I HATE sand, now what do I do? (Help me with my run flooring)

[mg15]

I don't like sand either. I found a product called Zeolite, ground volcanic material, It is porus, I get it from Azure Standard.

 

[aart]

I don't like sand either. I found a product called Zeolite, ground volcanic material, It is porus, I get it from Azure Standard.

Same thing as Sweet PDZ.........absorbs ammonia.....might be cheaper at Trator Supply for $10/25# if you're paying shipping thru Azure.

 

[goldfishes]

So far the chickens seem to be enjoying the deep litter in the run. I through out a small handful of scratch or mealworms and they spend hours looking for it. However, it is taking all I can do not to rake it out as it seems so unsanitary. So far, I don't smell anything, but just knowing there is chicken poop in the run and I've not raked it out is a little disturbing to me. I feel like I am doing the complete opposite of what I should be doing to keep happy, healthy chickens. But I do know that since adding more material to the run, their feet are much cleaner which is something I was concerned about with the changing weather.

There are two small areas (about a six inch round and 3 inch deep puddle) that get wet when it rains now. Both are from holes the chickens felt compelled to dig. No matter how often I refill them, they dig them right out again. As a result, these areas now than the rest of the yard and it seems even the covered run doesn't help when it's raining all day. We fixed the front part of the run by regrading and putting pavers down, but the weather (we've hit the rainy season again) prevents me from getting to the back where the problem areas are now until spring. The sand bags sound like a good temporary solution. Thanks for that idea! The hope is to put up gutters and direct the water into a rain barrel in the future. Who knew that chicken keeping could get so expensive? These eggs are costing me a lot.

Editing to add:
I didn't realize there was a second page already and didn't see the Zeolite/Sweet PDZ comment until now. I used to be into aquariums big time and used zeolite occasionally. I would be curious to find out if it can leach out the ammonia like it will in fish tanks if not taken out and "recharged" on a regular basis. Or does the fact that it is exposed to sunlight keep it continuously fresh? Just a random thought on the subject. I love that stuff for setting up a hospital tank in a hurry. Took a lot of pressure off of ammonia, nitrite poisoning due to insufficient time needed to cycle a tank.

 

[MeepBeep]

However, it is taking all I can do not to rake it out as it seems so unsanitary.  So far, I don't smell anything, but just knowing there is chicken poop in the run and I've not raked it out is a little disturbing to me.  I feel like I am doing the complete opposite of what I should be doing to keep happy, healthy chickens.

Just remind yourself that the poop that hits the ground is only poop for a short time before nature's sanitizers convert it to honestly relatively sanitary compost...

 

[goldfishes]

I'm trying to tell myself that it's like a fish tank. Ammonia will break down to nitrites and then nitrates and eventually be black gold for plants. It's the ick factor that I'm having a hard time getting through. I guess it comes from my leftover giant sandbox syndrome. At least that is what I refer to my sand experiment. On the plus side, all that sand did wonders helping break up the clay soil in another part of the yard.

Now if I could just figure out why my eight month old Easter Egger is molting a pretty sizable molt when I've read they weren't supposed to start molting until at least a year old.... I'm wondering if it is all related to her comb injury from the summer time.

 

[Blooie]

Add me to the list of folks who would encourage you to just keep adding to the litter on the floor. I use everything from leaves to pine shavings, grass clippings (in season, of course) and straw. The chickens love it - they love to dust bathe in it despite the fact that they have a tub of dirt in there for that. They love scratching it up and finding hidden goodies and either snuggling into it when it's cold or fluffing it out of the way and laying in it with their wings spread when it's hot. I love it too - no odors, very little work involved, and natural.

Edited to add: I use deep litter in both the coop and the run.

 

[aart]

......
Editing to add:
I didn't realize there was a second page already and didn't see the Zeolite/Sweet PDZ comment until now. I used to be into aquariums big time and used zeolite occasionally. I would be curious to find out if it can leach out the ammonia like it will in fish tanks if not taken out and "recharged" on a regular basis. Or does the fact that it is exposed to sunlight keep it continuously fresh? Just a random thought on the subject. I love that stuff for setting up a hospital tank in a hurry. Took a lot of pressure off of ammonia, nitrite poisoning due to insufficient time needed to cycle a tank.

I have been wondering about this.......used some filtration media long ago that absorbed nitrate and was 'recharged' using salt solution.....
How do you recharge zeolite in an aquarium setting?

I do think it will 'leach out' but won't necessarily effect the chicken environment like it would the water column in an aquarium or pond, it will just stop being effective and an odor(ammonia) absorber.
It's slow release and a viable fertilizer in a gardening application.

 

[goldfishes]

Add me to the list of folks who would encourage you to just keep adding to the litter on the floor. I use everything from leaves to pine shavings, grass clippings (in season, of course) and straw. The chickens love it - they love to dust bathe in it despite the fact that they have a tub of dirt in there for that. They love scratching it up and finding hidden goodies and either snuggling into it when it's cold or fluffing it out of the way and laying in it with their wings spread when it's hot. I love it too - no odors, very little work involved, and natural.

Edited to add: I use deep litter in both the coop and the run.

I noticed today that one of the girls was dust bathing in the run as opposed to the dust bin. Silly chickens. I am noticing a smell after the rain. Is this when you add more material? Do you take out any if it got wet?

I have been wondering about this.......used some filtration media long ago that absorbed nitrate and was 'recharged' using salt solution.....
How do you recharge zeolite in an aquarium setting?

I do think it will 'leach out' but won't necessarily effect the chicken environment like it would the water column in an aquarium or pond, it will just stop being effective and an odor(ammonia) absorber.
It's slow release and a viable fertilizer in a gardening application.

You can do the same thing, you pull it out of the aquarium and recharge it in salt (some bleach it). Others bake it. But you can also lay it out flat and recharge it in the sun. It's also great for basements and other smelly areas. Good point on it leaching out slowly. I've used it in my gardening pots to help aerate the soil.

 

[Blooie]

I noticed today that one of the girls was dust bathing in the run as opposed to the dust bin. Silly chickens. I am noticing a smell after the rain. Is this when you add more material? Do you take out any if it got wet?

I get an ammonia smell every rare once in awhile if the run has become really wet. But I just turn the litter over and add some fresh. In a day or two the smell is gone. You can also scatter some Sweet PDZ over the really wet spots, but I prefer not to do that.....I want the litter to do the absorbing so that it breaks down. We did have an accident with a watering tractor once and everything was swimming in water....boy, that time the run really reeked! But I pulled the very wettest stuff out, added fresh shavings, and just turned it over to let the sun and wind dry the rest out. It didn't take long at all for the odor to resolve.

 

[roseyred]

I have six hens that cannot free range as planned because of constant predators.  I thought the fact I lived in the city and had a six foot privacy fence that it would be feasible, but so far, feral cats, possums, owls and now hawks are constantly visiting the back yard.   The run is 6 x 12 and is covered.  We plan to add at least another 6' x 6' area next year since it looks like the predators are not going away.  

I tried sand, but hated it.  The chickens didn't like it, sand got everywhere, they wouldn't eat food that got on the ground and one kept eating it to the point she got sick twice.  When it rained, water would get in through the sides of the run and it these edges reeked until it dried out.  Since we have a lot of rain and humidity in this area, it wouldn't dry out for days.  It got so nasty that I scrapped it all out, sprinkled the run with a layer of lime and added some fine shavings to help draw up the moisture.  

Throughout the spring and summer, I left it with just dirt and would throw out a flake of straw or some shavings.  I would rake this up weekly and start fresh. Unfortunately, they have created some craters in the hard clay and I would like to add more dirt but don't know how without possibly introducing dangerous elements like coccidiosis to the flock.

So I started wondering, could I just keep adding more and more bedding and leaves to the run without raking them out?  Eventually, this could break down and become composted dirt which would fix my crater issues.  And I could "harvest" some for the garden.  Is this safe to do or will it be unsafe or unsanitary as it breaks down?  

As for predators get yourself a cross bow. You can find a tactical one for like$30 or a bebe gun. The cross bow for the big animals and birds and the bee bees for the cats. Another thing is trapping the animals then...I know this sounds mean....spraying them with a bottle of human urine. My neighbors cats kept climbing in our run and eating eggs so one day I trapped one in the run and had my boyfriend pee in a bottle and poked a hole in the lid then sprayed it till it was soaked. Never came back. They communicate with urine marking there territories. That's why people pee around plants to deter deer. Try it. As for the sand...maybe let them outa the coop one day and mix a whole bag of lime with the sand. It'll dry it out and get rid of the smell and then you can scoop it out and dispose o it without all the extra wet weight.