Floor has rails - we want to use sand in the coop

[Chicabee19]

We are going to use a metal shed for our coop.

The floor of the shed has metal rails. Usually a plywood floor is applied on top of the rails.

My question has to do with using sand on the floor of the coop.

Don't know if we should just pour a load of sand right over the rails, or apply the plywood floor over the rails, then pour the sand on top of the plywood.

One consideration would be that we would like worms and beneficial bugs to be accessible to the chickens up through the sand from the dirt below.

The shed does not leak, so the floor will stay dry.

This is the 10 ft. x 7 ft. shed:

Any thoughts???

 

[Katy]

I'd put the plywood in over the rails. I've got plywood floors in my coops. I use shavings on top of the plywood in mine.

 

[joebryant]

If it were I, I'd put down a plywood floor and use wood shavings in the coop. Then I'd put a truckload of sand outside the coop and build a run around the sand, using the sand over dirt for the run, i.e., place the sand where you want it before building the run. It's a real job to shovel a truck load of sand into a run that has already been built, especially if you can't talk your wife into doing all the shoveling. I tried and she just flat out refused.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Mr "Redford" is right...it's no fun moving sand. I have to do all the shoveling and moving by wheelbarrow at my house...the hubby hauls it home from the sand pit for me and dumps it by my pens and then it's up to me.

 

[Chicabee19]

Eggcellent idea Joe... thanks!

We hadn't got that far in our planning of the run, but I've added your suggestion to our notes.

One reason I want to use sand inside the coop is so that I don't have to do a lot of buying and replacing of shavings. The area is 10 ft x 7 ft!

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Mr "Redford" is right...it's no fun moving sand. I have to do all the shoveling and moving by wheelbarrow at my house...the hubby hauls it home from the sand pit for me and dumps it by my pens and then it's up to me.

Will you marry me and have my children?

 

[ChickenTender63]

I don't think your going to get the worms up through the sand like you think you will. I would go with the wood floor.

Worms want a well drained, fertile soil that contains moisture. If you use sand, it will be well drained, but not fertile, or moist. It dries out too quick.

This is why you always have a bumper crop of worms in very good garden soil, or around the edges of a compost pile. You will not get enough worms through the bottom of this shed to make it worth the effort.

 

[BeckyLa]

I have 4 coops. 2 have sand floors and 2 are wood with shaving over. I must say that the shaving are dryer and cleaner. Shavings absorb the dampness created by the bird poop, especially if you douse it good with DE, it lasts so much longer. But the sand is just, well, dirty. They poop on both and with the sand it gets walked into the sand and so is never really clean. And the sand will hold the moisture while the shavings absorb it. I use the deep litter method in my shavings coops and so only clean it out twice a year. It is much more difficult to shovel out the sand and replace it with clean when it needs it. I used to use a collander to clean up the sand but that got old fast. Now all the sand needs replaced.

 

[Chicabee19]

thanks for your advice Becs... we will consider this carefully!

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Mr "Redford" is right...it's no fun moving sand. I have to do all the shoveling and moving by wheelbarrow at my house...the hubby hauls it home from the sand pit for me and dumps it by my pens and then it's up to me.

Will you marry me and have my children?

Sorry I've been married for 35 years already and am in the grandparenting mode of my life already!!

I also fork silage to cows and can unload bales of hay pretty well too if that strikes your fancy!!