Sand vs Pine Shavings

[neo71665]

Well my husband isn’t on board with the financial upfront cost
Sounds like I’ll be doing pine shavings.

I'll tell ya I got 4 pickup bags of sand for free so I tried it. The stuff clumped up, stunk, and was a pain to clean. Wish I woulda never tried the stuff. Deep litter only for me for now on. I found a wood chipper with a blown up engine for cheap, got a harbor freight engine for it, and now chip up everything that hits the ground on my 90 acres.
Sand might work for some people but the humidity around here makes it a nightmare. Wish I woulda listened to people instead of being a cheap-a.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

I'll tell ya I got 4 pickup bags of sand for free so I tried it. The stuff clumped up, stunk, and was a pain to clean. Wish I woulda never tried the stuff. Deep litter only for me for now on. I found a wood chipper with a blown up engine for cheap, got a harbor freight engine for it, and now chip up everything that hits the ground on my 90 acres.
Sand might work for some people but the humidity around here makes it a nightmare. Wish I woulda listened to people instead of being a cheap-a.

Our woods are 95% cedar or we would definitely be wood chipping! Maybe not 95% but the most fallen trees are definitely cedars and you can’t throw a rock without hitting a few cedars!

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

No leaf litter? Husband isn't on board with the rake, either, I take it???

With the amount of undergrowth in our woods we’d be raking up poison ivy more then leaf litter.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

With the amount of undergrowth in our woods we’d be raking up poison ivy more then leaf litter.

Very sorry to hear that.

 

[neo71665]

Our woods are 95% cedar or we would definitely be wood chipping! Maybe not 95% but the most fallen trees are definitely cedars and you can’t throw a rock without hitting a few cedars!

Dang we got a few but nowhere near that. Few years ago we removed most of the stinking pine so we mostly hardwoods now. Of course the sweet gum trying to take over my cow pasture. I get most of my chips from them just cutting unwanted saplings every year.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Dang we got a few but nowhere near that. Few years ago we removed most of the stinking pine so we mostly hardwoods now. Of course the sweet gum trying to take over my cow pasture. I get most of my chips from them just cutting unwanted saplings every year.

We do have a few sweet gums in our yard but their so big now and so close to the electric line that we have to hire a professional to get them since we don’t have a bucket truck.

 

[Allthefloofs]

Maybe just our location, but sand works well for us, we are in southern AZ so it dries out super quickly if it gets wet and it works as a way of cooling things down in the heat because the sand works to increase the surface area and works as a evaporative cooler. I just rake up the poop every day like a litter box. I think the dryness helps though. I just re-sand the run with about 100/200 lbs every year to freshen it up.

 

[aart]

I think the dryness helps though.

Absolutely.

 

[neo71665]

Maybe just our location, but sand works well for us, we are in southern AZ so it dries out super quickly if it gets wet and it works as a way of cooling things down in the heat because the sand works to increase the surface area and works as a evaporative cooler. I just rake up the poop every day like a litter box. I think the dryness helps though. I just re-sand the run with about 100/200 lbs every year to freshen it up.

Yeah the average humidity here in Arkansas is 70%, Arizona is 38%. Plays a huge part in how things dry out.

 

[3KillerBs]

Maybe just our location, but sand works well for us, we are in southern AZ so it dries out super quickly if it gets wet and it works as a way of cooling things down in the heat because the sand works to increase the surface area and works as a evaporative cooler. I just rake up the poop every day like a litter box. I think the dryness helps though. I just re-sand the run with about 100/200 lbs every year to freshen it up.

It does seem that most of the people who are happy with sand in the run over a period of years are in very dry climates.