Got sand? You should!

Pics
Date sort Score sort
I was reading this and am reconsidering whether the sand is a good idea. (Housing, 4th paragraph) I like the idea of not having poo and shavings stuck to the bottom of my boots but doing things the right way is what I want to do. That said, folks in a sandy environment have sand mixed in with their soil whether they want it or not. So what do folks with sandy soil do?

I want to be that person that figures all of this out before getting the chickens.
wink.png
 
I have tried many different beddings. There is no doubt that the sand is probably the easiest to clean. I just scoop or sift the poop out. Sometimes what I do in the cages, is mix the sand with some pelleted pine horse bedding or some shavings or now I am also trying corn cob pellets. When the pellets break down from moisture, they are very fine and seem to give the sand a lighter and airier texture. There is a tremendous amount of dust with the sand but you can spray it a little before you mix it up while cleaning.
Be warned........ there is no perfect bedding. They will all have some draw backs but you have to assess the area where you will be using it. Sometimes one bedding is good for one area whereas another will be better in another. I use sand in my coop, but I still feel better putting shavings in the nest boxes and yes a little of the shavings does get into the sand but is not a problem. I've had chickens for about 2 1/2 years and am still playing around with different beddings, so what does that tell you!
 
I noticed a lot of dust in the run when I put sand in there, too. I watered it down good with the hose and its now very minimal. I think it had a lot of dirt in it originally. You couldnt do that inside a coop, but outside in the run, washes the dirt right out.....
Its very dry here so it was dry within hours.
 
This is a wonderful thread. I read every post, and it convinced me to try sand in the coop and run. Sand has been in the coop for over a month (bought the play sand from Lowes, started with about 14 50# bags), but just got the 4 cubic yards delivered for the run, and put about 2.5 of them in yesterday. We are LOVING the sand in the run. Here is a shot of the flock coming out to check out what they heck we'd been doing all afternoon. They were very excited about their new run floor and forgave us for shutting them in the coop during the day.


I asked the chickens what they thought of the sand in their coop, and they jumped in the air with joy and clucked "I love it this much!"
 
WinterLadyAK said:
I asked the chickens what they thought of the sand in their coop, and they jumped in the air with joy and clucked "I love it this much!"
Click to expand...
Looks fantastic!

I also have been following this thread and we have been building our new coop for the last few weeks. I've finally got the boards in place for the 'box and the ground leveled so we should be ready to shovel sand tomorrow.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/677560/from-book-cover-to-my-backyard-update-june-29-12

It's on the trailer ready to go. I figgure, sand first, THEN wire!
 
I have sand out in the pen area, but still have pine shavings inside the coop. I am worried it will be TOO COLD in our extreme Alaska winters. Has anyone had issues with temperature inside the coop with sand VS shavings in the winter??
 
I've got hay and shredded paper. Doing deep litter. I've also got tons of dirt in the open part of the barn. In the run I have plants that the bloody chickens refuse to eat and are going to make me mow. lol
 

Similar threads

S
Stinky sand!
Replies
5
Views
318
FrostRanger
FrostRanger
CochinLady61
    • Like
Sand in Coop - How to Reuse?
Replies
7
Views
2K
laurahaehae
L
F
Intentionally wetting sand in coop
Replies
9
Views
2K
Fontaine
F
P
    • Like
Chicken Run Floor Material
2
Replies
13
Views
2K
rosemarythyme
rosemarythyme
D
    • Like
Dust Bath Too Dusty?
Replies
1
Views
586
chicken mama 0908
chicken mama 0908

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom