Got sand? You should!

[chellejeff]

I initially bought washed construction sand which was medium course. Since then I've added courser sand with pebbles in it, and finer sand, like sand dune sand. I can't say that I've really noticed any benefits of one over the other. It's all mixed together now. When I get (shovel into buckets) more at the local lake, I will probably go for the finer stuff from now on as it seems to clump a little better and I won't end up scooping pebbles when I scoop the poo.

 

[Hope49]

Hi - Well, I made it through all 19 pages and am very impressed with all the info I have culled. You have a wonderful setup and we will use all of this valuable knowledge and experience in our design, setup. Thanks very much!

Is there any value added to putting pea gravel under the sand, since the floor level of our run is slightly lower than surrounding area? I'm in southern California and it actually rains very seldom...but then we get those wet spells every few years that make me wonder if chickens can swim.

 

[ElioraImmanuel]

Sand works really well unless deep litter is used. Our coop is the middle section of our barn and it was meant to initially be used for our alpacas, but plans were changed. We'd put sand in there and didn't take it out before introducing the chickens. I have 45 birds in the space. Over winter I added pine pellets, and bits of other litter. Everything on top was perfect and there was minimal odor. When needed I'd add more litter. So, 10 days ago it was time to clean the coop. The top layers were a breeze. Then we come to the sand. It was awful. The sand was wet and heavy due to water coming in around the foundation. With the added chicken waste it smelled of strong ammonia.

If you have Amish wood workers near you, ask if you can buy their wood shavings. This weekend I pick up 21 of the heavy duty 42 gallon bags of pine shaving for $15. It took 6 bags to put 5 inches of litter down in our 15 X 15 coop. To this I'll add dried grass, pine pellets, not straw and not sand. The coop will again be cleaned in October.

My chickens are all free range and are out unless the snow is deeper than 6" for extended periods of time. So, they're inside from Mid Dec to Mid March for the most part.

 

[chellejeff]

Without even trying it I would have predicted that putting compostables on top of the sand would be a bad thing. One or the other, not both. Take out the bad sand, put in some new clean sand, and see how that works. Unless you want the compost, then go with wood shavings/chips.

 

[gdplum]

.....I too, use sand in my chicken house. River sand to be exact. I have a 10 ton load delivered every year. It comes in handy for lots of things. Additionally, my grandchildren love to play on the sand pile. Back to the chicken house. I have about 4-5 inches of sand. It really makes cleaning poop easy...especially with a horse manure cleaning fork. Plastic tines spaced close together works great for most of the hen poop. A smaller cat litter cleaning fork gets the small stuff. A small amount of sand usually sticks to the poop...but since I compost, sand is not lost but becomes part of the compost.

I layed grass sod in my chicken yard...and covered about half of the grass sod with extruded steel panels. Grass grows up through the panels just fine. The hens cannot scratch up the roots. Rusty chicken wire works just fine too.

 

[Hope49]

so, gdplum chellejeff, would you say we need gravel under the sand, if there is any drainage problem at all? Or do you think this will make it stinkier?

 

[Fiddlehead]

Hello, just have to say totally in love with your setup Jeff!!! I love the door, how creative! I currently use the deep shavings method, but I am thinking I will switch to sand. I have only read the first few pages, but so far sounds great!!! I am an RN and am obsessive about the germy, nasty, shoe caked poop issue! I hope you will post more pics, and I LOVE the pics of your child in Peru, I am sure you must be proud. I hope when I am older I will be able to do something similar for the peace corps. Thanks for a great thread!

 

[chellejeff]

Quote:
I don't know of any advantage there would be to putting gravel under the sand. Eventually the hens will scratch the gravel up through the sand. Cleanup would be an issue because gravel would be caught up with the poo.

 

[chellejeff]

Quote:
Based on info in your signature, (husband and kids) I'll bet you're already old enough to work with the Peace Corps or other charitable organisations. Sometimes later never arrives.

 

[Fiddlehead]

Quote:
Based on info in your signature, (husband and kids) I'll bet you're already old enough to work with the Peace Corps or other charitable organisations. Sometimes later never arrives.

Oh, yes, didn't mean to insinuate that I am too young for the corps, I just mean I won't leave my young children... so I have to wait until I am older : (