Coop Cleaning...Brilliant!

[iwiw60]

So why is this wire mesh attached to my pitchfork? Because I've turned our chicken coop into one big litter box. After doing this for the last year or so, I can easily say that this method is a winner. I added a 2-inch layer of coarse sand to the bottom of the coop and use my "pooper scooper" to pick up the poop. And the coop doesn't smell! That's half the battle in keeping critters away. Once a year, clean out all the sand and start over and you're good to go.
(Note: Text taken from the original poster of this article.)

 

[chickwhispers]

Love it! gotta try that!

 

[pwand]

Sand is not good for the chickens. Its not recommended.

 

[chickwhispers]

River sand is recommended I believe.

Not play sand or very fine beach sand as the fine sand is what the problem is. But the course sand has been recommended by many an expert chicken keeper. The fine sand contains silica dust which is not good, but the river sand is good and has larger coarse particles and the chickens use part of that as their grit as well.

 

[pwand]

There is not any type sand thats is recommended at all for coops.

 

[iwiw60]

River sand is recommended I believe.

Not play sand or very fine beach sand as the fine sand is what the problem is. But the course sand has been recommended by many an expert chicken keeper. The fine sand contains silica dust which is not good, but the river sand is good and has larger coarse particles and the chickens use part of that as their grit as well.

Exactly right...fine sand, no....but the kind of "sand" we have here in the high desert of Central Oregon....OH YEAH, BABY!! What we have here is what we lovingly refer to as "kitty litter" .. not good for growing much of anything, but I do think it would be great for chickens.

 

[chickwhispers]

There is not any type sand thats is recommended at all for coops.

I'm sorry pwand, I'm not sure who you are referencing but here are two experts that are for sand in the coop or run:

http://www.ethicurean.com/2010/06/30/gail-damerow/
"The bottom 4x4 section might be considered a run. It could be bedded with wood chips, shredded paper, dried leaves and grass clippings, etc., but I prefer sand the chickens can dust in (they will dust in the bedding, but it's not as good for getting rid of parasites). Chickens do need a place for dusting, so don't forget that part in your plan."


and also "The Chicken Chick"

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/chicken-coop-bedding-sand-litter.html

I have enlarged my run this last fall and will be adding a section of river sand to it as well.

I guess everyone weigh the pros and cons and has to decide that for themselves.

 

[Kezs]

I did a LOT of research when I built my coop (Not the brooder, don't use it there!!) because I wanted my hens to be happy. We went with River Sand, which is a very coarse sand. It is 5 inches deep, and then on the coop/shelf it's about 3 inches deep. I LOVE it. There is no smell, it dries out the droppings almost instantly, and we can scoop it daily like cat litter, keeping the coop much cleaner. Bugs don't want to live in it because nothing is decaying. Eventually we may have to watch for fire ants here in Texas, but since we rake it to remix all the sand twice a week it hasn't been a problem so far. We also have the run covered so the sand doesn't get hot and they have lots of shade (A must in hot weather, of course!!). The only drawback we have found is that if it rains the sand tends to draw in and absorb the water. To fix this, we are changing the drainage in the yard (which it needed anyway!) and we rake it daily to expose it to air until it dries out.
Best of all, except for the Egg Song now that they are laying, the neighbors can't even tell we have chickens!!!

Here is one of the articles I used. I can't find the article I really liked, but it's a good one.
https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/using-sand-in-chicken-coop