I'm thinking about using sand in my coop but I need help with a few Q's.

[Javagirl22]

I'm wanting to try and use sand in my poultry barn and have a couple of questions about it. #1. What kind of sand should I use. #2. What do you use to sift out the poop? Also the barn will be on Top of a hill so I'm trying to decide if I want a wood floor up off the ground or would the barn be ok with just sand on the ground? I'm worried about the sand getting wet during the winter melts or when we get heavy rain.

 

[cavemanrich]

Being on a hill is advantage to good drainage. I would skip the wood floor, but you know your circumstances better than I. Use a rake to clean out the goodies. There are many possibilities on sifting it. If the volume is small, then use a kitty litter scoop. If volume is larger, then make a hardware cloth sieve, appropriate size. Here is a link for much interested reading about using sand ... I AM FOR USING SAND, many others have different views. You decide.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/945603/pros-and-cons-for-using-sand

WISHING YOU BEST AND SINCE YOU ARE STILL NEW

 

[Cacique500]

In our old coop we had a run section that was washed river sand...and it was the only area exposed to the elements (i.e. rain). If the sand is going to get wet regularly, I'd look for something different. Sand will get smelly (even with very frequent cleaning) and hard, making it difficult to scoop.

On the other hand, if you can keep it dry, it does pretty well. We have sweet pdz now in the entire coop/run, all covered and protected, and it works great. We use a very large stir fry strainer to sift out the poop.

 

[JanetS]

I wouldn't use sand! We had sand in our coop for over a year and had 3 chickens die from respiratory problems. I can't say for sure it was from the sand but I'm never using it again. We have pine shaving now.

 

[BBrady]

I have sand in my coop, which is a converted shed. I am also using the deep litter method. Well, i intended to use the deep litter method. I have had 20 chicks in the coop since end of May, and they free range during the day and go back in at night to roost and for protection. I recently noticed some smell that I would rate as medium to medium bad smell. I used to be able to go into the coop to adjust the camera or continue building out shelves and such, but now its pretty hard to breathe comfortably due to the smell and the feathers that have molted. i am going to add more sand today after i sift out the poo, and this will be the first time i have needed to do this since starting the girls in the coop at the end of May at 8 weeks old.

We got some kitties about a month ago, and when we go at night to put the hens away in the coop, the kitties sneak in to poo in the sand!! They are so small and quick that its hard to get them out before the deed is done. The kitties are out door cats, and i wonder if they dont use the coop all the time as a litter box? maybe that is contributing to the smell? just since we got them last month and its been hot and humid outside? (I am in southern missouri)

I am going to make a sive with some scrap hardware cloth today. I used a rake last week to see if that would work for collecting the chicken poo to put on the compost, but since the kitty poo may be mixed in, i am going to have to let the one compost pile sit for way longer before i try to use it, which makes me a little urked. this is what i get for not thinking ahead about the cats...and i didnt realize they were adding their waste to the chickens until i had already dumped one load of 6 weeks worth of poo in the compost...

ALSO i am going to add something organic, like grass clippings or pine shavings to the top of the sand. I am going to sift out the poo, add a bit more sand, and then a bit of the grass or pine shavings. that did help in the beginning but i never added more when the grass got eaten/sifted into the sand...

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I use sand in my turkey shed, I use a kitty litter scoop taped to a 4 foot handle so no bending, I clean it out every morning, in the spring and fall it gets damp and is harder to sift, I like it with my turkeys, but I don't use it for my chickens, I find it cold in the winter and my chickens don't always go outside but my turkeys do, plus I give my chickens slabs of hay inside their shed for picking through, but the turkeys get theirs outside.

 

[kerusnak]

I use sand, I have a layer of orange clay and then river sand on top. It has small rocks mixed in with it. I just rake it around and try to form piles of poop that I scoop with a cat scoop. Sometimes I just scoop where the concentrated pooping areas are. I like the sand, it gets wet sometimes but drains and drys easily. Sometimes I throw in some lawn clippings which helps decomp and gives the girls something to look for bugs in. My coop is very open though so I'm not sure if it could get too dusty in a barn.

 

[Mutt Farm]

I use sand in a 12X16 barn stall over packed decomposed granite. I purchased 2 pickup truck loads of sand box sand (or similar) from a local nursery (cheap). It's not at all dusty, (I have asthma) dries very quickly, and drains quite well. I use a hardware cloth scoop and little plastic rake to sift the droppings. I've had no trouble with odor, but I live in a very low humidity area.

 

[cavemanrich]

I have sand in my coop, which is a converted shed. I am also using the deep litter method. Well, i intended to use the deep litter method. I have had 20 chicks in the coop since end of May, and they free range during the day and go back in at night to roost and for protection. I recently noticed some smell that I would rate as medium to medium bad smell. I used to be able to go into the coop to adjust the camera or continue building out shelves and such, but now its pretty hard to breathe comfortably due to the smell and the feathers that have molted. i am going to add more sand today after i sift out the poo, and this will be the first time i have needed to do this since starting the girls in the coop at the end of May at 8 weeks old.

We got some kitties about a month ago, and when we go at night to put the hens away in the coop, the kitties sneak in to poo in the sand!! They are so small and quick that its hard to get them out before the deed is done. The kitties are out door cats, and i wonder if they dont use the coop all the time as a litter box? maybe that is contributing to the smell? just since we got them last month and its been hot and humid outside? (I am in southern missouri)

I am going to make a sive with some scrap hardware cloth today. I used a rake last week to see if that would work for collecting the chicken poo to put on the compost, but since the kitty poo may be mixed in, i am going to have to let the one compost pile sit for way longer before i try to use it, which makes me a little urked. this is what i get for not thinking ahead about the cats...and i didnt realize they were adding their waste to the chickens until i had already dumped one load of 6 weeks worth of poo in the compost...

ALSO i am going to add something organic, like grass clippings or pine shavings to the top of the sand. I am going to sift out the poo, add a bit more sand, and then a bit of the grass or pine shavings. that did help in the beginning but i never added more when the grass got eaten/sifted into the sand...

You are doing things great. I just thought to float these 2 ideas by you. If possible, install a fan to exhaust the air out of your coop. It will remove the dust dander and non fresh air. Don't run it continuously, just maybe half a day when chickens are out and about. Not at night when they are sleeping and be subjected to the draft. And you can probably guess that I like cats. LOL. Have a sand pile area away from your coop. Bury some of those cat cigars in there so they will be attracted to do business there. It may jump start a new litter area for them.
WISHING YOU BEST