What are the pros and cons for using sand in the coop and run?
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FWI: Peat Moss is currently being harvested in insane quantities from land that has its entire ecosystem based around it. Peat moss takes a long time to make, and we are taking it out of the bogs it belongs in at horribly unsustainable rates. It is destroying the bog ecosystem.I have sand in my coop and run as well as my dust bath area. Currently it is mixed with a ton of other stuff. PDZ, DE, leaves, pine needles, wood chips, hay and who knows what else. It's great. They dig all day and find goodies. I also mix peat Moss in. They go nuts. It's like an ongoing compost pile. It smells good looks healthy and my hens love it.
Sand is no good in cold climates. It might drain well, but it is really no fun to scratch in or find bugs. It is good for only in a box for dustbathing. It does not compost, and you cannot plant in it. It also has a tendency to stink and cause diseases like Coccidiosis. It just really is not natural.
Wow really?
I have been considering on getting some washed concrete sand for my chicken run because I deal with bumble foot every single year & the run gets very muddy while it rains. The LAST thing I want is for it to stink & overwhelm my chickens with cocci.