Got sand? You should!

[Waleschix]

I agree with Winterlady AK, Im in the UK and in my part of Wales we have had the most amount of snow I have ever seen, that ontop of rain has made the runs a quagmire but the sand has sorted that out completely. I used 5 inches all over and even though the hens scratch and I rake it, the mud has not returned to the surface...
RESULT!

 

[Meld75]

So sand is better than shavings? We are almost done with our coop and need to know what's best and easiest to clean. It sits about 3 fr off ground with some run underneath. It is not a walk in coop but has double doors in front for access. I live in central Illinois. Someone please help.

 

[RorySeiter]

Do you keep sand in the coop and the run? Do your chickens poop mostly when roosting? My roost is in the coop.

 

[FreshHappyEggs]

When I first knew I was getting chickens the thought of using sand crossed my mind. I read this entire thread and after seeing so many positive things about it, I decided to put sand in the coop. I just have a 4x4 and used two 50 lb. bags of all purpose coarse sand ($3 at Lowe's) The chickies have only been out there for 3 days so far, but I am loving the sand! Especially with my small coop, I can reach anywhere with the kitty litter scoop and clean up is so simple. It just goes right into a bucket which will soon be going to compost. The only thing I had a problem with was the hanging water kept getting spilled so the sand got wet. Not really a problem though. I mixed some DE in and it dried it up pretty good. Now the waterer is sitting on the sand but I think I will get a block or something to set it on to elevate it.

 

[BGMatt]

Do you guys with sand find that 4-6" of sand would also work to deter predators from digging under? Or is that just wishful thinking?

 

[Meld75]

What is de?

 

[FreshHappyEggs]

What is de?

DE= diatomaceous earth

 

[gino100]

When I first knew I was getting chickens the thought of using sand crossed my mind. I read this entire thread and after seeing so many positive things about it, I decided to put sand in the coop. I just have a 4x4 and used two 50 lb. bags of all purpose coarse sand ($3 at Lowe's) The chickies have only been out there for 3 days so far, but I am loving the sand! Especially with my small coop, I can reach anywhere with the kitty litter scoop and clean up is so simple. It just goes right into a bucket which will soon be going to compost. The only thing I had a problem with was the hanging water kept getting spilled so the sand got wet. Not really a problem though. I mixed some DE in and it dried it up pretty good. Now the waterer is sitting on the sand but I think I will get a block or something to set it on to elevate it.
You could use a bucket with the water nipples so they don't spill it everywhere.
 

 

[Meld75]

So should u add de to any bedding?

 

[FreshHappyEggs]

So should u add de to any bedding?

It probably wouldn't hurt. It might be better to sprinkle it under the bedding. It is very dusty, looks like baby powder. It has to be food grade. I bought mine at menards for around $6. It will keep the bugs off of them. You can mix it with sand or dirt for their dust baths also.