How to clean sand?

[4boyz]

I put some sand in the bottom of my brooder with my 2 week old chicks. It has helped a lot in keeping the smell away, but I have no idea how to get the poop out of the sand. Am I missing something obvious?

Thanks,
Tiera

 

[audrey02026]

I use a reptile litter scooper. It similar to a cat little box scooper but it has more of like a screen so it catches the poo but lets sand go back in.

 

[Blue_Myst]

Thanks, audrey, I was wondering the same thing! I used a cat litter scoop with screening taped over it, but the reptile litter scoop sounds lot easier.

I would highly recommend wearing a mask and maybe even moving the chicks to another container when sifting the sand to clean it. A water bottle with a spray nozzle after sifting it should help the dust to settle.

And

 

[chi-rn]

Sometimes you can find a "tea strainer" (a household staple in the days before teabags!) that is cheaper & works just as well!

 

[GardenState38]

I keep a pan of sand in my brooder and my chicks love it.
It soon gets messy, though, and their interest wanes...
I re-purposed an old strainer/colander from my kitchen--the kind with a fine screen mesh--to sift the poop and debris out.
I place the colander in the bottom of a large paper bag and dump the sand into it.
The holes in the screen are just the right size to filter out debris, while letting the fine playground sand sift through. A few shakes, and the sand is screened and poop-free.
I dump the poop and aspen shavings that are left in the strainer into my composter and refill the pan with the newly screened sand.
It's a lot easier and faster to use than a small scooper or strainer, and you don't have to sift multiple batches or search around for debris that might be buried.