I Did It, I Switched to Sand!

[ontimeborzoi]

Why yes, it is! Out of sight out of mind, that is. : )
I stir the shavings and sand once a day...well okay, maybe more...

 

[AlienChick]

Great job!

I plan to get some sand next Spring when I do my 2x year coop cleaning (I currently use deep litter shavings).

I can't do the sand during the winter since it gets cold at night here sometimes. The deep litter keeps things nice and toasty!

But I love the sand idea during the warmer months!!!

 

[ivan3]

ontimeborzoi wrote: I ended up using both. I hated the feel of the sand underfoot IN the coop, just too weird, and got obsessed about scooping it because i could *see* the poop so easily, so ended up putting shavings on top of the sand and am VERY happy with the combination. Soft underfoot, warm for the birds, and very very dry. I don't track shavings out of the coop now, because its so dry it doesn't stick on the bottom of my shoes!

Ditto. Large grained sand with ADE mixed in as base and some straw/wood chips on top. We remove waste daily and switch out everything (coop sand just added to runs) each Spring.​

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Welcome to the club. You'll LOVE sand.

The only thing I'd caution people on, is to put down a plastic barrier under the sand if you have it right on wood. You'd be amazed at how much moisture their droppings have in them and that moisture will go right through the sand and eventually, will rot out the wood.

I used a plastic carpet runner that has those little spikes on one side. It's pretty cheep (I have a small house) and it's thick and durable. I have about 2 inches of sand in my house. And I go through there every morning and quickly scoop out the droppings and toss them into the compost. Probably not as critical in the winter but in the summer, I like knowing that they are not inhaling ammonia fumes from their droppings while they are in there laying eggs.

 

[BlueCamas]

I'll let you guys know how it works out for me. My coop is reasonably big, maybe a little too big

I can stand up in it! It used to be a "play-house" so it has hard flooring so it's easy to scoop. I like that I can see all the poop, it makes it easier to clean and I don't have to waste so much sand.