Got sand? You should!

[llduccup]

i'm going to give that a try! never would have thought of it! dust is EVERYWHERE in my barn/garage...what might it cost to do 1 5 x 12 area? rick

 

[kjstanton]

I wish they sold hemp bedding beddibg in MI!!!! I hate my pine shavings and believe my chickens would be better without it. It smells, doesn't Obsorb water if water is spilled, it isn't good for the chickens cause the ammonia smell etc. Europeans have better bedding cause it controls all the issues we have.

I'm really thinking about switching to sand in my coop. Why not try it, but someone had a great point- not good for cold MI weather. I might try that carefresh brand, has anybody tried that?

 

[BeachyChicken]

Has anyone used beach sand? Would the shells be ok? And how about texture? I'm building a coop using free materials only but like the idea of sand...I'm 10 minutes from the beach...any input greatly appreciated,

 

[csaylorchickens]

I read a blog by the chicken chick and she said to used washed and strained plaster or river sand. That sand is cleaned and strained. Beach said has all kinds of stuff from seaguls and other birds. Also the river sand or
Plaster sand has small pebbles in it. So the sand is great for grit, cleaning, dust bathing, a three in one benefit! It is south cleaner. I used sand on my poop boards and scoop it off the board everyday. Once every three months I take out the tray and wash it with soap and water. RIVER SAND is amazing!!! I'm
Telling ya! It also dries easier and wayet doesn't sit.

 

[rubbleanddebris]

I just switched the coop over to sand today. I'll let everyone know how it goes. The ladies seem fine with it. The coop needed a cleaning anyways.

 

[Fairy Godmother]

I'm new at this chicken thing. I live at the beach and want to know if I can use beach sand for their dust bath?

 

[The Lazy L]

I'm new at this chicken thing. I live at the beach and want to know if I can use beach sand for their dust bath?

Yes.

 

[Dwkuska]

Well after slogging though this huge thread I would like to start by saying my Silkie run use to be shavings and now is 100% sand. One thing I dont see anyone mentioning is for health reasons. Silkies and other gamefowl (red jungle fowl, green junglefowl, peacocks, ect) are prone to respitory infection.With dirt/shavings as a floor I have found mold and mildew in cedar/pine shavings. this tells me they do not dry fast enough and as they decompose(deep bedding method) its been my experience my birds sometimes develop respitory issues. Sand (if course enough) does not retain moisture and by itself has nothing that viral or fungal can cling too. I think some people may live in climates where sand may not be optimal, but I suspect for the health of the birds.... if you can use sand, I would do so. Especially around feeders. My birds scrape food out of the suspended feeders on the ground. when I use to go in with a shovel and "turn' the dirt I found most of the mold/mildew 1/4"-2'" below the feeder leading me to believe if they were eating food they had dumped onto the ground, they were possibly eating infected food.

 

[tjmings]

All I kind find is all purpose sand. Would that work?

 

[Theshiredoc]

I use sand box sand for my girls and BossMan (11 plus 1 roo)
I was using wood chips but it's so much easier to use a sifter for the "p...ps" and I don't need to spend a lot of $ for chips
The girls seem to like it too. Easier for me to keep clean