I made sandy area for chickens but seems like they are not interested

[AseelMurgha]

I have read that chickens love sand and I have also witnessed it a few times when a hen was taking sand out of flower pot and onto the floor and then sitting on it. So I thought to make a nice sandy area for my chickens (3 roosters + 3 hens) which can be seen in following video (from 07:45) but they don't seem to be interested.

I made it last Monday and I saw 4 chickens enjoying it the first day but after that I only saw it once or twice and that too only one or two chickens in it. I thought they would be all over it and happy and enjoying but that doesn't seem to be the case. May be I am expecting too much and they don't sit in sand 24 hours!?
May be I need to give them some time to adjust?

 

[cavemanrich]

I have noticed that my chickens prefer to use the soil dirt, over the sand. (they have both at hand) They also prefer the fire pit ashes over everything else.
Try to add some potting soil into one corner of the enclosed sand box. See if they prefer that. In early spring, when my large pot container are still not used to grow thing,,,,, my chickens luv to dust in them also.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Cap1]

Hey,
try these things :

A. Get a plastic box \ tire \ a big ol bucket and fill it with sand, they love anything piled up.
B. Pile the sand up and see how they naturally drawn to it's destruction.
C. Try adding soil. I have soil and freshly mown grass on top of it. they love it.

PS. Sand has to be clean, I'm no expert but having cats. turtles, dogs etc. any unknown poop on this sand and it's a petri dish for catching a disease.
Tip : I burn rosmarie in ceramic pot in the evening to scare insects, if you can throw some ash in there (trees, plants, herbs, anything natural) they would love it.

Keep tweaking and see what they like, but even mine bath an hour a day and carry on with their lives.
Perhaps put a lawn chair on the sand to provide them with a bit of shade, and a roosting area.

Also, your roo sounds like a broken fax machine.

 

[aart]

Sprinkle that spinach into the sandy area.
I'd be concerned about the air conditioner being inundated with sand.
..and they may be afraid of the fan.
Maybe move the sandy area to another place.

 

[McChooky]

They prefer dry soil with wood ashes in a sheltered dry area. Is the air conditioner dripping water? Is the motor noisy?

 

[AseelMurgha]

The air conditioner hasn't run in a long time. I think last time it ran was last year.
Something amazing happened yesterday as my house help went to put them in cage as the lady who comes to wash clothes was once bitten by rooster named Kalu so now she doesn't start work until we put them in cage. So house help went upstairs and told us that all 6 of them were sitting and enjoying on the sand. I was not there to witness this "historic event" but it seems there is hope.

 

[McChooky]

I picked an area of my yard that always stays dry to build a raised coop(its under a canopy of trees).My chickens spend hours every day sunbathing under their coop!