Difficult

[Debora Howe]

So I heard that sand is great in the coop, my coop is 10x10 feet in the barn and off the ground by 2 and 1/2 feet. i was told to use all purpose sand not play sand so I did. I made a scoop out of a pitchfork and hardware wire, it totally did not work, i then got a big kitty litter scoop and that does not work, and the sand is very dusty. I put in 200 pounds of the sand and it was a lot of work. Am I using the wrong kind of sand or what. HELLPPP! LOL

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sand really is not a good choice for many people and I often advice against it for the reasons you have stated.

I bought washed river sand and had it brought in by a dump truck and moved LOADS of it with a wheel barrow and shovel.

Don't know how your roost and such are set up or what else ya got going on.... I use droppings boards under my roost and just remove waste with a flat shovel. That whole kitty litter scooper sand thing equated to a bunch of stinky dry poo dust from shaking to separate poo from sand. A giant litter box.

Anyways, I chose to add hay in my coop (on top of the sand) for the big ladies since they only go in to roost and to lay and roost droppings go onto the board. My feeders and water are kept in the run (covered, semi deep litter, highly recommended) and removed nightly.

In my stag coop, with no droppings board and elevated wood floor... I use hay, deep enough to cushion landings and not let moisture through. I add a little fresh dry hay over the top of their roost dropping daily and/or remove as needed depending on stock level. Keep adding a little fresh hay until replacement is desired. During nice weather all r booted to the pasture/run for majority of daylight hours.

I use hay base in lay boxes with a little fresh pine shavings added weekly. But poo mats up on hay and is only suggested in certain instances. For smaller birds I like shavings or something more conducive to scratching, though the hay doesn't stop them.

Rice hulls also work well in small coops with those chinsey pull out pans and would totally consider them an alternative to sand! The bags aren't light, per say... but they expand a LOT, scoop easy, are renewable, and WAY more garden friendly/compostable than sand. Still dusty, but so are shavings and hay... all to varying degrees. Shavings smell the best IMO.

How many birds are you keeping? Do they have a run/range? How hot or cold are ya and humidity high or low? Those things all impact how things will work. I discovered I hated daily scooping and so that didn't work for me.

Hope you get more answers.

 

[Sara Ranch]

I use sand in all my animal buildings, including for the ducks. The biggest building is 30'x35'? The smallest building is 4'x8'. I have 6 buildings to clean.

I use a sturdy hard plastic kitty litter scooper. If you clean every day, it's easy to see where they pooped. (I also make sure everyone leaves the building during the day. The boys are not allowed back in their barn.)

I use a tool to make sure no sand is sticking to the floor or the walls of the houses.

I use a colander/strainer to deep clean the sand.

I use vinegar in a spray bottle the plastic nesting boxes down to keep them clean.

I have found that cleaning daily (it doesn't take that long) really helps make the clean up quicker and I seldom have a problem with sand dust.

I have found that stirring the sand and making sure it's all dry helps overall conditions.

I have found that sifting the sand into another 5 gallon bucket reduces airborne dust.

The biggest thing I have learned is not to let the sand be more than an inch deep.

 

[wamtazlady]

So sorry you are having problems with the sand. I've never used sand. Just didn't seem as if sand would work with my system. I also have COPD and can't get out to scoop all the time. When it's cold or there is smoke in the valley from wild fires I just stay inside. I also have a raised coop. Use pine shavings in bottom. They are light weight and easy to change 2 or 3 times a year. Before winter I'll give them 6 inches of shavings and leaves and during the winter I'll add some nice hay on top a few times. The girls get to dig and scratch through the hay looking for goodies and they mix up the bedding. In the spring it all gets raked out through the back door into a wheelbarrow and composted. I've never noticed any bad odors coming from the coop.

 

[Debora Howe]

Sand really is not a good choice for many people and I often advice against it for the reasons you have stated.

I bought washed river sand and had it brought in by a dump truck and moved LOADS of it with a wheel barrow and shovel.

Don't know how your roost and such are set up or what else ya got going on.... I use droppings boards under my roost and just remove waste with a flat shovel. That whole kitty litter scooper sand thing equated to a bunch of stinky dry poo dust from shaking to separate poo from sand. A giant litter box.

Anyways, I chose to add hay in my coop (on top of the sand) for the big ladies since they only go in to roost and to lay and roost droppings go onto the board. My feeders and water are kept in the run (covered, semi deep litter, highly recommended) and removed nightly.

In my stag coop, with no droppings board and elevated wood floor... I use hay, deep enough to cushion landings and not let moisture through. I add a little fresh dry hay over the top of their roost dropping daily and/or remove as needed depending on stock level. Keep adding a little fresh hay until replacement is desired. During nice weather all r booted to the pasture/run for majority of daylight hours.

I use hay base in lay boxes with a little fresh pine shavings added weekly. But poo mats up on hay and is only suggested in certain instances. For smaller birds I like shavings or something more conducive to scratching, though the hay doesn't stop them.

Rice hulls also work well in small coops with those chinsey pull out pans and would totally consider them an alternative to sand! The bags aren't light, per say... but they expand a LOT, scoop easy, are renewable, and WAY more garden friendly/compostable than sand. Still dusty, but so are shavings and hay... all to varying degrees. Shavings smell the best IMO.

How many birds are you keeping? Do they have a run/range? How hot or cold are ya and humidity high or low? Those things all impact how things will work. I discovered I hated daily scooping and so that didn't work for me.

Hope you get more answers.

I live in central NY so it is very cold in the winter and this year it has been very hot and muggy. I have a poop pan under the roosting bars but who ever said they do most of their pooping at night does not know my hens they poop every where all day long. I do clean the coop every day. I clean the roosting bars and the ground litter that is in the sand but is very difficult. The roosting bars are on both corners of one side of the coop and then the nesting boxes are on the side wall and the water and feed station in elevated a bit off the floor on the opposite side. I have sand under the roosting bars and almost up to the feed station and the rest is pine chips in the summer and straw in the winter.

 

[Debora Howe]

I do not have a picture of the sand i put down but it is under the roost and up to the feeding station from the window.