Anyone use SAND in the run/coop

[Twolf]

I have not read all these 46 pages of posts, but anybody have issues with any sand fleas? or you just keep picking away and no issues?
preparing for the winter I live in NH.
Thank you

 

[jtbass2756]

I have not read all these 46 pages of posts, but anybody have issues with any sand fleas? or you just keep picking away and no issues?
preparing for the winter I live in NH.
Thank you

I live in NC but have never had trouble with the fleas.... My ladies love the sand....and it is so easy to keep clean! Good luck.... Some people mix a little DE in their sand when you put it in there.. But it is so fine, wear a good mask while spreading it...But you should wear a mask also anytime you deal with the chicken coop...and anything to do with chicken poop !

 

[jtbass2756]

I cleaned my coop today.. Had let it go a week longer than usual because I was working on the run but here is what it looks like.. All I did was add PDZ which I do each time. I love my sand!
1st cleaning about a month ago
Today's cleaning....did not even add any sand....just a bag of PDZ (the white stuff).. Keeps coop smelling nice.

 

[moss farm]

I have one of the kids old sand box in the run that the chickens take dust baths in

 

[moss farm]

Question: WHEN did you put sand in the run, and what was the surface like before you put it down? I have a new coop/run and it's on the ground, which is grassy. So far, they haven't done any damage to the grass because I let them out in the fenced-in back yard during the day. 


Do I wait for them to eat the grass in the run down and then put in sand? I think I'm going to try sand in the coop this weekend. 


thanks!

It want tak them long and all the grass will be gone when I built my run 12x20 I only had 2 hens and within a few weeks it was all dirt.

 

[Bohemian]

This thread has at least 4 sand topics: Sand fleas ( no has complained with a problem, so must not be a problem )
Type of sand: beach sand has high silica content, most seem to use builders sand. This can pack down but it's
easy to loosen.

What surface did you have first: I think we all started with grass but the chicks removed all I had at least. It did
take them awhile. So whether you wait for the grass to go away or not, chicks don't care.

So I would like to learn from those BYC'ers that use the sand in the coop. I myself do not, and have stuck with paper/cardboard and pine chips.
How deep of the sand in the coop. Do you sift like a litter box? Inquiring minds want to know :--))
Bohemian

 

[jtbass2756]

This thread has at least 4 sand topics: Sand fleas ( no has complained with a problem, so must not be a problem )
Type of sand: beach sand has high silica content, most seem to use builders sand. This can pack down but it's
easy to loosen.

What surface did you have first: I think we all started with grass but the chicks removed all I had at least. It did
take them awhile. So whether you wait for the grass to go away or not, chicks don't care.

So I would like to learn from those BYC'ers that use the sand in the coop. I myself do not, and have stuck with paper/cardboard and pine chips.
How deep of the sand in the coop. Do you sift like a litter box? Inquiring minds want to know :--))
Bohemian

I have one coop with sandy/dirt soil to start with...does pack down but I clean it up..(small rake, trash to compost) and if its packed, it use one of those hand tillers to break things up and work everything together. Easy.
My other coop is a wood, closed in building. (other is 3 sided) I laid down a sample piece of armstrong linoleum up o 6-10" around the walls. Then put the sand in. I go spot clean once every 2-3 days, a good cleaning every 4-6 wks.. all I did was get a`silverware tray (this one looks like a sieve) and a small bucket. I go thru and sort out the pieces that need to go. Some people outfit a pitchfork or rake with 1/4" hardware wire and zipties. That may work great for them but I have smaller quarters and would have to shorten the handle to move around in there. But even with the sieve, its easy for me and does look so nice.
I happen to use sand from a contractor friend of mine and of course inside the coop it doesn't pack down.
2 mo old sand, just cleaned, with PDZ added (white), otherwise no new sand added.I also use boot trays under the roost for night droppings.

 

[EagleEyes]

I use sand in my run because it used to be part of my kids sandbox. I just used 6' X 9' of it. I rake it when it gets messy, and can till it up to loosen the sand up. It is 8" deep.
But I am very new to all of this and it is only 3 weeks old, so not much experience, but it seems like it will work out very well.

If you click on it you will see that I have the sand shoveled away from the edges to bury the hardware cloth.
EagleEye

 

[BarneyChick97]

So is there anyone that uses just play sand?? I see that some have used sand from their kids sandbox. I have 2 old bags (haven't been opened) of play sand. My dad used to use them for weight in his little pickup, and my kids aren't playing in sand anymore. I was just thinking of dumping them into my 10x10 coop. I've had my chickens for 3+ years, so of course, theres no such thing as grass in there, just DIRT. They LOVE to take dust baths in the 5/8 minus gravel we have (I was even thinking of making them an area of that??), but I also need to get rid of these bags of sand!! Their coop doesn't have great drainage, and the rain is coming to the PNW here soon. Maybe that would help???

 

[moss farm]

So is there anyone that uses just play sand?? I see that some have used sand from their kids sandbox.  I have 2 old bags (haven't been opened) of play sand.  My dad used to use them for weight in his little pickup, and my kids aren't playing in sand anymore.  I was just thinking of dumping them into my 10x10 coop.  I've had my chickens for 3+ years, so of course, theres no such thing as grass in there, just DIRT.   They LOVE to take dust baths in the 5/8 minus gravel we have (I was even thinking of making them an area of that??), but I also need to get rid of these bags of sand!!  Their coop doesn't have great drainage, and the rain is coming to the PNW here soon.  Maybe that would help???  

I use play sand. I have it in a old sandbox the kids don't plat with. I also mixed in some wood ash and some dirt out of the garden the really like it and it drains water good