does sand work well in a run?

[Capone]

i had a muddy bog of a run, it took so long to drain and the smell was very bad. im digging the top soil out of the run. its like 9 inches deep. smells better all ready. so what would be good to replace the soil. thanks

 

[cw]

i would defintly add some gravel so it drains then maybe top that off with sand

 

[Capone]

thanks, now to hunt down some gravil, hopefully on the cheap

 

[niallliam]

Hi. Based on a contribution on this site i decided on sharp sand flooring for both my hen house and run. I have three hens and i offer them the option of going out onto the lawn everyday. The sand is great. Ireland is very damp and i have never had any problems with flooding. The poop is easy to clear up. I basically take about 5 min a day to clear out the poop and any obviously caked areas. I am a first time chicken keeper but definitely glad with this choice so far. Basically i dug about three inches down filled the hole with large gravel pieces and then put about 4 inches of sharp sand on top bought from B&Q (hardware store). The run does get wet because of the rain but quickly dries out in the sun. The house is covered so remains dry. I haven't bought grit yet as there is a fair bit of it in the sharp sand.

 

[lindym]

Glad to find this post as I had a question on using sand in the run. The run area has about 8" of gravel (think it used to be part of a drive to the small-barn-turned-chicken-coop) and the hens want to scratch in it and have a dust bath.

We have lots of clean course sand but my DH is concerned that they will eat it and have problems. I know that some sand/small gravel is needed in their crop, but can or will they get too much? Thanks.

Linda

 

[Capone]

i wouldnt worry linda, they will only eat what they need for processing there food. wish i had your set up. its going to cost me a mint to properly fill the whole in there run. unless i can find some free stone and sand.