Decomposed Granite vs Sand

[MickChicks24]

Hello! I am trying to figure out what to put in my coop. I am currently planning on purchasing medium grade construction sand, everyone says they buy it from a landscaping company. I am in Meridian Idaho, and I have no idea who to reach out to or who I could possibly purchase from. A garden company near me has decomposed granite for sale by the yard but I don't know if that is safe / as good as sand. If anyone knows a company, I could get sand from or if decomposed granite works, please let me know!

 

[Intuit]

I'm just throwing out ideas here you could try home depot. Lowe's, if there is a cement plant around, they might sell you sand as for the granite, I just don't have an answer for that one

 

[DSJMHenDen]

We bought one of those big bags from Lowe's. They have them at home depot though too. I think it was 34 dollars for 9 cubic feet. They make you do a "deposit" for the bag, but when you return it you get your money back. It was easier for us to have the bag contain the sand in the truck. It may be cheaper at a local place, but the convenience outweighed that for us.

 

[MickChicks24]

We bought one of those big bags from Lowe's. They have them at home depot though too. I think it was 34 dollars for 9 cubic feet. They make you do a "deposit" for the bag, but when you return it you get your money back. It was easier for us to have the bag contain the sand in the truck. It may be cheaper at a local place, but the convenience outweighed that for us.

I have seen those, can you tell them how much to fill it or are they filled to the brim? I think I only need about half a yard / 1.5ish cubic feet.

 

[MickChicks24]

I'm just throwing out ideas here you could try home depot. Lowe's, if there is a cement plant around, they might sell you sand as for the granite, I just don't have an answer for that one

I have looked at their 100lb bags, I think they would be more expensive to buy that way but I will if it's my last resort!

 

[DSJMHenDen]

I have seen those, can you tell them how much to fill it or are they filled to the brim? I think I only need about half a yard / 1.5ish cubic feet.

When we bought it, it was prefilled almost to the top, and they just used a fork lift to put it in the truck. I'm not sure if they would do a smaller load or not. I feel like you always end up needing more than you think though (don't ask me how many trips to Lowe's we've made in our coop build!)

 

[MickChicks24]

When we bought it, it was prefilled almost to the top, and they just used a fork lift to put it in the truck. I'm not sure if they would do a smaller load or not. I feel like you always end up needing more than you think though (don't ask me how many trips to Lowe's we've made in our coop build!)

Oh my gosh do I feel that, luckily I have a Lowes 2 min away or my life would be full of driving for this coop. Thank you for the advice!

 

[perkolator]

Personally I wouldn't choose either, but in regard to using DG, I do know that DG will compact, whereas sand will stay looser - that's why it gets used on pathways and running tracks, etc. as the base. Previous owners of my place had the old coop setup with a DG run, since our local dirt is mostly DG - it was hard and compacted and didn't drain very well any time it rained or got wet by the nearby sprinklers; it also smelled and for some reason attracted flies despite few visible poops - all in comparison to the wood chip bedding system that I've been using ever since that drains well, doesn't smell, doesn't have nearly as many flies, and provides the chickens something to forage through every day when in the run; lastly, I can actually use the beautiful topsoil from under the run for gardening.