The scoop on sand as bedding!

[andreacroyle]

I checked out the Lowe's website and they offer a washed commercial medium grade sand (around $8.97), and a coarse grade Silica sand for $9.74. These are for 100-LB bags. I'm alittle leery about using the Silica stuff. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

Take a 5 gallon bucket, fill it about 3/4 full of sand, take a garden hose and ram it into the sand all the way to the bottom of the bucket, turn on hose and let run for maybe 10-15 minutes, occasionally stirring the sand until the overflowing water runs clear... All the dust particles should be carried out by the overflowing water, leaving just the sand behind in the bucket...

And if you have a gravel pit in your area get the sand there, you can get several 1000s of pounds for the price of a bag or two at the store... Around me the price if I pick up (and shovel it into the trailer/truck myself aka no tractor loading) at the pit is about $10 a ton for nice sand, as low as $5 a ton for construction fill grade... Some pits even sell washed sand, around me it's about $15 a ton...

Initially I found sand at a landscaping company. Then I refresh with playsand from Home Depot. I only have 5 birds so if you have a larger operation, just go to a landscaping company.
I didn't wash the sand before adding it.

I've been using sand for almost a yr now & LOVE IT!! It's so easy & not messy... I buy mine at Lowes quikrete (sp) All purpose sand & sweet Pdz.... I have two different size scoops. A kitty litter scoop for big stuff & a strainer type scoop for little stuff..... The rain is the only downfall... If it gets wet I scoop out wet dump in yard & add new... Easy Peasy.

Thanks for the replies. I live in the city and have found it more convenient to just go to lowes. i bought the quikcrete bags but they didnt carry the kind that is washable. thanks for the ideas about washing it. i only have 6 chickens and 1 special needs goose that i am going to try the sand with. i think i am going to attempt to put it in a kiddy pool and use a hand pump to get rid of the dusty water.

has anyone had trouble with mold in their sand?

 

[Skink]

If people are seeing "mold" in their sand, it is probably actually algae growing in water that is standing in the sand. It's just ground up rock bits. If anything, organic matter like pine and straw is much more likely to carry mold/mold spores. Algae can be a little slimy, but it's not gross - in fact, it's sucking up nutrients in the sand that might otherwise feed unwanted bacteria, so as much as people talk down on poor algae it is actually a good guy. However standing water in sand is bad, and it isn't a problem with the substrate choice, and is likely a problem with the coop location.

The only time sand will be trouble is if it is wet, just like, well... every other bedding out there. If there are drainage troubles and the sand needs to be removed to let it dry, instead of tossing it like birdlady79 you can scoop it on to a tarp to spread it thin and dry it in the sun. Much cheaper. Still labor intensive, though, so might as well just roof the coop instead. Depending on your soil as well as your coop position, sand should dry out without any help. Especially if the climate is dry and you can get direct sunlight on it! To speed things up, you can rake it. If rain water doesn't sink in to the ground worth anything in your yard, or water runs downhill in to your run instead of away from it, it might be better to consider a change in coop location or a raised and leveled floor.

 

[andreacroyle]

thanks for the reply. i am in Fl and the water sinks in pretty good. my coop will have a roof but open sides so rain is going to get in i suppose. i will make sure to rake it

 

[3chickchicks]

My sand is exposed to rain and I have heavy clay soil which is the worst for drainage. Just make sure your cool isn't in a low spot.
I've got concrete cinder blocks that are half buried. The coop and run sits on them. Then I just threw sand on top of the grass.
Sand is very quick to dry so if you have mold problems then it's something underneath the sand. And no matter what type of substrate you use, you'll have problems.

 

[ShockValue]

I have to admit that I've never used shavings except in the beginning in the brooder. I don't have a fair comparison.

However, I've been doing sand now for about 8 months and have had no issues. It dries the poop quickly and it's easy to scoop out with a litter box scoop. My only trouble is that when it's dry, sometimes the poop breaks into little bits that are too small for the scooper. But it's so dry, and it doesn't smell, so I don't worry about it. I figure I'll do a complete clean out and replacement once a year just to get it sparkly clean again. If you buy course sand it will double as grit as well. I mix my oyster shells into the sand and the girls love searching for it (I offer it in a container as well, but they seem to enjoy getting it out of the sand more...)

 

[LanceTN]

I have to admit that I've never used shavings except in the beginning in the brooder.   I don't have a fair comparison.

However, I've been doing sand now for about 8 months and have had no issues.  It dries the poop quickly and it's easy to scoop out with a litter box scoop.     My only trouble is that when it's dry, sometimes the poop breaks into little bits that are too small for the scooper.    But it's so dry, and it doesn't smell, so I don't worry about it.    I figure I'll do a complete clean out and replacement once a year just to get it sparkly clean again.   If you buy course sand it will double as grit as well.   I mix my oyster shells into the sand and the girls love searching for it (I offer it in a container as well, but they seem to enjoy getting it out of the sand more...)

I have a few pullets that walk around their feeder kicking food out onto the sand and then run around digging at m it all up.

It's hilarious

 

[1cutechick]

What is PDZ and where do I get that? My farm supply store does not have any DE foodgrade that I was hoping to get for my coop and mix in an indoor dustbath. My husband has lots of sand from his sand-blasting business, but that has some silica in it. I read somewhere this should no be used. If so, where do I find sand with no silica for my dustbath? We have snow on the ground here, and I have an old tire in the coop that I filled last fall with dirt from a pile in the back yard. I was hoping this would be a good dirt bath, but I see they have pooped in it, and have thrown some of the dirt out onto the floor. These are some busy chickens I have here! Thank you

 

[WNCcluck]

We get ours at Southern States (not sure where you are). Be sure to get granular and not powdered PDZ. We pay about $15 for a 40# bag.

 

[BonRae67]

A cement plant like cemex or whoever has readymix trucks may sell you the sand you want. I know they get it for rhe cement they make. (I know this because my hubby hauls it for Cemex) Try finding something like that if you want it by the ton.

 

[Andy Wayne]

What is PDZ and where do I get that?

http://www.sweetpdz.com/

I get it at the farm store: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/sweet-pdzreg;-stall-refresher-25-lb

Also it's on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Manna-Pro-0548061140-Refresher-40-Pound/dp/B0024EAA14