Got sand? You should!

[Joan71]

Thank you for the information on sand. I was thinking of putting it in their small run. I have trays under my hens to catch the poop. The shavings have been messy to clean up. Sand would be ideal in the trays, then I can just scoop out the poop and leave the sand, just like in a litter box. I like the idea of sand in the nesting box. I will give it a try. I just don't want to spend my time fighting Mites.

 

[dwgov]

Sand Is the Best...

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Just thought I'd chime in here and say that sand is awesome! I have fewer problems with mite infestations with it, and it makes cleaning the coop a breeze! Thanks for this thread, which was the reason I tried it. I have now been using it for months. I used to use a thin layer of Sweet PDZ but that was so much more expensive.

I use a very thin layer- because the more sand you have, the more you must sift through! I only spread enough to just barely cover the floor- a couple of double handfuls makes scraping the poo easy the next time it is due (I scrape every other day).

 

[JuniorMint]

To answer the few times I've seen people ask what type of sand to use, here is my new and recent experience (first time chicken owner as of this summer).
I bought a yard of sand from our local quarry and it contains very large grains of sand. I don't mind this too much but I'm guessing it would be harder to sift the poop out of. My sand is currently only used in my run so I think I'll just let the poop dissolve into the sand and not have to scoop it out.
When I switch to sand inside my coop (currently using pine shavings) I will probably prefer to use a smaller grain (beach/play) sand for easier poop scooping.
Hope this helps.

 

[BackyardAnita]

My ducks seem to eat everything and i'm worried if i put sand that they'll try to eat it?

 

[Meld75]

Just thought I'd chime in here and say that sand is awesome! I have fewer problems with mite infestations with it, and it makes cleaning the coop a breeze! Thanks for this thread, which was the reason I tried it. I have now been using it for months. I used to use a thin layer of Sweet PDZ but that was so much more expensive.

I use a very thin layer- because the more sand you have, the more you must sift through! I only spread enough to just barely cover the floor- a couple of double handfuls makes scraping the poo easy the next time it is due (I scrape every other day).

What is PDZ?

 

[dwgov]

Sand is the Best

 

[Coupe]

Sand is the Best

X2

 

[Wednesday]

I tipped a guy $10 bucks and he filled up my pick up truck twice when doing site development at a new home development with heavy equipment. I have sand in 80 ft coop and 160 ft run. I rake up poo daily and use shovel to transfer it to compost heap in 5 gallon bucket. For that price, I can top off run and coop and girls have been very happy dust bathing. It's easy to maintain. I have a resin 8x10 shed and use paint scraper to clean poo off resin shelves they roost on each night and add sandy droppings during morning clean up. 10 minutes a day tops.

 

[Susique333]

I love sand in my 6'x8' coop and 15'x15' run. It is easily raked to freshen it, little smell, almost no flies. I will never use anything else. I filled 2 deep kitty litter boxes with shavings for my 6 girls to dog pile in when it is cold if they choose not to roost. Other than that all sand. Also there is less feed wastage as they can scratch the sand and find bits and pieces of left over pellets. I live in Nebraska and draining after our heavy rains was a must for the run.