Sand vs Pine Shavings

[Disheygirl]

So what about a cedar roosting bar? Toxic or no?

 

[rosemarythyme]

So what about a cedar roosting bar? Toxic or no?

As long as it's not super fresh cut wood it should be fine.

 

[RebeccaRN]

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.

I use sand also and wouldn't use anything else. The ease of cleaning is unbeatable

 

[RebeccaRN]

Most of Arizona is sand anyways right? Makes sense that it would be the best alternative.
Its definitely wayyyy too humid in Arkansas

I live in Oklahoma and use sand, I love it! I only use it in the coop on the floor.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

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!

My allergies would be a hot mess

 

[gimmie birdies]

Not a shavings fan, a neighbor of mine picked up 6 week old chicks and they were not used to shavings, that is what she put them on. and they ate the shavings and died. She got a new batch from a diff source didn't know it was the pine shavings troubling her birds, and those died also. She never had chickens in their coop, so it was not disease.

 

[Tclloyd0812]

I live in Arkansas. Izard County. I have always used sand in my chicken coop. I got a half of a trail load from a company that sales soil and sand and gravel a couple of years ago. I only clean the sand a few times a year but I use shavings in my nest box's. I have 15 chickens that includes my 2 roosters.
Oops forgot to add this. I do use the DE food grade every time I put new sand in. My load of sand has lasted years so I'm not sure what unwanted pest might be living in it.

Hello fellow Arkansan neighbor!
I definitely agree with your method! Awesome to see others close in my area on here.

I live in Arkansas. Izard County. I have always used sand in my chicken coop. I got a half of a trail load from a company that sales soil and sand and gravel a couple of years ago. I only clean the sand a few times a year but I use shavings in my nest box's. I have 15 chickens that includes my 2 roosters.
Oops forgot to add this. I do use the DE food grade every time I put new sand in. My load of sand has lasted years so I'm not sure what unwanted pest might be living in it.

 

[hunterduff]

I know this is a heavily discussed topic.

I’m just having a really hard time figuring out what’s best.

I live in central Arkansas where we have really hot and humid summers and mild winters (except the freak snow storm we had this last winter but apparently that hasn’t happened since the 80s).

Im a stay at home mom with a toddler, scooping the sand in the coop wouldn’t be difficult for me on the daily but keeping her from playing in the sand would.

It’s also about $58/yard and we have a 12x6 coop. Is that pricy? Should we shop around at other quarries? The quarry in our town also doesn’t sell sand. So we already have to drive 30min to get that and the next one is an hour away on the highway…which sounds like a lot of lost sand.

Pine shavings on the other hand get disgusting. I don’t have anywhere to put them once their gross either. I live on a lot of acres but having to tote chips off the general area seems a bit problematic.

The coop is a wooden floor of 2x4s raised around 18 inches off the ground.

Opinions? Suggestions?

I have shavings in the coop, and sand in the run. I like shavings in the coop, I use half a bag every 1-1.5 weeks in a 4x6 coop

 

[fishygirl25]

Sand at Lowe’s is really cheap. You can buy 50 lb for about $4. I put 100 lb in my run to start off. Now I just freshen it up a bit with sand from my property with some lime and D.E.

 

[DYEJOB]

I know this is a heavily discussed topic.

I’m just having a really hard time figuring out what’s best.

I live in central Arkansas where we have really hot and humid summers and mild winters (except the freak snow storm we had this last winter but apparently that hasn’t happened since the 80s).

Im a stay at home mom with a toddler, scooping the sand in the coop wouldn’t be difficult for me on the daily but keeping her from playing in the sand would.

It’s also about $58/yard and we have a 12x6 coop. Is that pricy? Should we shop around at other quarries? The quarry in our town also doesn’t sell sand. So we already have to drive 30min to get that and the next one is an hour away on the highway…which sounds like a lot of lost sand.

Pine shavings on the other hand get disgusting. I don’t have anywhere to put them once their gross either. I live on a lot of acres but having to tote chips off the general area seems a bit problematic.

The coop is a wooden floor of 2x4s raised around 18 inches off the ground.

Opinions? Suggestions?

We scoop our shavings into a compost pile for fertilizer, it's amazing stuff since it's all biodegradable