Brooder bedding. Mix? Sand useage

[Dawnafer]

So it turns out I am allergic to Hay, and Pine. I am lucky enough to live by a quarry that gives free river sand for Gardens and personal use, so my deep bedding dreams maybe gone. Anyways.. I thought I read somewhere to cook the sand so as not too bring in mites, but I cant find the post. How hot how long??? Also has anyone ever done a sand / paper hybrid? I am thinking of putting a mix in the coop to see what I like best. Pic of Red striking a pose.

 

[nuthatched]

You can use puppy pads, it might be easier than getting sand everywhere, as I imagine baking sheets of sand is a tedious and dusty process.

 

[imacowgirl2]

I didn’t cook the sand when I put it in our coop and we’ve had no issues (knock on wood!).

I don’t know how well a sand/paper mix would work…I ended up adding pine shaving over our sand for winter warmth, and I don’t like the results — the sand stayed damp/frozen under the wood chips and didn’t easily sift back out of them as I was hoping…I put the pine shavings directly on the sand for two reasons — it was the middle of a crazy cold storm when I decided we needed more warmth on the floor, and I was also hoping to be able to just sift the shavings out in the spring, saving me the trouble of moving the sand twice a year.

Now my plan going forward is to do sand in the summer and pine shavings in the winter but remove the summer sand before putting in the winter shavings and vice versa.