Got sand? You should!

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Get cleaned sand. They run it through a kiln to dry it out so there is nothing living in it. Plus it wont be dusty. get the kind with large and small particles in it too. That way the chickens can get their grit.

 

[IRChicken]

Here is some hard science on using sand as a bedding material for poultry:

SAND—while most of us don’t consider sand as “trash,” we usually don’t think of it as a treasure either. But AAES researchers have found a way for poultry producers to turn sand into a treasure. Using sand as litter, these scientists have found, can help poultry producers reduce pollution, improve production, lower costs, and create a side product to sell.

Traditionally, pine shavings and sawdust have been used as inexpensive and readily available sources of bedding material, also called litter, for rearing broilers. Cost and availability of these preferred litter sources are often affected by the rapidly growing poultry industry and by the development of alternative uses and markets for wood products, such as building materials. Efforts to utilize other sources for litter—especially agricultural by-products, like peanut hulls, wheat straw, and rice hulls or recycled consumer products, like newspaper or dry wall—have been partially successful, depending upon local or seasonal availability, volume, and cost. Furthermore, all plant-based litter materials require either replenishment between each flock, following the partial removal of the caked areas where the material has become saturated and dense, or total replacement following annual or bi-annual clean-out of the broiler houses. These activities create an ongoing need for a clean supply of litter and appropriate disposal programs.
...

For the past four years, AAES researchers have examined the feasibility of using washed mortar sand as a litter source for broilers. The advantages of considering sand as a litter material are many: less caking, a level surface for optimum feeder and drinker management, longer use time, less organic decomposition and build-up, and unique horticultural characteristics as a soil amendment.
...

From 1995 until 1998 multiple broiler flocks were grown on sand and pine shavings for comparison of live production (growth rate, livability, and feed conversion efficiency) as well as processing characteristics (carcass and deboning meat yields, carcass grade, and foot pad quality) at various market ages at the Auburn University Poultry Research Unit. In addition, environmental sampling was also conducted to assess litter moisture, temperature, ammonia production rate, microbial levels, and nutrient composition.

Broilers raised on sand performed as well as or better than those raised on pine shavings. Male broilers raised on sand outweighed their counterparts raised on pine shavings in some of the grow-outs. Foot pad quality was also improved, based on litter moisture, time of the year, and type of drinker provided. Once sand had been dried, it performed better than expected in pilot research facilities. Moisture and ammonia levels were similar to pine shavings, with significantly lower numbers of bacteria in the sand.
...

After 10 consecutive grow-outs of broilers, the elements of commercial interest such as production, processing, or house environment were all satisfactory. In addition, a number of other positive benefits were detected during this ongoing field trial. Houses equipped with sand as a litter had less dust, lower darkling beetle levels, less caking, and more beneficial temperatures (the temperature was 2oF cooler in summer and warmer in winter months). Depending upon the cost of alternative litter sources, brooding and clean-out programs, and market age, sand has a pay-back period of 1.5 years.

Turning Trash into Treasure: SAND as Bedding Material for Rearing Broilers - Volume 47 Number 1 Spring 2000 - Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station​

 

[IRChicken]

Types of mason sand to consider:

Coarse - does not compact well, good drainage
Mason's Blend - coarse and fine, has best compaction, retains moisture
Fine - compacts moderately well, poor drainage

Coarse should be your choice for a sand floor in poultry houses.
Best place to obtain mason sand, a concrete supply company, Clayton is the largest in the US.
http://www.claytonco.com/
Similar companies exist in every city in the US.

Sand is sold by the ton, where I live that's $26 per ton for Mason's Blend, Coarse is cheaper, Fine is more expensive.
Price varies across the country due to trucking fees and other overhead costs.

Wet sand is a requirement in masonry and must contain a certain moisture level for use in cements and mortars.
Clean sand is a requirement for masonry and is always processed for consistency and to ensure it is free of debris and other matter.

To dry, spread on a tarp and let it sit for several days, cover if it is going to rain.
As edges dry add to your floor.

Hope this helps you make an informed decision,

IRChicken

 

[Nonny]

I have a question about sand and although the answer is probably already in here I just don't have the capacity to read through a bazillion pages tonight to find it., so please accept my apologies in advance if this is a dumb (and already answered) question.

I'm in Brisbane, which gets fairly hot in summer (not exactly heatwave temps, but we can have days where it's about 100 F in our yard) and I've read people saying the sand doesn't hold or generate heat, but then I think about walking on the beach in summer here and my feet get scorched so I'm thinking that means it obviously does hold heat?

Our run is partly under trees so gets a fair bit of shade, but on Summer days in the afternoon part of the run will be exposed to high heat and I'm worried if I get sand the poor girls will burn their tootsies.

Can someone let me know whether my assumptions are correct?

 

[queenbeezz]

I'm in Florida where we get HOT muggy weather with a lot of rain in summer. We have about 4-6 inches of sand mixed with DE laid down in the coop and run. It drains well, no mucky mud in the run. It's easy to clean, just rake. The chooks dust bathe in it and get the benefits of the DE to keep the bugs down. I wouldn't use anything else. About every six months or so we add about 2 inches to replenish what has been scooped up.

 

[Nonny]

Quote:
Well that's promising! Similar weather to here.... hot and humid, with afternoon storms that send an ocean of water down in about 10 minutes, then back to sunny again. LOL

 

[ll]

thank you so much IRChicken!

 

[mystang89]

I was thinking about putting sand in my chicken run but use wood shavings in my chicken coop, 8 - 10 inches deep. I normally just take a pitch fork and mix the poop in with the wood shavings. My coop is about 4 x 6 and its going to have max hens in it. Would sand be ok to just mix the poop in for decomp and then put in the garden or do you think I should stick with the wood shavings?

 

[ll]

I read that sand is not good for a garden, but I guess it depends what type of soil you have ~ good luck!

Quote:

 

[birdmomma]

with the clay soil up here in Ohio & Kentucky, it probably doesn't hurt to add sand to our soil (i'm in the Cincinnati area) - adds to drainage. I'd be interested in hearing as well why it might not be good for the soil, cause I was planning on adding it in as well, after composting.