Cat litter or play sand for quail bedding ?

[SteveUK]

I use sharp sand. Not builders sand. Sharp sand is grittier and doesn't clump together so much when wet. It's used for improving soil drainage and in some concrete mixes. You may call it grit sand or river sand.

 

[GimmeTheBirbs]

I’ve experienced wood pellets ( used for cat litter) was good for poops but horrible when they knock over their water. I’ve tried aspen wood shavings. It worked alright but smells funky after not very long. I use sand with a few wood chips sprinkled through now. the birds seem to be enjoying it And it doesn’t smell as much, plus like others said you can kind of spot clean so you don’t have to keep throwing away a ton of bedding material like with the other two I mentioned.

 

[HillGuy]

My are on the ground with a sand covered bottom. It's often wet when there's rain, so I sprinkle straw over it to extend the time between cleanings. Otherwise it turns into glue. There are 36 birds in there so they poop it up in no time. I'll add fresh straw a couple of times before removing it all. On clean-up day it's so matted together, I can roll it up like a carpet and throw it on a compost heap.

The birds sure get excited on clean-up days. Especially if I'm adding any new sand. They seem to like the straw and make spots in it for eggs.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Plain 'construction grade' sand is my preference. Not dyed, not chemically treated to "clean" it, etc. Just plain old sand.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

I'm glad I found this thread, as I'm going to have my quail indoors on aspen shavings. Note to self: Get sand, too.

 

[Cookiee]

I live next to the beach so I go out and a dig some sand up and bake it in the oven for an hour, they love it.

 

[007Sean]

I live next to the beach so I go out and a dig some sand up and bake it in the oven for an hour, they love it.

Do you rinse the sand throughly? Beach sand contains salt, among other things.

 

[Cookiee]

No just bake it in the oven, never thought about the salt content. Is this dangerous for them do you think?

 

[Nabiki]

No just bake it in the oven, never thought about the salt content. Is this dangerous for them do you think?

It might cause irritation on either the skin or nasal passage.

 

[007Sean]

No just bake it in the oven, never thought about the salt content. Is this dangerous for them do you think?

2nd, what @Nabiki , said....plus, too much salt isn't healthy.