Sand in the coop?

[jennyf]

This is coop and small run, with sand...

And this is their larger run with just dirt, thinking eventually deep litter. I've put what leaves I can find in there but planning on adding more in the fall. It only has chicken wire on top so they are only allowed out during the day. So far not stinky!

These are my first chickens and have not gone through a winter. Right now, the only poop scooping I do in the coop is from overnight, they don't seem to poop in the rest of it. As soon as the door opens, they head outside. Perhaps that will change in the winter!!

 

[wigglesme]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I use sand in my coop. I live in the PNW so deep litter is not an option as nothing dries out here. I scoop every day or two and put it in a pile out front to decompose farther. I'm afraid if I pile it out back the dogs will have a never ending buffet! 

It does get a little dusty sometimes. I haven't yet been able to find Sweet PDZ. I provide a separate compost scratching area. I NEVER use DE and have no problem with ANY bugs... fleas, mites, flies, etc. I also use droppings boards and love them!

Washed river sand is the best (type of sand) according to my research. I had mine delivered on a dump truck. But I understand that is not an option for everyone.

Ultimately, it depends on your area and your lifestyle. What works for one person in one area may be completely dis-functional at another location. Sometimes it takes trial and error. I hate when good ideas become bad realities!

Best wishes!

Thank you! All good points. Ideally I would like something that can be done every other day or even stretch it to every 3 days. The girls have access to the yard for most of the day so I'm fortunate in that regard but I need to do a better job keeping the run clean. Their coop is a modified eglu cube so I give it a good cleaning once a week and it is good to go. Thanks again!!

 

[Susan G]

I have really enjoyed reading all these ideas on sand or deep litter...I will still ho for sand for my covered outside runs and shavings in coop. We are just finishing the coop and run building so will let you know how I like it. We live in MN and have horses too so are pretty used to maintaining a clean area but chickens were new to us. Love BYC and all the good ideas!

 

[triplepurpose]

Ultimately, it depends on your area and your lifestyle. What works for one person in one area may be completely dis-functional at another location. Sometimes it takes trial and error. I hate when good ideas become bad realities!

so true! thats why there are so many different ways to do things. i just dont like to see people start out without enough info doing something for the wrong reasons, especially when it involve some infrastructure thats regrettable or hard to change later on (like perhaps concrete floors!) but thats why byc is here, so we can learn from others. and thats why i like to explain to people not just what methods i personally favor, but most importantly, WHY i do.

cheers!

 

[Kim Z]

so true! thats why there are so many different ways to do things. i just dont like to see people start out without enough info doing something for the wrong reasons, especially when it involve some infrastructure thats regrettable or hard to change later on (like perhaps concrete floors!) but thats why byc is here, so we can learn from others. and thats why i like to explain to people not just what methods i personally favor, but most importantly, WHY i do.

cheers!

Well spoken!

 

[DCMuffin]

I have two coops and two runs. Both coops have a sand floor with a mix of sweet PDZ (stall refresher) mixed in. For my chickens, I will never use anything else. There is no smell. It is easy to clean. It does not harbor mites. Flies are not an issue. The chickens like it for dusting. The girls still scratch and look for treats thrown into the coops daily. I briefly tried pine chips and hated the smell and the need to completely clear out all the soiled chips every two weeks to maintain hygiene. The chips were too slow to break down after removal so I started burning them but that was not a good solution. I had planned to pull out all the sand and replace with fresh after a year but I don't see the need as looks and smells clean and dry. I've used the same sand for 15 months now adding a bag every few months as needed.

I certainly understand and respect those who use the deep litter method. I have nothing to say about it. The original poster asked about using sand. I am a proponent. I bought washed sand from a home improvement center. It came in bags so it was easy for me to move around on our property and to store some extra when I want to add a little more. For the first coop, I added the sand to 3-4 inches. For the second coop, I used 2 inches. Both work fine. Both are easy to maintain. The girls in the 2 inch sand will forage down to the floor more than those in the deeper sand. To clean, I have a small plastic rake. It takes a couple minutes to rake feathers and droppings to a pile and rake them onto a modified pitch fork with quarter inch wire mesh applied. I sift out some of the loose sand and discard the droppings and feathers. By sifting the sand, I can still compost the droppings and feathers. Every single day, the coops are drooping free after a couple minutes of raking each one.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

I REALLY like the sound of this. So, I made a roosting table with a lip around it. The roosts are 1 and 2 feet above the table, I scoop it out each morning. However, I stall mats on the floor, covered with straw. The chickens spend very little time in their coop during the day, but they DO poop on the floor from time to time, which of course has to be cleaned out every couple of days but I'm thinking that this would be a great option for us! Thank you!

 

[batfly]

i recommend deep litter. you can use straw, dried small or shredded leaves, shavings (non aromatic, so no cedar, pine, etc), dried grass, or better yet, a mix of such stuff, atop a dirt floor. its the best and easiest method for managing manure. it almost never needs to be cleaned out if you do it right. theres no foul odors or daily maintenance, and you can use the old litter as fertilizer if and when uou need some. it works very well with chickens! it seems more practical and more hygenic than sand, and it also provides entertainment because it gives them something to scratch in which is a normally healthy foraging behavior they enjoy. id recommend doing some research on it--theres quite a bit here on byc, and more elsewhere too. sesrch for "deep litter method." its worth it! may save you a lot of trouble and hassle... good luck!

CAN YOU Tell Me How Deep To Make Y THEY Straw

 

[triplepurpose]

CAN YOU Tell Me How Deep To Make Y THEY Straw

as deep as it needs to be, really. ive seen people write the DL needs to be at least a foot deep, but this measure is pretty arbitrary, and mine is almost never that thick but still functions perfectly. if in doubt, deeper is probably better than not deep enough. its pretty flexible: do some reading so you lnow what good active DL should be like, and focus on attaining and maintaing those ideals, rather than some arbitrary depth. theres more to it than i can tell u in a quick post, but its not rocket science and there are lots of good articles on this site and elsewhere that explain in depth. gl!

 

[Boxersandchicke]

I've not had very good luck with my sand. It retains stink no matter how diligent I clean and screen it daily. Also use sweet PDZ.
I do pine shavings in the hen house and pick out every nugget of droppings daily. NO smell in there. I must be using wrong sand. Have 1/2
Paver base and 1/2 play sand. I've got 9 hens in a 6x10 Quaker combo with 4-6 inches of sand. Can't believe how much $ spent on so many bags
To have it smell. Very disappointing. Come spring I'll try to get (river sand) and pray for better results.

 

[Folly's place]

It's not about 'what kind' of sand, it's about not being is a very dry environment and using sand at all. Try deep litter instead! Mary