I use sand in both coop and run. I use Sweet PDZ on the poop board. There is no scraping, no mess. There is ZERO smell in both coop and run.
With sand, I find they aren't stepping in poop and getting it all over the place. Food scraps don't get mixed into it. And there is no moisture, so it doesn't cake or get hard. Every once in a while I mix in DE or Sweet PDZ. I haven't had to replace it or add to it.
I have 9 chickens, all cold hardy breeds, and I spend all the time I can with them. It doesn't bother me to scoop the poop board for all of 1 minute. The poop board basically keeps the majority of the poop in one place and it only gets cleaned once a day. I like that it always looks clean and cleans up quick. It's been in the 20's a couple of times and the chickens do not seem phased by it. If I see signs that they are cold, I will insulate the coop, keep the ventilation but would not add heat. I think the change in temp from one area to another is worse than the cold itself.
With sand, I find they aren't stepping in poop and getting it all over the place. Food scraps don't get mixed into it. And there is no moisture, so it doesn't cake or get hard. Every once in a while I mix in DE or Sweet PDZ. I haven't had to replace it or add to it.
I have 9 chickens, all cold hardy breeds, and I spend all the time I can with them. It doesn't bother me to scoop the poop board for all of 1 minute. The poop board basically keeps the majority of the poop in one place and it only gets cleaned once a day. I like that it always looks clean and cleans up quick. It's been in the 20's a couple of times and the chickens do not seem phased by it. If I see signs that they are cold, I will insulate the coop, keep the ventilation but would not add heat. I think the change in temp from one area to another is worse than the cold itself.