Ordered sand, arrived wet!

[sdilegge]

Hello! So I have 12 6-week-old chicks that I NEED to get out into their coop. My plan was to do it tomorrow and had some sand delivered to fill the area. The problem is, when I started moving it, I realized it was damp and clumping from being wet. I'm nervous to start with that much moisture in the coop! Can I start with wet sand, or will it lead to disaster? Right now it is a little cooler - 60s, and less sun, so I'm afraid of it not drying quickly.

Thank you!!!

 

[chickengirl778]

Wet sand isn't the best idea, and sand in general is actually not great either
Is there any other bedding you could consider?

 

[sdilegge]

This is our first coop, and from what I was reading sand was the easiest as long as you scoop it like a litter box daily it keeps the coop the driest. I thought that this would be the best thing for the chicks.

 

[chickengirl778]

It seems like it would be a good choice, but sand easily harbors disease: "
A warning about sand: It seems that some chicken keepers have started using sand in their coops and just scoop out the feces like you would in a cat litter box (kind of like I was able to do with the shavings), but beware that sand has the potential to harbor e.coli pathogens even more than water does, is also dusty and can lead to silicosis (a respiratory disease) and the chickens might be tempted to eat large quantities of the sand which could lead to impacted crop. Read more here about why you should never use sand in your coop."
Wood shavings or straw is usually a better choice.

 

[Toothpick]

What kind of coop do you have? I have an 8x10 shed that I converted. I put Black-Jack Rubr Coat #57 (2 coats) on the plywood floor and roughly 1 foot up the wall. I then put pine shavings down about 3” thick. It’s been over a year and I haven’t changed the coop bedding. Every now and then I sprinkle Sweet PDZ. No issues that I can see yet.

If you can coat the floor with something and use pine shavings I think you’ll be better off. Use the sand for a nice dust bath area.

 

[Coopnrun]

The power company comes around routinely and trims back overhanging limbs along their right of way and chip up the limbs. I stopped and ask them what they do with the truck load of chips. They were eager to dump a whole load near my coop and run so they didn't have to haul them across town to the dump. Free and by throwing some schratch grains out the hens keep it turned up like compost. I started with 5-6 inches deep as it will flatten out as it gets older. Free and it works. I use purchased pine shavings in the actual coop.

 

[Wise Woman]

Why does this misconception that sand is so fabulous continue? I believe that sand is never a good option in the coop or out in the run.

And as far as the myth about sand being easy to scoop, unless you only have a couple of chickens, you will be forever scooping and you can never get it all out. After a while you will have all sorts of bits and pieces in that sand along with who knows what sorts of bacteria. Sand is a no go around our coop and run. Sorry but that is my opinion.

 

[PirateGirl]

I wouldn't add wet sand in the coop, but I don't see a problem with it in the run. I don't know how many chickens you have, but I don't see scooping 100 poops a day from my 5 chickens as easy maintenance, but that's personal choice.

See number 1!
http://modernhomesteading.ca/blog/backyard-chicken-facts-5-things-no-one-told-us

 

[JDN]

GO buy a bale of pine shavings from the Ag or Feed or pet store. It costs like $7. Scoop it out when your done and satisfied with the sand's dryness.

 

[PirateGirl]

If there's a way you can spread some of the sand out it may help it dry faster (provided it doesn't rain). As others have said, perhaps just start with pine shavings for a few days or a week then shovel them all out and replace with your sand when it's dry enough. You can still move those peepers to their coop!