A few random Q's

[Rooster Cogburn]

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Here is a look at the pellets.

 

[elmo]

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I buy the all purpose bagged sand at Lowes. For some reason, the "all purpose" bagged sand that they sell at my local Home Depot is much finer, and not what I want. I spread the sand about 1-2 inches deep inside my coop.

I think you may be thinking about gravel for aquarium use. I've never heard of people using sand in an aquarium.

p.s. this is what I use to scoop out the droppings:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/13167/product.web

I just duct taped it to a long wooden handle so I wouldn't have to bend over. Works perfectly: collects the poop, leaves the sand behind.

 

[secuono]

I have 8 aquariums and all have play sand. Gravel is bad in most situations since the muck get's stuck in between the tiny rocks and it fowls the tank. Dirt in a sand tank stays on top and is easy to siphon out.


Anyway. So get the 50lbs bag for $3-5? How many bags will I need for about, er, 6ft by 8ft area?

Newish pic of my 20 gallon long tank. I'll take new pics of my other tanks and post if anyone is interested.
The white thing on the center right that kinda looks like a horse is raw Cucumber the bottom dwellers love to snack on.

 

[secuono]

I will look into sand. I need to save up money before I can buy any though. BTW, if anyone near me got too much sand and wants to share, let me know!

I also need to seal the half inch gaps in the wood board floor before I can add sand.
What can I use to close the long gaps?
Should I use the old wood paneling from the basement and cut and lay it to fit, then seal the bits left over? After than, dump in the sand?

 

[Judy]

Boy, you guys do a lot of work.

My coop has a dirt floor with a thick layer of pine shavings. I NEVER clean it. The poop dries and sifts though the shavings. I rake under the roost now and then to shift the poop down into the pine shavings. Once in a while, in the summer, it gets a little smelly in there, so I sprinkle a cup or two of pelleted lime around. Most of the time there is no smell, other than pine shavings. But it is a big coop for the number of chickens, 17 chickens and about 10'x12'; I raised 50 in there to nearly full size. They have a big yard, too.

 

[maggiemooscluckers]

I bought my sand from a landscape supply locally. I got enough to cover a 6 x 12 run about 3-4 inches deep. It only cost $8.00. Any time you can get something loose and not bagged it seems like you get a better deal. I don't know your situation but I just took the truck and they dumped a front loader bucket full into the truck. All I had to do was shovel it into the run. I have my meaties in that side of the run and they are doing well in the sand. Meaties are notoriously known for their prolific, stinky poop but I'm not noticing it. Occasionally I rake around in it but the chickens are doing a pretty good job of it by themselves.

 

[Granny Hoffman]

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What type of sand did you put in your coop, contractors or fine stuff like play sand?

 

[maggiemooscluckers]

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What type of sand did you put in your coop, contractors or fine stuff like play sand?

It isn't fine like play sand so I will say it is more like a contractors sand. The grit is still very small so it works great for the hens. I don't have to provide any other type of grit.

 

[secuono]

I added 'pet pine bedding', it's cut up smaller and thus softer. But only added it to the nests.
I also found three 5 gallon paint buckets and made those into nests. I put them in the same spots the cardboard nests were at. Also placed a board over the buckets so the poo would fall onto that and not the nests.

 

[FlipFlopFarmer]

I have used pine shavings mostly, due to cost. Remember never to use cedar. I love the pellets, but they are too expensive for me. I go to my dad's wood shop once a month and sweep up ALL dust, shavings from the wood planers and big table saws, and bag it and add it also. You may try going to some local sawmills in the area, if you have them. usually they have a big shaving pile and sell by the truck load. That is what i used to do with my stalls when my horses inside more. I dont clean my coops or tractors every day, probably once a week, but i dont have an excessive number of chickens in each coop. Remeber ammonia is toxic, so smell is somewhat of an indication of when to clean, but i tend to do it more often. in winter, i clean more because they stay in more also.