Mason sand on floor of chicken coop

[joebryant]

Quote:
No, actually, I hadn't ever heard of its being used in a coop anywhere. Makes sense for a larger-than-needed coop though for a warm climate. I sure do like it for my run year round; wouldn't use anything else. Sure wouldn't want it in my coops though here in Indiana.

Nifty put a nice link to my Using Sand in Your Coops page in the Learning Center

You could check it out in the link in my siggy

Thanks, Dawn, that was a well-written article; it convinced me more than ever that using woodchips in a coop is much easier, warm or cold climates. I would not want to spend time raking out poop regularly. All I have to do is be sure there's diatomaceous earth to dry the poop and throw in some bird seed occasionally that causes the chickens to scratch everything under in the chips. I don't have to do anything other than that for months.

 

[tryingtohaveitall]

Joe's quote: Thanks, Dawn, that was a well-written article; it convinced me more than ever that using woodchips in a coop is much easier, warm or cold climates. I would not want to spend time raking out poop regularly. All I have to do is be sure there's diatomaceous earth to dry the poop and throw in some bird seed occasionally that causes the chickens to scratch everything under in the chips. I don't have to do anything other than that for months.

Sorry for the threadjack but Joe, this reminds me of questions I had recently. I was doing a similar thing with my coop but perhaps I didn't have as much wood chips and/or DE in my coop. It was definitely starting to stink of ammonia so a few weeks ago the kids and I completely cleaned it out and started new. The girls had only been out in it about 5 months and they started out small. Does yours not stink? Do you try to scrape off the top every now and then or do you have poop boards? Do you throw in a new bag of shavings every so often?

Thanks for the input!
Jo Ann

 

[DawnSuiter]

Quote:
Your welcome!

We all have different situations to deal with so it's good to have options to choose from to know which works best for you. For us, woodchips would cost thousands of dollars each year to use the deep litter method

, not to mention would stay wet in our open air coops which don't really have many walls.

 

[Hamptons06]

Quote:
Your welcome!

We all have different situations to deal with so it's good to have options to choose from to know which works best for you. For us, woodchips would cost thousands of dollars each year to use the deep litter method

, not to mention would stay wet in our open air coops which don't really have many walls.

Would you recommend the sand method in an indoor coop that's heated?? I know that some are saying b/c it's cold to the touch when it's cold outside but would the same apply for an indoor coop?

 

[DawnSuiter]

In my climate I don't think it's too cold at all... but we have only a few weeks below freezing and most of our winter is just above in the 40s. I don't think, but of course haven't measured, that it is any colder than the ground they would walk on otherwise. They still dust bathe and move around as normal, so that is my gauge.

So if your coop has heat, I would guess you'd be very happy with it.

you can always try each method to find what works best for you, that's what I did. We use woodchips in the small brooders and tried it in smaller coops... it just wasn't for right for our big coops.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Hi, Jo Ann, no, my coops have never stunk. Each 4- X 8-foot coop has at leastt six inches of wood shavings in it.
See my BYC page for pictures.

EDIT: BTW, do you have good ventilation and/or not too many chickens for the given floor space? If so, I can't imagine why you'd have an ammonia smell. I'd do whatever is necessary to get rid of the ammonia; that'll kill your chickens.

 

[trinityfly]

Be careful with mason's sand it can be too fine to be healthy for any one. Mason sand and Play sand are supposed to be labeled to notify you that you should wear a mask when working with it, It has too much ultra fine dust that is silicon based and when inhaled is a hazard to the health of any living thing. Silicosis

 

[DawnSuiter]

Unless your sandblasting with it, I think there is nothing to really worry about.
We wear a mask or something if we're shoveling out a coop because it does get dusty.. but normally, there really isn't much dust at all.
I have read some OSHA guidelines on the usage of masonry sand, when I was a subcontractor in CA, and the basic recommendation is that no precautions need to be taken with normal use.

But that is a good precaution for folks to know about, so I will add it to my page for people to do their research on respiratory problems and if sand might cause a problem for them, or children with asthma for instance.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Your welcome!

We all have different situations to deal with so it's good to have options to choose from to know which works best for you. For us, woodchips would cost thousands of dollars each year to use the deep litter method

, not to mention would stay wet in our open air coops which don't really have many walls.

I just saw this, Dawn. I did not know that you had "...open air coops which don't really have many walls." I agree; if I had coops like that, I'd treat them like I treat my run, and I would never use wood chips it that. I too would use ONLY sand, never wood chips, or straw, or anything else organic.

 

[DawnSuiter]

I have added the following to my page on Using Sand in your Coops

PRECAUTIONS & THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN DECIDING IF SAND IS RIGHT FOR YOU

Respiratory Concerns
If you or your family have any respiratory concerns, sand may NOT be right for you. Sand is largely comprised of Silica, a substance that can be harmful to your lungs with repeated exposure to silica dust. While construction sand is mostly small to medium size pepples & particles, after time it will be ground down through normal chicken coop use into a fine powder. This fine powder, when inhaled, can collect in your lungs and cannot be expelled. Long term exposure and inhalation of silica dust causes a respiratory disease called Silicosis. A quick spray with the hose before working with old finely ground sand and/or face mask protection is advisable for everyone, regardless if you have a compromised respiratory system.

Climate Concerns
Several folks have expressed a concern regarding sand usage in extremely cold climates. It WILL BE COLD, unless you have a heated coop. While I haven't measured the difference myself, I do believe that it will maintain about the same temperature as the ground surface in your climate. Therefore it is just as cold as the ground is to walk on. So if you prefer for you chickens to have something warmer underfoot, you might consider a different bedding method during the winter months. I DO NOT recommend putting woodchips ONTOP of a sand base. The resulting mix will hold moisture thanks to the woodchips. If you would like to keep your sand but still have concerns, a sparse layer of straw on top of your sand base will be great. The straw will mat together with the poop and create a secondary surface which is easily raked out and replaced as often as you feel is necessary.