Anyone use SAND in the run/coop

[morsekathan]

Do you put the sand in the coop; or just outside in the run?

bob

My sand is in the coop. I don't really have a run, the ladies free range my whole back yard, although I do have a run that I keep open so they can get to the yard. I thought that I would keep them in the run, but they kept escaping and it turns out the fun of having chickens for me is seeing them all over the yard. They are really funny when they look in windows, drink out of the ponds and terrorize the dog. They also come running whenever I come out the back door. Really treat hogs!

 

[clairelinn]

I just got my coop up and running with 27 laying hens and I used sand in my coop and LOVE it! Having used shavings before...the sand is a breeze. We lined out coop floor with a pond liner and added about 2-3 inches of sand. We also made a removable roost with a removeable drop pan to make clean up easy. It's so easy to clean... I use a kitty litter poop scooper and/or a rake to gather the poo in the sand. The sand sifts out and the poo goes into a bucket that I take to my compost pile. I then scrape my poo board and put it in my flat sided bucket as well and I'm done! I found the idea on a blog and it's been the best thing I've done since I started having chickens.

 

[wekiva bird]

I just got my coop up and running with 27 laying hens and I used sand in my coop and LOVE it! Having used shavings before...the sand is a breeze. We lined out coop floor with a pond liner and added about 2-3 inches of sand. We also made a removable roost with a removeable drop pan to make clean up easy. It's so easy to clean... I use a kitty litter poop scooper and/or a rake to gather the poo in the sand. The sand sifts out and the poo goes into a bucket that I take to my compost pile. I then scrape my poo board and put it in my flat sided bucket as well and I'm done! I found the idea on a blog and it's been the best thing I've done since I started having chickens.

Very nice. Just did my runs with sand its so easy to clean up the poop.

 

[lookyhereboy]

I just finished putting 3 to 4 inches of sand in my run. Literally about 10 minutes ago I finished up. The smell is gone and from what I have read on this site it will stay smell free and the sand will drain the water. search sand in runs on this site you will find lot's of info on it.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I just finished putting 3 to 4 inches of sand in my run. Literally about 10 minutes ago I finished up. The smell is gone and from what I have read on this site it will stay smell free and the sand will drain the water. search sand in runs on this site you will find lot's of info on it.

 

Congrats!!!And you are right......no smell and no water. I love sand!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I posted this on another thread but I know that there are 3 or 4 "Sand Threads" going on and not sure if everyone interested in sand would see all of the different threads, so I will re-post the same info and pics here as well.

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We ordered more sand. 16 tons of sand was delivered last week and we are almost done putting it where we wanted. I took pics to show everyone where the sand is. We placed sand in the areas that get muddy the fastest and looks like the worst. We also put sand in the chicken stalls. The last pic shows a little bit of an aerial view of the larger area where the sand is. There is another pic of the entrance that I need to take a post to give you another view of the sand. I can breath a sigh of relief now that I have more sand. This is a life saver. I would get so upset when it would rain because the chicken yard was a mess. Now, I'm happy happy happy. e

 

[chicken dad]

ok, just went through all 17 pages of this thread and sand sounds like its the way i'm going to go. Currently in the process of helping my nephew build a coop out of pallets for his new chickens. My question is do I need to cover the floor like wekiva bird did? Will have plywood/osb as the floor.

In my coop I'm using pine shaving and the "kids" keep kicking the shavings out into their run and it's a pain to try and rake up from gravel. I am seriously thinking about changing over to sand after reading this thread. Will probably rake some of the gravel out of their run and replace with sand to see how that works.

Thanks for any help/advice on this issue.

 

[lookyhereboy]

Yes sand. Just put sand in mine ten days ago. It was a wet smelly mud and straw mess do to a wet late winter here. Now, smell is gone, eggs are cleaner, sand dries faster after getting wet. Most poop gets scratched underneath so not nearly as much cleaning. I use straw in my nesting boxes but am considering shavings after my last bale of straw is used up.

 

[JimWWhite]

Yes sand. Just put sand in mine ten days ago. It was a wet smelly mud and straw mess do to a wet late winter here. Now, smell is gone, eggs are cleaner, sand dries faster after getting wet. Most poop gets scratched underneath so not nearly as much cleaning. I use straw in my nesting boxes but am considering shavings after my last bale of straw is used up.

LookyHere,

This is pretty much what I've done. When I built the run and before I enclosed it I laid in about 2 inches of what they call Crush 'n Run which is just gravel and sand. And then I added another 2 inches of course creek sand to that and had the same results. Now the Gals have their daily sand baths and things are a lot cleaner. No mud. I did use a shovel and hoe to cut a shallow trench around the entire run and led it off down hill to get rid of the water. I take a heavy rake to the run once a week and turn the poop in and fluff it up. Last year I took the top 2 inches off and spread it in an unplanted part of the garden and then replaced it in the run with fresh sand. I turned the stuff I put in the garden in with a rototiller so it should be well incorporated into the clay soil. This year I'm going to plant 'taters in the area I put the sand. I think it should have cooled off enough by now.

And in the coop and laying boxes we've always used pine shavings. When I put in straw the hens just scratch it out which they don't do so much with the shavings. I go through a bale of shaving about once a month or so. Maybe 6 weeks. I turn it over every few days. It's about 5 inches thick in the coop when I put it down fresh.

 

[JimWWhite]

CountryGirl,

Really nice set up you have there. Lots of room for your Gals. Is that a couple of peafowl I see in there?