If you use PDZ and/or sand, PLEASE reply! :)

[heiditam]

Hi! I just started this whole chicken coop thing!

I used 2 bags of construction sand to 3 bags of pdz, and...PDZ rocks! Sand? Not so much. If the poop hits the PDZ, it acts just like kitty litter does, coating even the watery poop, making scooping it out a breeze. Sand does NOTHING, even mixed with alot of PDZ. I am baffled by its use, honestly. In areas where it has gotten pooped on, or where hens have spilled water, the sand is just a wet mess. I have removed buckets of wet sand already. :/ Anyhow, I added ANOTHER bag of PDZ and it helps until the chickens scratch down to just sand. I am seriously considering using all PDZ or like 6:1 ration of PDZ to sand. I have a 4x8 coop, with 3/4 bags PDZ and 2 bags sand, I have atleast 3 inches deep in there.

 

[rosiesgirls]

Thanks, Heiditam!

I'm new to chickens, too, so have lots of questions...but they all seem to get answered on here! Sometimes, as with most things, many people have many different opinions and experiences, so I just sift through all of it and see what seems to make sense for me. At this point, I have straight PDZ on my poop board and LOVE it! The girls have been in their coop for 3 weeks now and it still smells like new pine! I also have about 5" of pine shavings on the floor and just mix it around every couple of days. So far, so good. I'm not sure if I'll switch from that, or not. I figure I'll see how things go when cold weather comes along.

The big thing I don't like about the shavings is having all of them in the compost pile when I clean it out. If I have to do a complete cleanout too frequently, that'll be too many shavings (they don't break down as quickly as the poop and kitchen scraps). I love the idea of being able to compost the straight poop, so might just decide to go with the PDZ throughout the entire coop.

Thanks, everyone, for all of your info and advice!! LOVE this forum!

 

[Blooie]

My chickens have been in their coop since April 1st. I had 22 of them, but culling roos brought me down to 19. Then a lady who lives here in town lost her whole flock to a stray dog on a killing binge. She shot the dog, but all of her chickens were gone - just before they were old enough to start laying. I had several of mine, already laying, with tickets to freezer camp, so I had her come out and she took all 8 of them. Then I followed her over to her place with a roll of hardware cloth, fixed the spot where the dog got in, and found a couple of other areas I told her needed attention. After seeing my set up when she came over to get the chickens, she's a convert to PDZ too.

In all that time, with all those birds, I used straight PDZ on my poop deck. It works like a charm, takes minutes to clean in the morning, and I only have one silly girl who thinks it's better for dust bathing than the tub of dirt in the run. Even then I don't lose much of it - she can't go crazy because the board is really close to the roost and the edges of the poop deck are pretty high. I wouldn't raise chickens without it! The floor of my coop is DL, and between that and the Sweet PDZ even my two grandkids, ages 8 and 9, do a fantastic job of keeping the coop clean when my husband and I leave town, which we must do often because of what he does. They have no problem scooping the board in the mornings.

 

[sunflour]

Sorry, I know there are a lot of threads on here about PDZ and/or sand in the coop, but I've spent a lot of time looking and can't find an answer to my question. SO, here goes:

If you use one and/or the other, how do you use it? PDZ alone, or mixed with sand? If mixed with sand, what's the ratio you use? (this is the question I can't find an answer to) Do you use it on a poop board and the floor? Or, just one or the other?

I don't believe I'll put shavings or straw on top of it...just straw in the nest boxes with a stop in front so it won't (easily) get kicked out onto the floor. (plus, my nest boxes will be short enough that they can't stand all the way up, so they may not do much scratching in there, anyway)

Thanks for your input!

Mine have been on all sand flooring - coop, run and in nest boxes since april 2013. I sift poop out of the coop weekly. PDZ is wonderful. I don't use a formula, just add some directly to any wet areas - such as water spills and rake into the sand. When I need to add sand to coop, I mix several scoops of PDZ in with it. I don't have a poop board but when under roosts gets damp just add a few scoops of PDZ and mix in. Tried shavings, shredded paper in the nest boxes, but all thought it was treat time and really devoured it. Sand only in the nests has worked for me, I use a reptile sand sifter to clean those.

The only negative I have found, is the run. Mine is all covered and my hens are not let out to range, spend all their time there. I have tried all gizmos and gadgets to try to sift run sand. It was easy when sand was new and the girls were young. With larger birds, larger poops, cleaning the run became more difficult. I sift problem areas, add PDZ as needed. Use a childs shovel and rake to break up hard areas of sand --like under the water fount and at human entrance areas where sand packs down. The hens keep the other areas pretty turned up. I had planned to change the run sand, but impossible to remove, dump and replace. So planning to just improve the sand with removal and adding new as needed. ** The Chicken Chick suggests tilling it annually, and that would work if you can free range or have a place to move chickens out for the job. I have a raised coop and replacement is not a problem - but have not needed it yet. I do place all new sand in nests every few months.

One thing I have noticed, is that people take lots of photos of building coop/runs, lots of photos as their flock grows and develops..ME TOO!.. but only the really brave share photos of their coops and runs after inhabited for some time. I would be interested in photos of sand floor runs after a few years of use.

 

[vpatt]

Am I understanding right that some people put PDZ and sand in the nest boxes? I have a 4'x6' raised coop. I painted the floor and then threw in sand from my yard and then PDZ.....probably equal amounts. It was not even 1" thick and has worked great for two months. There are a few pine shavings in there too. I did add more last night with leaves and straw due to the weather and I have some girls who bed down on the floor instead of roost. I think that I need to rake it out when I get a warmer day and start over. But in my opinion it is working good......no smell or flies when we had hot weather. I don't use a poop board either. I just have shavings in the nests. I have one nest I clean out every morning cause someone sleeps in it. This is a bunkhouse only....they are free all day. I know they may spend more time in it if we get snow or maybe a predator. But that usually only lasts a few days and I would clear them some ground when that happens if they are not wanting to go in the snow. They like being under the porch in the daytime so that will be good for snowy weather.....it is 10'x60' plenty of scratching space. I do have the dusty PDZ and wish I had the other one.

 

[aart]

Am I understanding right that some people put PDZ and sand in the nest boxes? I have a 4'x6' raised coop. I painted the floor and then threw in sand from my yard and then PDZ.....probably equal amounts. It was not even 1" thick and has worked great for two months. There are a few pine shavings in there too. I did add more last night with leaves and straw due to the weather and I have some girls who bed down on the floor instead of roost. I think that I need to rake it out when I get a warmer day and start over. But in my opinion it is working good......no smell or flies when we had hot weather. I don't use a poop board either. I just have shavings in the nests. I have one nest I clean out every morning cause someone sleeps in it. This is a bunkhouse only....they are free all day. I know they may spend more time in it if we get snow or maybe a predator. But that usually only lasts a few days and I would clear them some ground when that happens if they are not wanting to go in the snow. They like being under the porch in the daytime so that will be good for snowy weather.....it is 10'x60' plenty of scratching space. I do have the dusty PDZ and wish I had the other one.

Haven't heard of that one.......usually just on roost boards, some on the whole coop floor if it small and a good climate for sand floor.

 

[Katbird01]

We're just building our coop and plan to use sand/PDZ. I was just looking to see how much to use of each. Our coop will be 10x10 so that's a lot of ground to cover. How thick should the layer on the floor be? We'll also be using it in a poop tray under the roosts.

 

[giannini]

I know this is an old post. But I wanted to add my experience in case someone was reading it for help. I have been using sand (construction grade)in my coop, and in my run. I tried straw first, and that was way too messy, and too time consuming to keep cleaning out. I have about and inch of sand in my coop over some plastic mat I had cut for me at Home Depot. My coop is 4' x 4' so the plastic fit perfectly. I just sprinkle the PDZ on top of the sand periodically(maybe once a week). I use the kitty litter scoop to clean up the droppings every other day. My run is 3' x 8'. It was a planting bed lined on the edge with cinder blocks. I just added a little sand to the top of the soil(maybe 1/2 inch)to make it easier to clean. It seems with their scratching in the run, I haven't even needed to clean it much. They work everything back into the soil. If I notice any odor, I just sprinkle some PDZ on top of the soil. I will be using straw in my nesting boxes.

 

[javaferret]

I am new to the PDZ bandwagon and now use it in my cat box, so I can see how it would be great for the poop board in a coop. I haven't had chickens in about 10 years and will be getting some when I move (can't wait!). For the coop I use to do the deep litter method ( no poop board) which was great for the cold Wyoming winters. I would clean the coop out completely in the start of summer and put the old litter in the compost pile. In the summer I would just leave the sand in the coop and then start with the pine shavings come fall.

I am thinking with the damp weather of Oregon, I may have to rethink how to manage the coop, and will be using a poop board and PDZ to help with odor issues that may come from a more moist region. I would appreciate any insight form people who have chickens in this soon to be new land for me (Philomath/Corvallis area).

 

[aart]

I am new to the PDZ bandwagon and now use it in my cat box, so I can see how it would be great for the poop board in a coop. I haven't had chickens in about 10 years and will be getting some when I move (can't wait!). For the coop I use to do the deep litter method ( no poop board) which was great for the cold Wyoming winters. I would clean the coop out completely in the start of summer and put the old litter in the compost pile. In the summer I would just leave the sand in the coop and then start with the pine shavings come fall.

I am thinking with the damp weather of Oregon, I may have to rethink how to manage the coop, and will be using a poop board and PDZ to help with odor issues that may come from a more moist region. I would appreciate any insight form people who have chickens in this soon to be new land for me (Philomath/Corvallis area).

@javaferret curious how it works in the cat box?
Have you been using it long?
Do you use only PDZ or is it mixed with something?