Got sand? You should!

[furbabymum]

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!"

I have a question for you regarding that tree. Do they not eat pine trees??? I want to add trees to the run but have no desire to spend tons of money on chicken food.

 

[WinterLadyAK]

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 wondered about this also. The coop is insulated, but at prolonged -20 I'm not sure how they'll do. So I'm going to play it by ear and watch them closely this winter. Might have to do pine shavings, I was thinking I could maybe just put them on top of the sand if necessary? I'd love to hear from anyone who has done sand in Alaska or similar climates.

 

[WinterLadyAK]

I have a question for you regarding that tree. Do they not eat pine trees??? I want to add trees to the run but have no desire to spend tons of money on chicken food.

Well they seem to nibble at it, but aren't really eating it. They've devoured the tree stump that was behind the pine trees though. I'm new to chickens but I think that pine would be one of the few sorts of trees that they wouldn't gobble up right away. They even gobbled up the thorny wild rose that was in the run before we put down the sand.

 

[jeapa]

I am glad to have found this thread because I wasn't liking the dirt look in my run. I put some sand down today and I really think I am going to like this. It should be much easier to maintain. I took some before and after pictures:

Before:



After:

 

[KathyJB]

I haven't looked at all the threads, just the beginning page and this ending page. Did you buy playground sand from store? If you have it in your coop, what does the bottom look like? I was planning on putting self sticking linoleum for a floor in mine, I guess that would be ok if you put a good base of sand down. I like the idea of sand inside.

 

[jeapa]

I bought all purpose sand near the cement supplies at lowes. It is a bit corser then play sand. I use pine shavings in my coop and I am happy with them for now. I already love the sand in the run though. It is so much easier to rake and poo just disappears.

 

[Prairieview]

Has anyone used a sand/lime mix? We live in the heart of barnlime country and it is readily available and cheap. I was wondering if anyone has used it with success as a mix or as a base.

 

[Mikee1948]

What do you do with the sand if it gets wet? It will be impossible for me to keep the run completely covered, as I see do most peole here who love the sand idea.

 

[sassifrassi]

Hi,


I'm pretty sure lime is caustic when it gets wet, and not so nice on the feet. Just use coarse construction sand - no lime.

sassifrassi

 

[Prairieview]

lye is caustic, lime is just crushed limestone