Got sand? You should!

[9Catsz]

Quote:
That's weird because I live on the St. Francis River and there is a huge sandy area where I fish and swim in the summer and during the winter that sand stays....well sandy. Not a granite boulder as you say your dry sand turns into. Heck my entire yard is nothing but sand....and not a granite boulder during the winter either. I've shoveled sand out of one of my sheds one winter (Shed has no floor, the sand is the natural ground here) to put down on the snow on my driveway for traction....and that sand wasn't a granite boulder. Weird, eh? Oh, BTW, I live about an hour south of St. Louis.

 

[Chicklette 1]

Quote:
That's weird because I live on the St. Francis River and there is a huge sandy area where I fish and swim in the summer and during the winter that sand stays....well sandy. Not a granite boulder as you say your dry sand turns into. Heck my entire yard is nothing but sand....and not a granite boulder during the winter either. I've shoveled sand out of one of my sheds one winter (Shed has no floor, the sand is the natural ground here) to put down on the snow on my driveway for traction....and that sand wasn't a granite boulder. Weird, eh? Oh, BTW, I live about an hour south of St. Louis.

There are so many different kinds of sand..........maybe the composition of one stays softer than another.

 

[chellejeff]

Dry things don't really freeze so much. For something to freeze it needs to be at a little bit moist. I spent years living in a desert that got way below freezing in the winter. The sand didn't freeze unless it was wet.

 

[Mommysongbird]

So tell me, how and where would one aquire enough sand to fill a 4 foot by 6 foot coop and be affordable??

I got enough FREE sand from my son over the summer to put into our run which is 4 foot by 8 foot (not icluding what is under the 6 foot coop) and it is all MUD now!!

The sand sounds great for the coop, but also sounds very exspensive at the same time. Also, how can it keep the birds warm in the winter months? And what about fleas and other insects??

I guess I am just not seeing the benefits. Enlighten me!

 

[chellejeff]

The nearest sandy river bank?

 

[Mommysongbird]

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Well I guess I am better off buying shavings then.

Don't have any of those around here that you wouldn't get shot at by someone trying to get to it.

 

[This_chicks_place]

Sounds like such a great idea, but how warm will it stay in the winter? It will get very cold here in the winter and I'm worried about keeping the girls warm. Does anybody on here in the colder climates use sand? And if you do ....do you heat your coop?

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Well I guess I am better off buying shavings then.

Don't have any of those around here that you wouldn't get shot at by someone trying to get to it.

Most sand and gravel companys will deliver a couple of yards for a nominal fee. For instance I bought three cubic yards of sand for my horse corral. That was enough to cover 24 x 24 feet with six or eight inches deep sand.

And the type of sand does make a difference. the whole idea of sand is to allow water to percolate down and through and leave the area. If you dont provide some sort of drainage path like a reasonable slope and place for the water to go Yep it will freeze up.

 

[perchie.girl]

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The chickens sleep on their perches.... not in the shavings... So as long as you provide a draft free space you are good to go. They provide their own BTUS.... LOL.

 

[Mommysongbird]

perchie.girl :

Quote:
Well I guess I am better off buying shavings then.

Don't have any of those around here that you wouldn't get shot at by someone trying to get to it.

Most sand and gravel companys will deliver a couple of yards for a nominal fee. For instance I bought three cubic yards of sand for my horse corral. That was enough to cover 24 x 24 feet with six or eight inches deep sand.

And the type of sand does make a difference. the whole idea of sand is to allow water to percolate down and through and leave the area. If you dont provide some sort of drainage path like a reasonable slope and place for the water to go Yep it will freeze up.​

Yeah, guess we will be sticking with the chips then. There is NO WAY to get a truck with sand on it up a flight of stairs to our front yard.

I had to haul the other stuff I had in buckets up to the run, not going to happen again.

What my son had was just like play sand and we just dumped it in the run. there is NO slope or anything, so yeah sand is not even the best option for the run, but it is better than a bunch of mud.