Illinois...

[cavemanrich]

Those with poop boards is there a litter material better than sand for the winter?

Try Sweet PDZ, I use it as a base layer in coop, and Garage loft. You can get at Blain's. Farm & Fleet. Then I cover with hay.

 

[SnootyHen]

Those with poop boards is there a litter material better than sand for the winter?

Last winter it eventually became one solid frozen mass that I couldn't clean any more. No litter concerns me and I don't want to use something like newspaper or bags that I need to replace every day.

Try Sweet PDZ, I use it as a base layer in coop, and Garage loft. You can get at Blain's. Farm & Fleet. Then I cover with hay.

I mixed sand with Sweet PDZ and eventually it will be all PDZ and no more sand because I keep adding more PDZ. I'm super over wet sand. If it wasn't such a huge project, I'd remove all the stuff in the coop and run now and replace it with straight up PDZ but I figure if I keep adding PDZ and no more sand it will eventually be a wash.

 

[BReeder!]

I mixed sand with Sweet PDZ and eventually it will be all PDZ and no more sand because I keep adding more PDZ. I'm super over wet sand. If it wasn't such a huge project, I'd remove all the stuff in the coop and run now and replace it with straight up PDZ but I figure if I keep adding PDZ and no more sand it will eventually be a wash.

So PDZ doesn't freeze into chunks, or a solid sheet for that matter, in the winter? I have heard of it and tried finding it and Farm and Fleet before but couldn't. I would think it would freeze up just like the sand though.

 

[cavemanrich]

It is more granular. Used as a stall freshener. It absorbs mucho horse urine, and neutralizes ammonia.
Sand compacts more finely, and does not dry out as quickly as result.

 

[cavemanrich]

I got mine at Blaines, but I just checked Elgin, and they don't have it. Maybe some other locations do. Tractor Supply has it. Check closest one to your location, or travels, and call . Rural King might carry. Any other place that would carry horse feed and supplies should be able to get it for you. We don't live in horse country so to speak.

 

[cavemanrich]

 

[Faraday40]

I mixed sand with Sweet PDZ and eventually it will be all PDZ and no more sand because I keep adding more PDZ. I'm super over wet sand. If it wasn't such a huge project, I'd remove all the stuff in the coop and run now and replace it with straight up PDZ but I figure if I keep adding PDZ and no more sand it will eventually be a wash.

I mix sand & Sweet PDZ too. My poop boards are high & dry, so a quick sift & done. I use sand on the ground of run & coop. Most of the time it's dry but I do have an area by the waterer that turns hard & compacted. I've got another hard, compacted area under a place where the roof leaks.

When it's averaging about 20'F, I have also just put cut feed bags. The poop-cicles chip & slide right off the plastic coating.

 

[SnootyHen]

I get it at TSC but they don't always have it at the New Lenox one which is kind of annoying. If I order it for curbside pick-up it works better because then I know it's in stock instead of just going in and hoping. I have also had them deliver it to me and it comes next day.

 

[SnootyHen]

I mix sand & Sweet PDZ too. My poop boards are high & dry, so a quick sift & done. I use sand on the ground of run & coop. Most of the time it's dry but I do have an area by the waterer that turns hard & compacted. I've got another hard, compacted area under a place where the roof leaks.

When it's averaging about 20'F, I have also just put cut feed bags. The poop-cicles chip & slide right off the plastic coating.

I have 2 spots that get wet that I end up having to "declump" in rainy whether. There's a spot under the door that gets a drip and has like a 6" circle of wet any time it rains and there's a spot int he run where the roof leaks (it torments me!!!!!) and I have to rake that with the scooper so it dries better. I just fluff it up with some of the nearby dry and it dries faster than if I leave it. I need to replace that part of the run roof but it hasn't happened yet and I think for the winter I'm just going to cover the whole thing with a tarp or liner or something so I don't have snow melting on it and dripping in constantly. Then in the spring fix it.

 

[SnootyHen]

Brought the littles out to meet the bigs for about half an hour today. They mostly stayed in a bunch near the front of the crate but hopefully tomorrow they will be a little more adventurous. I saw a few eat some grass so that was probably the highlight of the trip. Low light being putting them all in a bag to transfer them back and forth. LOL!! I used to have a cat carrier but it's nowhere to be found so a tote bag had to do it. They were unimpressed.