NOT using Wood shavings, what do you use?

[Ole rooster]

I'm just opposite of Gale. I use sand and clean it every morning with a wire ladle. About 10 minutes worth. From there it goes to the garden. I dig a hole and put it in just as I do the compost. In about a month I'll till the entire garden. I've been putting chicken manure on the garden every Feb and till the whole garden. So far so good. Sand does well for me. I like the results of the sifting and the speed it's done.

 

[tish_matt]

Any pictures with the sand. Out coop is about 8x8, what sand can i use. We have about a foot of dirt then sand below that in the ground. Could i use that, or should i get some kind of sterilized sand?

 

[Honeysucklefeathers]

I use hay/straw. My floor is 18 inches deep with gravel and straw, deep litter method, on top. I just keep piling on the hay and clean it out a couple of times a year and put it on the compost pile. If your compost pile is hot enough, you shouldn't have mice in it. Gotta get a good mix of green and brown

 

[ThomsonCentennialFarm]

Quote:
I will try to get some pictures today once the sun comes up.

I got sand from the local nursery by the skidloader scoop, $25, though I know that some people just buy the bags of it from Lowe's, etc. The sand I have is basically the consistency of play sand, though I will be adding some "paving sand" by the bag once my supply runs out.

Just for the record, two skidloader scoops of sand is way more than enough to cover an entire 8x8 coop 3 inches deep and still have lots left over.

 

[Gmsg01]

Has anyone used the pelleted pine bedding? I currently used wood shavings over horse stall matts (which is over fine gravel, which is over a VERY old concrete floor with cracks/shifts). Thinking of switching to the pelleted pine because it breaks down so fast (use it in the horse stalls) but worried about the birds eating it.

The confusing mix of flooring- old chicken coop, at least prior to 1930- unused for animals first 10+ years we lived here, converted to mews for red tail hawk for 5 years (hence the gravel floor), converted back for maiden voyage in chickens this year (didn't want the shavings mixing with the fine gravel, so topped with matts). It is working well so far, but the shavings don't break down as fast, so I was wondering about the pellets safety with the birds.

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
Use construction sand. You can get it in 60lb. Bags at home depot. It is coarser than regular sand and drains well. An inch or two on top of the dirt is what we did, and it worked well.

 

[Animalian]

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My coop is on a concrete slab to stop the mice getting in. I used play sand, the kind they put in kids sand pits. I keep it about 2cm deep and sift the sand through a colander once a week, takes about 20min. I find the colander better than a kitty litter scoop because it gets the broken poop wads and also spilt scratch and mash. Just top up the sand when it gets a little low.

The sand is also great if you have a fly problem, used to get real bad here in summer but with the sand the poop gets covered and dries out quickly. Now the coop smells like bird rather than poop too! Also in summer on especially hot days they love it if I hose half sand so they have a cool spot to stay on, it's like their own evaporative cooling system!

It also looks cleaner for longer with sand because, like I said the poop rolls around in it and 'disguises' itself lol

The girls still insist on straw on top of the sand for their nest boxes though, but I understand lol

 

[I <3 my EEs]

i used sand for my chicks-best idea ever. but now they are big and we have 4 other chickens my dad wants to use wood shavings but they are messy and hard to clean up

 

[FourtheBirds]

Hey Gmsg01, I have been using the pelleted pine bedding and never had an issue with the birds eating it and it does break down fairly quick.

 

[Gmsg01]

Thanks