Controlling Sand Odor

[gummylick]

I've put pine shavings on the closed side of my quails coop and it really cuts out the odor, but I'd really like to give them that side full of sand as they enjoy it so much. The problem I have though, is the odor is much stronger in the sand. I sift it weekly but even then it seems to just stink more than the shavings or even the pelletized wood. Suggestions?

 

[Nabiki]

How is your moisture control? Usually you get more smell when things are damp. The shavings may be staying dryer because there is more space for air to circulate in them.

 

[gummylick]

It's pretty dry in there, closed up from all sides with the exception of their door. Any moisture would likely be from their own poop our our naturally high humidity where I live. I believe that is part of the problem - the sand doesn't absorb as much. I considered the saw dust from the pellets instead, but not sure that'd help them do the bathing and grooming they love.

 

[Nabiki]

You might see if you can add some ventilation. It may help with the smell.

 

[catesquire]

I ended up making a separate sand bin for mine that they get tossed in whenever I clean the main cage. Cleaning it is much easier when they've only been in there a half an hour compared to stirring around the poop with their feet all day. I've also switched from pine shavings to pine pellets, which do a MUCH better job at keeping things dry (it's humid here, so I was having to clean the cage twice weekly with shavings; with pellets, it's been nearly a month and I've had no odor problems, it straight up desiccates the poop). Pellets also break down into course saw dust that they also love bathing in. (But it's significantly more dust than pine flakes, so I'd mostly recommend it for outdoor cages.)