9 1/2" of river sand in run... how would you clean?

[Tomandlu]

I am brand new at raising chickens... building a coop/run - coop 30 sq ft, run 100+ sq feet, 8 chicks, flock is mixed (8 entirely different varieties). The whole shebang is 'predator proof' so I don't lock them up in the coop at night, just close the run door. Coop and run are completely covered overhead + 18" eave, so the boundaries will get wet with a driving rain. Live in the PNW so very dry summers, very wet winters. Floor of the run is 9 1/2" of "river sand" (actually a lot of > 1/4-1/2" rocks in it), which is over 1/2" hardware cloth, which is over 'road cloth' (appx 4X the thickness of polypro landscaping fabric'), which is over 4" of 3/4 minus crushed rock. Underneath that is clay/mud, but I'm hoping the chickens can't dig that far down and get to it. Now that my chickens are living in the new coop I'm finding issues with using a cat litter scoop - a) it usually picks up 10X the rocks for every poop, and b) the poops themselves have been broken into lots of little poops, so I miss 90% of the poop. I do run/poop patrol several times a day. I don't mind sand/small rocks, they go into the compost, and into our garden, and all is good.

I'm not sure what all my options are, or what the best options are - I'm thinking, 'leave the poops'? 'rake them in deep'? flood the floor and hope the poops decompose? Rack and turn over the top 2"? Add a few inches of dry leaves come fall? I've been surprised that they haven't dug much in the sand - it is very compacted. When it does get wet (deliberately... had some +105F weather recently, gave them ice in pans (they loved to walk in it), then dumped it in the sand when it was melted... they seemed to really prefer wet to dry sand). So can you hear I'm just struggling here? Thought sand would be a good option, as I've seen a few runs that are just mud all winter, and yuck, I didn't want that. But the sand doesn't seem to be working out as well as I'd hoped. It was 4 cubic yards I moved and raked... not sure I'm up for removing the sand, and then, what to replace it with?

Also, one corner of the run has a dust bath set up... using a mix of sphagnum moss, sand, ash, fraction of diatomaceous earth... they love it, but that corner of the coop over the years will have a quite high proportion of sphagnum moss over sand as the floor. Might be OK? Muddy? Breed bugs or disease? I know I just don't want a muddy mess (why I covered the entire run).

I'm looking for advice from folks that have been here before - or, were experienced enough to avoid this part of the journey entirely.

 

[aart]

I'm looking for advice from folks that have been here before - or, were experienced enough to avoid this part of the journey entirely.

I read more than a few stories about folks removing tons of sand for the same concerns you have.
.....and learned first hand using sand in the brooder.

ETA: I use coarse wood chipping in my runs, never have to clean anything out.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I use a litter scooper to sift poos out. Mine can get compacted - I use a shovel to turn it over and then rake it. If it's the right type of sand it will freshen right up. I've seen where others have used a small tiller to do the same.

 

[Tomandlu]

I read more than a few stories about folks removing tons of sand for the same concerns you have.
.....and learned first hand using sand in the brooder.

ETA: I use coarse wood chipping in my runs, never have to clean anything out.

At this point I could probably put coarse wood chips (bark rock?) on top of the sand and it would be good. How many inches of the bark do have?

 

[aart]

How many inches of the bark do have?

Not bark chunks(rocks?), but chipped branches from tree trimmers.
Only put down a fairly thin layer(2-3") at a time.
Also add some other dry plant matter if it's available(straw, dried grass clippings or leaves)
Best if you have a place to dump a big pile.