Finally a dry chicken pen!

[Miraleef]

So sand is ok for a chicken run? I know they need to eat grit, but I wasn't sure about sand, if they do a lot of pecking in it, if it would be too much?

 

[aart]

So sand is ok for a chicken run? I know they need to eat grit, but I wasn't sure about sand, if they do a lot of pecking in it, if it would be too much?

It can be under certain climatic conditions...but most the time it's not the best choice.
Sand is not 'grit'.

 

[Miraleef]

It can be under certain climatic conditions...but most the time it's not the best choice.
Sand is not 'grit'.

Thank you. I just read an article with someone heavily touting using sand for all the outside runs as well as covering the floor of the coop. I was concerned about getting too much in their system if they're cleaning up food that lands on the sand.

 

[aart]

Thank you. I just read an article with someone heavily touting using sand for all the outside runs as well as covering the floor of the coop. I was concerned about getting too much in their system if they're cleaning up food that lands on the sand.

Yes many tout it, now and more so in the past. They might ingest too much of it, causing clogging in crop and digestive system, but I think that's pretty rare.
The biggest problem with sand as bedding is that it stinks to high heaven when damp/wet as you can never sift all the poop out. It's also labor intensive.
What to use for bedding is highly dependent on your climate and especially your management techniques.

 

[Folly's place]

x2. IN a very dry climate, with a very few chickens, and daily poop scooping, it may work well. Many people try it and change it out later, as mentioned above.
In a damp climate, especially if it freezes in winter, any deep litter type management style works better, with much less effort.
Mary

 

[Miraleef]

Yes many tout it, now and more so in the past. They might ingest too much of it, causing clogging in crop and digestive system, but I think that's pretty rare.
The biggest problem with sand as bedding is that it stinks to high heaven when damp/wet as you can never sift all the poop out. It's also labor intensive.
What to use for bedding is highly dependent on your climate and especially your management techniques.

We use pine shavings in our hen house but I wouldn't mind mixing sand in the yard if we could find a good place to buy it that wasn't so expensive. It's impossible to totally clean up a large run, no matter what the base might be.

 

[aart]

It's impossible to totally clean up a large run, no matter what the base might be.

Sand is not likely to help with that.
That's why I use wood chippings and some smaller dry plant material, I never clean out the run, just add more bedding a couple times a year.


@Miraleef
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[Miraleef]

Thank you, I'll do that right after I answer this. We're in the Pacific NW, east or Portland, Oregon in the Columbia River Gorge. We don't get anywhere near the rain as Portland or Seattle, but we do get more snow and colder temps.

We have two different fenced in areas as we have two roosters with their own small flock...about 8 hens per rooster (one has 9). The areas are about 30' x 50' each, so a lot to try to cover with bark chips or anything else. Plus, the love to dig and wallow, and I also worry about them injecting the splinters from bark chips.

 

[Suedan]

Cozy! Chickens appear content, too.

Rain and snow and wind can do a number on plastic sheeting. Be proactive and look at vulnerabilities to those elements so you aren't fighting torn loose and madly flapping plastic in a wind driven rain storm or a heavy wet snowfall.

When I wrapped my run in plastic, I didn't think about the wind, and it tore loose in a storm. I was trying to subdue the sheet of plastic on the roof with no luck when some friends drove up and helped me get it under control.

Now the plastic I use on my run is mounted onto firring strips and fashioned into 3' x 5' panels. There are no large sheets to tear loose and flap madly. The panels can be more easily taken down in spring and reused as-is next winter. The run roof is fiberglass corrugated panels and are permanent and pitched to shed rain and snow.

Awesome idea!

 

[Suedan]

View attachment 1985829 I’ve been fighting a wet soggy pen for quite some time now. The chickens didn’t seem to be bothered, but feeding them and changing water was miserable. So I decided to wrap the enclosure with thick plastic and it seems to be doing the trick. Yes there are areas of ventilation you just can’t see them in the picture. My coop is on a hill so there is a open section underneath where the chickens normally congregate on rainy days to stay dry. This is much better so now they have more room to scratch around. I’m pretty happy with it and now have plans to construct an actual greenhouse that they can winter in. This will do for now.

Beautiful! I love it!