Pros and Cons for using sand

[EagleEyes]

It is sold as a horse stall freshener. It is granular and absorbs moisture and odor. I mix it (several cups) in my shavings in the hen house and the sand in the run every so often when I detect odors that I don't like. Seems to work to me. I get it at Farm and Fleet.

 

[birdman55]

I have to agree, sand does hold warmth, but on the other hand we have never used any kind of litter in our coops just a wood floor we had chickens in new England & in Fla & now in AZ. but since i am terribly allergic to dust we really need to keep the dust down in our hen houses and always had just kept a clean no fuss wood floor that was cleaned out every month. but now we are older & have farm help to shovel out our AZ coop every month or so, but lately i have been looking for info on any pros & cons about raising chicks on a bed of nice clean sand & could even possibly use a heating pad below the sand, like the kind of heat pad made for dog houses with a heat regulator, plus years ago i was told that if chicks were raised around wood type litter & if they start eating that wood litter it will kill them..? so just to be on the safe side we never used any type of wood litter, im new to having motherless chicks , this past year will be the first time in my life to ever have motherless chicks, and now lately i have been thinking about using sand for raising chicks on , and thinking that sand might have some benefits..? the first that comes to mind is it would be easy to keep clean , with a quick daily clean up.! does any one have any info on raising chicks on a bed of warm clean sand...?? or any more info on using sand at all , I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED.! so any body....? can you help with this fact finding mission about using sand to raise chicks on..? i really would appreciate it...!!! well im on my way out to lock up my girls for the night. so thanks to any one in advance for your help...!!! o and here are some of my girls all almost a year old now, fluffed up in bed waiting for me to come down and turn off their light

....lol....

. good night all & take care

i have used both pine shavings and sand...i like sand alot more then chips...both are dusty....you dont need to heat the bottom in either...just a light will do fine...
rare svart honas on pine shavings...problem with the chips is that they get stuck on the bottom of the feet when they step in poo...with sand you dont have that problem...sand is also alot heavier...keep this in mind...also alot cheaper

88 on pine shavings...they dig and get holes where the waters are sometimes spilling them...with sand it goes to the bottom so the birds can still drink...with chips they clog up the water...

hoop coop we just finished...with sand on the bottom...

first polish

some in a brooder with sand...easy to clean every couple of days i just take a kitty scooper and spread the sand around...and then all clean..after couple of weeks i replace with new sand

close up with using sand

hope this helps

 

[Diannastarr]

THANK YOU BIRD MAN 55...!!!

for your kindness & most excellent information, i know now that sand will be my first choice and i will look for the best quality sand box mix , then i will try to wash it real good first & let it dry out in the hot AZ sun before using it, so maybe no dust...then...???? im hoping so

and will use sand for the new chicks we plan on getting...!!! thank you kindly , and have a great weekend, best regards take care Dianna

 

[birdman55]

THANK YOU BIRD MAN 55...!!!

for your kindness & most excellent information, i know now that sand will be my first choice and i will look for the best quality sand box mix , then i will try to wash it real good first & let it dry out in the hot AZ sun before using it, so maybe no dust...then...???? im hoping so

and will use sand for the new chicks we plan on getting...!!! thank you kindly , and have a great weekend, best regards take care Dianna

you dont want sand box sand....as it contains glass particles because its man made....funny how we put are kids into something that contains glass particles and then call it safe....you best bet is to by sand directly from a quarry or someone that buys direct...and then you know its right from the ground....please dont buy play sand as it is man made and contains silica ....when ingested into the bird it can kill the birds....washed masonry sand. and they should be able to deliver a whole dump truck for like 100-175 depending on where you live...

 

[Diannastarr]

WOW THANK YOU BIRDMAN 55..

i would have never guessed that sand box sand was such - a bad choice.!!!

my goodness

so you say THE WASHED MASONRY SAND is what we need, THAT IS REALLY GREAT INFO so i will be calling around first thing Monday WOW THIS IS THE BEST INFO WE ALL NEEDED TO LEARN HERE ON BYC BECAUSE WHO WOULD NEVER HAVE GUESSED HOW DANGEROUS SAND BOX SAND CAN BE FOR OUR CHICKS...!!! GOSH ..??? & like my dad would say LIVE & LEARN...! SO I FOR ONE WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN ABOUT ANY OF THIS...! GREAT INFO FOR ALL OUR BYC GROUP...!!!!

WOW

HAVE A MOST WONDERFUL WEEK END TAKE CARE & THANKS Dianna

 

[CandylandRanch]

I'm about to do this for the first time. A couple of questions if you dont mind would be helpful..The landscape yard That is close to me has "washed sand" kind of explained as beach or play sand, but says it's free from dust and debris. The only other type that would potentially work is their" construction sand" or "2NS". But the description does not say it is washed. Which should I go with? Or should I find another yard? Chicken chick recommended washed river sand.. Less silica, more varying pieces with sharp edges for their toes and beaks, which also helps with preventing fleas. Opinions welcome!!

 

[cavemanrich]

I'm about to do this for the first time. A couple of questions if you dont mind would be helpful..The landscape yard That is close to me has "washed sand" kind of explained as beach or play sand, but says it's free from dust and debris. The only other type that would potentially work is their" construction sand" or "2NS". But the description does not say it is washed. Which should I go with? Or should I find another yard? Chicken chick recommended washed river sand.. Less silica, more varying pieces with sharp edges for their toes and beaks, which also helps with preventing fleas. Opinions welcome!!

I use construction sand . course type. that is for concrete. I have a designated area where there is this sand. Sand is not all I have. Most of area is just earth. On top of earth soil I spread out grass clippings during summer which dries and turns into hay. This concrete sand around here they call it torpedo. Don't know why such name ??? Have used it for many years and have had NO PROBLEMS.. Washed sand is construction grade sand that I HAVE USED IN MASONRY BRICKLAYING, It is washed to provide better consistency in masonry mix texture. This masonry sand is finer than the course concrete grade. I have not used this for my chickens because always had enough of the course available. There was no difference in price when I purchased it at the supply yard. I did buy it by the cubic yard for construction purposes. If your chickens are eating SO much sand. ( and I am not directing this at you candylandranch, just those that said that their chickens had BAD results from sand.) then try giving them more food. I don't see my chickens eating the sand at all. They scratch thru it and dust in it.
Now as to birdman55 suggesting washed masonry sand. Many here on this thread suggest using sand more course. I agree with the many. birdman55 also says that play box sand we buy for our children is manufactured sand and implied that it contains glass particles. I took that seriously and started researching it quite deeply. SO FAR I HAVE NOT FOUND ANYTHING TO SUBSTANTIATE THAT TO BE SO. I really do want to find the source of that claim. Please post that information source if you find it. I can see Personal Injury attorneys filing class action lawsuits against such sand manufacturers if it was DANGEROUS. (to our children of course, not chickens. ). There are many different types of sands worldwide. All depends on what type of rock was crushed and eroded over time to make it. It then ended up in concentrated amounts that we refer to as quarries. Under the microscope it may look like sharp little bandits . reason is because many of these sands are from crystalline sources such a quarts.

 

[readymom]

Diannastarr, I also use sand in my run and coop. It is very easy to clean. I don't clean the run. It is very large and the chickens scratch everything around so I can't even see poop. It takes 5 minutes in the coop. I have't changed it, just add more as needed. I wanted to speak to your dust allergy. Anything in a chicken coop is dusty. Someone posted on here that he installed a water mister to keep dust down as he also had a bad dust allegy and that was working for him.

 

[rides2far]

I have a question about using lime in the run for SNJchickens. What kind of lime do you use? I always thought lime would be too caustic. I would love to use something less expensive than PDZ for the run.

 

[DMRippy]

I have a question about using lime in the run for SNJchickens. What kind of lime do you use? I always thought lime would be too caustic. I would love to use something less expensive than PDZ for the run.

You can get it at any feed store. Food grade lime. I have not seen the need for it. It does not work like I would think it would..... JMHO. I also don't use PDZ much.