. Still not sure about inside the coop but I'll ponder on it a bit more. With regards to DE and Sweet PDZ is there anyone out there that's been able to find a reasonably priced supplier in Australia?

 

[Izzymoon]

where do you get river sand, I asked Home depot and they said they didn't carry it

 

[upitty]

I acquired my hens in the summer of 2010. Based on the information I read here, and the fact that I have a wood shop, I put wood shavings on the floor of my hen house. The hen house is 10' by7' inside, and I have 11 birds. The wood shavings (4" deep) with occasional DE worked well for a while. After a few months, with daily cleanings, it began to get dusty in the house and the wood shavings were not particularly "kitty litter scooper" friendly. I was throwing out a lot of wood shavings with the poop. When I couldn't take the dust level in the house any more I shoveled it all out and was going to start over. After shoveling it out I decided this would be a good time to try sand instead of wood shavings. I'm not sure how to best convey this message but I'll give it a try, SWITCH TO SAND. There is no comparison. The sand is much easier to maintain. Odor is down. Dust is down. Poop, clumps and scoops easier. When I step out of my hen house I no longer have poop and wood shavings caked to my shoes. I'm one of those guys that needs to be hit over the head with a new idea before I'll change what I've been doing. If you think you might be like that also, then consider this a smack to the back of your head, SWITCH TO SAND. I telling you, there's no comparison. It takes half as much time as it used to, to clean out the house. It takes 30 seconds to rake the floor with a garden rake to reveal the clumps that need to be scooped. I have a board under the main perch which catches most of the poop. I use the kitty litter scoop to dust the board with sand so poops don't stick to it. It takes less than 5 minutes a day to keep the hen house very clean. I don't know if the hens are happier, but I definitely am.

I was bored today so I decided to give the coop a huge clean. So in with the brush, out with the dust, the poop, the spiders, the straw and the mulch (my previous floor covering). And in with the brushes, the towles, the eucalyptus oil. My coop is sitting on metal roofing about 3/4 foot above the ground so I broomed off all of the mulch and though, "Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I swap it for sand?" From what I've heard it's great and I can't wait to see if it's as good as they (you) say!

 

[camilleathome]

Sounds interesting. Im researching all the different types of substrate that can be used. So far I like the idea of both shavings and sand. Maybe sand under perches and shavings for the rest?

 

[mandelyn]

The best deal on sand for a run is to get it trucked in through a landscape company. They'll sell pea gravel, river rock, mulch, sand, etc by the ton. Bagged sand is a rip off in comparison. Anything bagged really, is a ripoff. I work at one of the big box hardware stores, and even with my discount, I still buy large amounts by the ton instead.

BUT, unwashed sand, when dry, becomes very dusty. Different types of sand have different amounts of dust. I use bagged playsand in the coop, it has the least amount of dust.

After fooling around with different beddings and such for 2 years (having used only pine shavings before that) I like playsand inside, a sand/gravel base in the run, with the pine shavings in the run and nest box. The deep litter method outside allows for composting, and all the bugs that entails. Creating a feast for the birds, that sand alone will not provide. The deeper it gets, the more they like it. Drains well with the base. No odor, just earthy. Sand alone was developing a stink after every rain unless I was very generous with the DE and sweet PDZ, which becomes costly. Covering the run with a proper roof to keep the sand dry, or the expense of a bag of shavings once a month or so. I can go 50 months with the shavings before I'm at the cost of roofing the run.

I've stopped using sweet PDZ, it isn't needed with the way I have things now. DE use is seasonal, Spring and Summer. I maybe use one bag of shavings a month. I used to at least 1 per week before. It grew the compost quickly, I was scrounging for greens to keep it balanced.

The compost has been a work in progress. Initially it was way too much pine shavings. Now it's a lot more balanced and breaking down faster with the limited use of the shavings. Sand gets in there too from cleaning, which aids in soil drainage when you go to use the compost. For potting the only thing you need to mix in is a little bit of peat moss. The squirrels have been pulling the old feed out since we've switched to a whole grain mix.

 

[Rachy]

I use sand sold especially for birds, it has crushed oyster shell and other bits mixed into it. It's great, really good for keeping the coop clean.

 

[Scooter&Suzie]

Would this work in, say, a quail house? Also, I have some leftover play sand - Does that work, or does it need to be river sand?

 

[wekiva bird]

I have put sand in my chicken area so far i like it . Clean up the poop then DE down. About four - six times a year oxine it.