chicken run VERY dusty during winter

[lizzykate]

Hello! I'm a relatively new chicken momma. We got 4 Brahmas July 2024 and then 3 Black Australorps in March 2025.

We have a 10' x 20' run which is connected to their coop and we use sand. For our first winter last year we covered the run in plastic and that worked well. It kept the temperature inside the run a good 10-20 degrees warmer than the outside, which was good because we had some pretty frigid weather last winter. We don't use any heat source-just insulate well and they seemed to do just fine.

I don't remember it being such an issue last year but the dust in the run seems a bit out of control this year. My husband thinks I'm overreacting but I know respiratory issues can be a thing and I don't want to overlook something I could be doing to make it better. I've read that wetting the sand is a good way to reduce dust and I did that in the summer heat and I think it also helped cool them down. I don't want to do that in the winter though because moisture can lead to frostbite.

Is there a different type of bedding that I can put on TOP of the sand to keep the dust down? I went ahead and put some straw on top but I'm not sure that did much. I only put down what we had so it may not have been enough. We're happy with the sand in the summer but I'm not sure it's right for winter. I've read about hemp bedding but I'd like to get some feedback from seasoned experts!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

I presume you're in a state like Wisconsin? Hot summers and very cold winters? We've been happy with horse bedding pellets for nearly a decade now. They keep the humidity and ammonia in the coop way down as it absorbs the poop. When it gets wet, it turns to dustless sawdust. You could try cover your sand with those, but then in spring, they might be a bit of a mess to get back out, or you could just leave them there. We only change ours once a year.

 

[lizzykate]

Hi,

I presume you're in a state like Wisconsin? Hot summers and very cold winters? We've been happy with horse bedding pellets for nearly a decade now. They keep the humidity and ammonia in the coop way down as it absorbs the poop. When it gets wet, it turns to dustless sawdust. You could try cover your sand with those, but then in spring, they might be a bit of a mess to get back out, or you could just leave them there. We only change ours once a year.

Actually we're in VA. Last year though we got some pretty cold days and wind with it. This is the first time we've experienced molting. It's so weird they wait until the cold to get naked! It seems it should be the summer when they molt!

I use the pine pellets for cat litter and I love it for that. It does have an element of dust though so I'm not sure if that would improve what I already have. I've also read things about pine shavings not being good. My husband had some and put them in the nesting box and they appeared to be eating them so we took them out. Not sure if it's a pine thing or just the shape and texture of the shavings.

We got a load of sand initially and then realized we wanted it deeper so we added to it. Eventually we'll need to add more as some gets taken up when we poop scoop.