Got sand? You should!

[EastTXChickens]

Post 66 is an incredibly useful post regarding DE, many thanks!

 

[EastTXChickens]

...never mind, later on there's a counter post. In depth DE discussion is better suited for a DE thread.

I've read every post and find the sand topic so interesting. For my chickens, we're doing deep litter if the tractor coop becomes stationary, simply cause we had tons of chipped tree trimmings dumped on our property 3 yrs ago, plus we're composers and love love love composting. Otherwise, I'd be seriously interested in sand.

 

[sacchick]

I've been using sand in my coop and covered run for 3 years and I love it. I've learned that I need the coarsest sand I can find (smaller than pea gravel). Play sand has a lot more dust and costs more so I avoid it. Washed construction sand or C-33* from the gravel pit is what I get. In the coop I keep it only about a half inch deep. I scoop the poop every morning and as the sand sticks to the poop it finds it's way to the compost and I add a few scoops of clean sand as needed. In this way there is no heavy lifting on my part. If there's a spot that gets particularly wet from really wet droppings I just shift the sand accordingly. If I wanted or needed to get rid of the entire amount, being only 1/2" deep it would be an easy chore. Because it's coarse I don't have dust issues at all.

Outdoors it's 4" - 8" deep (because of how we built the run). If you can't keep it relatively dry most of the time (dry enough to scoop poop) it gets really nasty and smelly, then gets hard as rock. In the winter when we get a lot of rain the edges get wet for several days at a time, but it drains well and I just rake it up a bit to let it dry faster. It's not an issue. Although our land is sloped some we've had drainage issues that needed fixing and that's taken care of now. This is something to be very aware of... drainage during periods of heavy rain or snow melt. Coarse sand drains well, but there are limits to everything. There's a post on another thread that describes it very well, you might want to take a look here, it's post #10 on that thread.

Some folks have mentioned that wood chips, shavings etc. will break down. I like sand because it does NOT break down, rotting organic matter is not attractive to me. Sand never rots but it does stick to the poop so it gets cycled out a little bit every day. It goes into my compost and is a great addition to my garden soil. I've rarely had to shovel any out, when I did it was just a spot that got too wet for too long where the wind kept blowing the rain in. Because it's a covered run the sand never gets over heated even on hot days. Our soil is already acid enough, rotted shavings just make it more acid, and it's far bulkier than sand so requires more composting space.

For me it works really well, is low cost and low maintenance.

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*C-33: I don't know if other gravel suppliers use this term, but it was explained to me that it is the coarse sand component that gets used when they mix concrete. The coarse C-33 and the fines get combined once they arrive at the cement plant.

As someone said what works for one person......I am in CA and based on information from the Chicken Chick who I feel has a very good grasp on urban chicken keeping, and various articles I have read, I decided sand made sense for me to try. Tried it in the Brooder, FANTASTIC held warmth very well from my EcoGlow, now I also use in coop and parts of my run, same results. It is 90 plus degrees here today and I have 4 girls 10 weeks old. I have watched them all day to get a feel for what I need to change for heat. They go into the sunny part of the run and dust bathe in the sand and when too hot they head under the coop or to the shady side of the "beach" and burrow in for cool. I also have a chicken fountain so they get fresh cool water all day. .......Works for them and definitely works for me!!

 

[birdlady79]

I need help!!! Ok I started out using the DL method... Did not like it... So I switched to sand.... I've been using it for a bout a month now.... I LOVE IT!! But it's rained heavyily here for 2 days and some of the sand got wet and now it smells GROSS!! I've tried scooping most of the wet out. What can I do? Will the smell go away now that it's fixing to get hot again? I clean coop 2x a day and have never had this problem.

 

[jenniemig]

I need help!!! Ok I started out using the DL method... Did not like it... So I switched to sand.... I've been using it for a bout a month now.... I LOVE IT!! But it's rained heavyily here for 2 days and some of the sand got wet and now it smells GROSS!! I've tried scooping most of the wet out. What can I do? Will the smell go away now that it's fixing to get hot again? I clean coop 2x a day and have never had this problem.

Was the area low to begin with? Is there standing water? I am using sand in my runs, neither of them have a roof just wire. We have been getting rain every other day or so which has been washing the duck and chicken poo away before I can rake. I was expecting a smell but so far nothing.

 

[birdlady79]

Was the area low to begin with? Is there standing water? I am using sand in my runs, neither of them have a roof just wire. We have been getting rain every other day or so which has been washing the duck and chicken poo away before I can rake. I was expecting a smell but so far nothing.

It's in the actual coop... I have a tractor so I don't put sand in run...

 

[jenniemig]

It's in the actual coop... I have a tractor so I don't put sand in run...

Hmm, is it a lack of ventilation maybe? Wish I could offer more advice; -)

 

[birdlady79]

Hmm, is it a lack of ventilation maybe? Wish I could offer more advice; -)

Possibly, I have 2 windows in front open..2 big side windows open and vent holes above the side windows.... I'm planning on opening back up to bc it gets hot here... But right now the nights are still cool so I haven't messed with it..... Thx for trying

 

[busymadre]

Maybe put some "sweet PDZ" in there. You find it in the horse section at Tractor Supply.

 

[cstronks]

Uncovered sand turns to disgusting muck rather quickly...