Intentionally wetting sand in coop

[Fontaine]

I live in South Florida that’s been particularly dry this summer and we are going into the dry season. I have a very open air coop,Mostly hardware cloth. Once a year I get a very coarse sand deliveredAnd replace all the existing coop sand. After a year of sifting poop every morning the sand has gotten quite dusty over time .it’s now fairly fine and dusty. I would like to hose it down in the morning after cleaning but then I don’t know am I inviting millions of bacteria to grow? I’m not sure which is worse inhaling the dust or the bacteria I’m going to be adding some nine week old chicks to this mix alsoAnd I don’t want to make them sick. Any thoughts? Also, any recommendations for a specific poop scoop for a little chicks and sand? I have sand in the Brooder. The sifter for reptiles shifts every single pebble away, which I don’t want to be left with such fine sand. A cat litter box scooper is so large the poop falls through the holes.It’s probably wishful thinking, but if anybody’s found the perfect scoop for little poop, I’d like to know lol thanks so much. I forgot to add the coop sits on hardware cloth which sits on Florida Sand so drainage is no issue.

 

[azygous]

I sympathize. I have had construction sand in my runs and masonry sand in the coops for fifteen years. While I love the sand substrate, the dust has always been a problem, and always will be. I've tried everything. Nothing works.

I do wet down the sand in the worst heat of summer. Not to control the dust, but to create an evaporation effect to cool the run down. I try not to do this too often because the water does pact the smaller particles, creating a hard pan. It also stinks as it activates the micro particles of poop.

One time, I got into a real anal phase and hauled out every speck of sand in my runs. I even brought out my shop vac and sucked up all the remaining dust. Then I ordered a product that I sprayed onto the clay sub-soil that was supposed to prevent the clay from releasing any more dust that could work up through the sand layers. It didn't work. Still dusty. And I never could get the manufacturer rep to assure me it was safe to use with chickens.

Now, I let the sand go down to within an inch of the sub-soil and then bring in several loads of fresh construction sand, never again removing all of the old sand. Too much work for too little benefit.

As for the ultimate poop scooper for chicken poop, I'm still hunting. At one time, my feed store sold a metal scooper with narrow slots that I've never been able to find anywhere since. I still have a couple, and they work great with small chick turds. Maybe one day someone will invent the perfect chicken poop scooper. I can only dream.

 

[Jackisews]

I am in North Central Florida. I have an open-air coop with a bare floor. Yes, it has been very dusty this summer and fall (lack of rain). So I spray down the coop floor when I do a monthly clean-out. In addition to keeping the dust down, it makes the bugs come up and the chooks get free treats. The next day I put down fresh bedding and the chooks are happy.

 

[Fontaine]

I sympathize. I have had construction sand in my runs and masonry sand in the coops for fifteen years. While I love the sand substrate, the dust has always been a problem, and always will be. I've tried everything. Nothing works.

I do wet down the sand in the worst heat of summer. Not to control the dust, but to create an evaporation effect to cool the run down. I try not to do this too often because the water does pact the smaller particles, creating a hard pan. It also stinks as it activates the micro particles of poop.

One time, I got into a real anal phase and hauled out every speck of sand in my runs. I even brought out my shop vac and sucked up all the remaining dust. Then I ordered a product that I sprayed onto the clay sub-soil that was supposed to prevent the clay from releasing any more dust that could work up through the sand layers. It didn't work. Still dusty. And I never could get the manufacturer rep to assure me it was safe to use with chickens.

Now, I let the sand go down to within an inch of the sub-soil and then bring in several loads of fresh construction sand, never again removing all of the old sand. Too much work for too little benefit.

As for the ultimate poop scooper for chicken poop, I'm still hunting. At one time, my feed store sold a metal scooper with narrow slots that I've never been able to find anywhere since. I still have a couple, and they work great with small chick turds. Maybe one day someone will invent the perfect chicken poop scooper. I can only

I sympathize. I have had construction sand in my runs and masonry sand in the coops for fifteen years. While I love the sand substrate, the dust has always been a problem, and always will be. I've tried everything. Nothing works.

I do wet down the sand in the worst heat of summer. Not to control the dust, but to create an evaporation effect to cool the run down. I try not to do this too often because the water does pact the smaller particles, creating a hard pan. It also stinks as it activates the micro particles of poop.

One time, I got into a real anal phase and hauled out every speck of sand in my runs. I even brought out my shop vac and sucked up all the remaining dust. Then I ordered a product that I sprayed onto the clay sub-soil that was supposed to prevent the clay from releasing any more dust that could work up through the sand layers. It didn't work. Still dusty. And I never could get the manufacturer rep to assure me it was safe to use with chickens.

Now, I let the sand go down to within an inch of the sub-soil and then bring in several loads of fresh construction sand, never again removing all of the old sand. Too much work for too little benefit.

As for the ultimate poop scooper for chicken poop, I'm still hunting. At one time, my feed store sold a metal scooper with narrow slots that I've never been able to find anywhere since. I still have a couple, and they work great with small chick turds. Maybe one day someone will invent the perfect chicken poop scooper. I can only dream.

After reading your response I got to thinking… You let your sand go down and then replace it all. When I intend to replace mine, at least yearly, why am I Shaking the poop through a strainer to save the somewhat dirty sand? At the end of the year or whenever,I have to have the whole coop dug out and discarded before I can add new. Now I’m going to stop shaking my kitty scooper, inhaling all the dust that goes with that, and simply scoop the poop and the sand below it and toss the whole scoop,sand and all into my bucket. I have a large coop and plenty of sand. I’m just going to let it keep going down like you. Disposal is not a problem. Thank you for your response! When it’s time to replace the sand, at least I won’t have so much to remove from the coop. Also, although I wear a mask, my lungs, will thank me also!

 

[HenHollow]

I live in South Florida that’s been particularly dry this summer and we are going into the dry season. I have a very open air coop,Mostly hardware cloth. Once a year I get a very coarse sand deliveredAnd replace all the existing coop sand. After a year of sifting poop every morning the sand has gotten quite dusty over time .it’s now fairly fine and dusty. I would like to hose it down in the morning after cleaning but then I don’t know am I inviting millions of bacteria to grow? I’m not sure which is worse inhaling the dust or the bacteria I’m going to be adding some nine week old chicks to this mix alsoAnd I don’t want to make them sick. Any thoughts? Also, any recommendations for a specific poop scoop for a little chicks and sand? I have sand in the Brooder. The sifter for reptiles shifts every single pebble away, which I don’t want to be left with such fine sand. A cat litter box scooper is so large the poop falls through the holes.It’s probably wishful thinking, but if anybody’s found the perfect scoop for little poop, I’d like to know lol thanks so much. I forgot to add the coop sits on hardware cloth which sits on Florida Sand so drainage is no issue.

A few things...
I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but after you wet down the sand, you can add some pelletized bedding. I get mine from tractor supply. It's made of compressed pine and will immediately break down into little bits to help keep the dust down. It is very absorbent though so you'll want to make sure that sand is pretty wet so the pellets can break down before the sun dries it up.
I wouldn't worry about bacteria ... on The-chicken-chic.com she states, "Clean dry sand prevent any bacteria from growing."

I've had great success using a shovel/sand/sifter. You may be able to modify it somehow to make holes the size you need. You can find them on amazon.

I hope this helps!

 

[BonnieBlue]

I live in South Florida that’s been particularly dry this summer and we are going into the dry season. I have a very open air coop,Mostly hardware cloth. Once a year I get a very coarse sand deliveredAnd replace all the existing coop sand. After a year of sifting poop every morning the sand has gotten quite dusty over time .it’s now fairly fine and dusty. I would like to hose it down in the morning after cleaning but then I don’t know am I inviting millions of bacteria to grow? I’m not sure which is worse inhaling the dust or the bacteria I’m going to be adding some nine week old chicks to this mix alsoAnd I don’t want to make them sick. Any thoughts? Also, any recommendations for a specific poop scoop for a little chicks and sand? I have sand in the Brooder. The sifter for reptiles shifts every single pebble away, which I don’t want to be left with such fine sand. A cat litter box scooper is so large the poop falls through the holes.It’s probably wishful thinking, but if anybody’s found the perfect scoop for little poop, I’d like to know lol thanks so much. I forgot to add the coop sits on hardware cloth which sits on Florida Sand so drainage is no issue.

I use sand in my coop, and I scoop the sand into a garden sieve. Because the garden sieve comes with different size screens, I can adjust as needed. I use a large plastic grain scoop. My coop is fairly small (4'x4') so I can clean the coop well in 10 mins.

 

[Fontaine]

A few things...
I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but after you wet down the sand, you can add some pelletized bedding. I get mine from tractor supply. It's made of compressed pine and will immediately break down into little bits to help keep the dust down. It is very absorbent though so you'll want to make sure that sand is pretty wet so the pellets can break down before the sun dries it up.
I wouldn't worry about bacteria ... on The-chicken-chic.com she states, "Clean dry sand prevent any bacteria from growing."

I've had great success using a shovel/sand/sifter. You may be able to modify it somehow to make holes the size you need. You can find them on amazon.

I hope this helps!

Thanks for the tip. I’ll give it a try.

 

[Fontaine]

I use sand in my coop, and I scoop the sand into a garden sieve. Because the garden sieve comes with different size screens, I can adjust as needed. I use a large plastic grain scoop. My coop is fairly small (4'x4') so I can clean the coop well in 10 mins.

View attachment 3740306

Great idea! Thanks

 

[Suzz]

Here an idea for a poop scoop

 

[Fontaine]

Here an idea for a poop scoopView attachment 3744850

I like the long handle! I think the mesh might be two fine. The sand is coarse and I’d like to keep it that way. Thanks for your response.