Hen cop and cage enclosure

[MSwarrior2017]

Hi, I am brand new to having backyard chickens. I am reading everything I can find and watching videos online. My question is this, I’ve heard that sand is the best thing to put in their hut and enclosure. Where can I go buy sand and what should I buy? I only have 3 Langshan hens, 13 weeks old and I want to take the best care of them I can. Thank you!

 

[DobieLover]

I’ve heard that sand is the best thing to put in their hut and enclosure.

You didn't hear that from me or many here!
I use poop boards with granular PDZ or stall dry on them and pine and/or hemp bedding on the floor of the coop. The coop is cleaned annually and boards daily. Best management practice IMO.

For the run, I use wood chips. They allow cold composting of the poop load, break down slowly, drain well and give the birds something to dig around in.

 

[perkolator]

Personally I'd never choose sand unless I lived where the ground is naturally sand

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

Some people use sand and love it, some use it and hate it. The same thing can be said for any other type of bedding: wood chips, wood shavings, straw, hay, bare dirt, Spanish moss, grass clippings, or anything else. Some people turn their coop or run into a compost pile. If managed properly those can work well. What works best for you will depend on your climate, soil type, drainage, size of coop and run, management techniques, how dry or wet it stays, and many more things. What works well for some don't work at all for others.

With only three chickens I'd assume your coop and run will be pretty small. The more room you have the more the poop is spread out so you should have fewer issues. With sand in a relatively small space you need to scoop poop out of it regularly and the sand has to stay dry. If you are in a low spot that can hold water you will have problems, but that applies to about any bedding unless you remove and replace it regularly. Drainage is really important with any of these beddings. The smaller the space the more poop builds up. Poop is the problem and poop management becomes important.

I like a bedding that is inexpensive and readily available. My main 12' x 32' run is mostly bare dirt but I throw some wastes from the garden in there. I also have an area over 2,000 square feet inside electric netting that is grass with some fruit and nut trees. They spend a lot of time out in that so the poop load is really spread out.

I don't know what will work best for you. Good luck!