I want to remove sand from my run. What do I do with the poopy sand

[lachie27]

I stupidly put sand in the run of my chicken coop thinking it would not smell and be the best choice. But after reading about sand in the run on websites I have wanted to change to the deep litter method. What do I do with the 3 cubic meters of sand in the run.

 

[coobreeze9]

Hi Lachie! I thought about sand too. What problem are you having, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[lachie27]

The poop just gets mushed around into the sand and when the chickens dust bathe it sticks to them and it's not very nice.

 

[lachie27]

The poop just gets mushed around into the sand and when the chickens dust bathe it sticks to them and it's not very nice.

 

[coobreeze9]

Wow! I had no idea! But it makes sense. Thanks. As for your sand removal issue, maybe see if a neighbor has a tractor with a bucket attachment, or a few friends may help with shovels, or sometimes local handymen may have small tractors with front end loaders.

 

[rebrascora]

Why not just deep litter on top of the sand?

 

[TalkALittle]

How deep is the layer of sand on your run? I too started with sand but switched to deep litter for the very same reason. Much of my 6" of sand had worked its way into the soil so removing it was impractical. I did shovel out a couple of inches off the top before starting the deep litter. I used that sand to fill in some low spots out by the edge of the yard where it meets the woods. Then I used a shovel to turn whatever remained into the soil below as best as I could.

I'm glad that I removed the sand that I did. I think it made it easier for the microbes and bugs in the ground below to find their way up to the litter. Because I new that there was a layer of sand below that would sort of act as a barrier, I made sure to add some already composted material from the bottom of my compost pile to my deep litter to help give it a jump start.

I would say that for best results you should remove as much of the sand as you can. If you have to leave a couple inches down then do your best to till it into the soil below before you start deep litter on top.

Some time this year I'll go ahead and remove some of my deep litter for use in the garden. There will be some sand in it. I'm not too worried as my soil is made up of a lot of clay so the small amount of sand that comes along with the composted litter will actually help with breaking that up.