Is there anyone who wishes they HADN'T put sand in the run or coop???

[Germaine_11.20]

I am ready to put the 15 yds of sand into the runs and the thought crossed my mind. Are you SURE? So everyone who has put sand in the coop or run....

Please let me know if you didn't like it. And why. I know alot of people have said such great things, but if there are any negatives about it I would like to know before I put it in.

Actually should have posted before I worked all day digging out 6 inches of *@!*# I won't be able to move tomorrow and I wrenched my thumb and it HURTS! But it is ready...!

Oh gosh the smell was awful. There was a pig pen there about 10 years ago and chicken and pig poo are not a good combination.

 

[missred871]

i love it its great for dusting and the poo clumps great, I dont use it throughout my pen tho because I have a veggie garden that needs the manure LOL but I have before and I am for it. I imagine it could draw sand mites but then again depending on your local and the treatments and feeds and stuff could be fine with the sand....did that make sense? Anywho, I would do it if I were u

 

[churchx3]

I have changed over to sand in my two coops and am now in the process of adding sand to the runs...expect this to take a few weeks as shovlin" and throwin" sand gets tiring very quickly. Thus far, I love it in my coops and expect to have the same results in the runs.

 

[St-Hubert]

My wife and I are new to chickens (our oldest three are going on two months and a bit), and we have sand down in our run. It's actually worked out quite well so far. Easy to clean (raking and sifting), dries out the poop rather quickly, and it does help keep the smell down. It's also good for dust baths, scratching-about by the girls, and you can tell the high-traffic areas by the number of footprints.

 

[elmo]

I've been using sand in my runs and in my coop for almost a year now. No regrets.

 

[DawnSuiter]

It's always so good to see these discussions!!! I remember two years ago when I was at the start of this BYC trend!

Sand is an excellent choice. If you haven't already, please visit my Sand in your Coops page linked in my signature line or in the Learning Center here.

My MAIN concern with sand is always that WET POOPY SAND SMELLS AWEFUL!!!!! So... either keep it cleaner than NOT, or make sure that the run will never turn into a puddle of sand & poop. I only use sand in full sun without a roof so it'll dry quickly, otherwise it's completely roofed.

 

[mrbstephens]

I just emptied the kids sand box into the chicken's run. They needed new sand anyway. The run is fantastically dry and clean now! When it rains, it no longer turns into a gloppy muddy stinky mess!

 

[kcsunshine]

The only problem I have with mine is I put crush and run down first, then sand on top. My dumb birds dug up all the rocks. Now I have to rake the rocks out of the way so they can have the sand to dust in. Gradually, I'm going to get the rock out and fill in with more sand. Love the fact that it doesn't flood anymore. I do think the chickens would rather have dirt to dig in - but- who's the boss here anyway?

 

[annie3001]

i dont use sand at all.
just personal choice. why? i had grass where the run is. now i have dirt. thats enough.

 

[dparadise]

Being new to chickens, I wasn't sure what to use, after reading a lot of threads here, I decided to try the sand. I love it. It only takes a few minutes to rake and clean up. The chickens love dust bathing in it and when we get rain, (which it will do every afternoon here soon) it dries quick.