Play sand

[shawna1234]

Hi!
I have 4 chicks 7-9 weeks old. I was told one was trying to “dust bath” yesterday so I gave them a bin with some play sand. I was now just told that’s bad they’ve had it since Sunday and definitely ate some. Going to switch it out for construction sand first thing tomorrow. Will they be ok? Should I do anything?

 

[K0k0shka]

They'll be fine. Play sand is not bad for them. They may eat some if it's new to them, just because they're curious. They'll just poop it out. At 7-9 weeks old they are OLD. Big enough to be totally fine. The only issue with any kind of sand is in the first couple of *days* after hatching, when they don't know what food is and eat too much sand thinking it's food, and get malnourished and impacted. But yours are big-a$$ chickens that know full well that sand is not food. So don't worry about it.

 

[Minidinochickens]

They'll be fine. Play sand is not bad for them. They may eat some if it's new to them, just because they're curious. They'll just poop it out. At 7-9 weeks old they are OLD. Big enough to be totally fine. The only issue with any kind of sand is in the first couple of *days* after hatching, when they don't know what food is and eat too much sand thinking it's food, and get malnourished and impacted. But yours are big-a$$ chickens that know full well that sand is not food. So don't worry about it.

But I’ve heard that play sand can cause respiratory problems. Especially if eaten. What do you think?
Here is a source https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thefeatherbrain.com/blog/sand-chicken-coop-bedding?format=amp
( you can scroll down to the play sand section)

 

[K0k0shka]

But I’ve heard that play sand can cause respiratory problems. Especially if eaten. What do you think?
Here is a source https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thefeatherbrain.com/blog/sand-chicken-coop-bedding?format=amp
( you can scroll down to the play sand section)

"Respiratory" means when it's breathed in, not when it's eaten. So it can't cause respiratory problems if eaten. This article talks about sand in the coop, used as bedding, not as a dust bath. Meaning there's lots and lots of it and it's in their living space, where they sleep, eat and breathe it in, if it's not well ventilated it can get dusty, and so on. But a bucketful of it in a dust bath, out in the open, is fine. They roll around in it and walk away. They're not cooped up breathing it all night.

 

[Minidinochickens]

"Respiratory" means when it's breathed in, not when it's eaten. So it can't cause respiratory problems if eaten. This article talks about sand in the coop, used as bedding, not as a dust bath. Meaning there's lots and lots of it and it's in their living space, where they sleep, eat and breathe it in, if it's not well ventilated it can get dusty, and so on. But a bucketful of it in a dust bath, out in the open, is fine. They roll around in it and walk away. They're not cooped up breathing it all night.

Ok thanks for clearing it up.but I thought it could also cause sour crop?

 

[K0k0shka]

Ok thanks for clearing it up.but I thought it could also cause sour crop?

If they eat a whole bunch, yes. But chickens don't eat sand (not intentionally anyway). If it's in their coop as bedding, and their feed is also in there, when they spill feed on the ground and go after it they will also grab sand along with it and can end up ingesting large amounts of sand that way, unintentionally. That's why I'm not a fan of sand as bedding anywhere - coop or run. But if they only have sand in their dust bath, where they only go to dust bathe, they won't end up accidentally eating it.

 

[shawna1234]

If they eat a whole bunch, yes. But chickens don't eat sand (not intentionally anyway). If it's in their coop as bedding, and their feed is also in there, when they spill feed on the ground and go after it they will also grab sand along with it and can end up ingesting large amounts of sand that way, unintentionally. That's why I'm not a fan of sand as bedding anywhere - coop or run. But if they only have sand in their dust bath, where they only go to dust bathe, they won't end up accidentally eating it.

What do you use in your run as bedding? I have sod but it’s getting all muddy with poop in there that’s not possible to clean. I’ve heard sand is easy because you can just scoop it out but I’m skeptical

 

[Chicalina]

I don't put bedding in my run. Bedding in the coop is a mix of dust extracted cut straw and wood shavings (horse bedding from the feed store).

My runs are bare earth. They don't sleep there. One is covered and dryish so they dust bathe in the dirt, the other is open but has trees for shade and hawk deterrent. I dig it over a bit once or twice a year and add grass clippings to help the poop compost, but they do a lot of digging themselves for worms etc.

I've never used sand. I have a bowl with wood ash in for additional dust bathing. They like to chuck it all out.

 

[K0k0shka]

What do you use in your run as bedding? I have sod but it’s getting all muddy with poop in there that’s not possible to clean. I’ve heard sand is easy because you can just scoop it out but I’m skeptical

Some people like sand in the run, but I personally don't. Maybe others are willing to scoop it kitty litter style every day or whatever, but I don't want to do that. And it tends to smell, especially if it gets wet, with all the poop in there. The poop gets pulverized and mixed in with the sand, very hard to clean, and when it gets wet, it turns into stinky mud. It can't decompose properly either. What I use in my run is yard waste - fall leaves, grass clippings whenever I mow the lawn, weeds from the garden, various raked debris form the yard. I chuck it all in there. It gets mixed in with the poop and composts in place. Unlike with sand, where you only have poop in the equation (nitrogen), with the yard waste setup, you have a combination of poop (nitrogen) and plant matter (carbon), so the two can work together to form compost. It doesn't smell, and I don't clean it. The chickens love scratching around in it to find bugs and what not. They keep turning it over, so it never looks poopy. I love it, and highly recommend it! My run has a roof so I don't have to worry about drainage, but this setup works with an open run, too - just make sure you have different size particles in there, including larger ones like wood chips, to give it good drainage.

This is what it looks like in the spring and early summer (so the majority of the plant matter is dry leaves from last fall):

And this is what it looks like now, at the end of summer (mostly dried grass clippings from all the summer mowings):

 

[K0k0shka]

P.S. They have a designated dust bath with play sand in it (the log contraption in the second image), but they never use it. They've peeled back the yard waste bedding in one spot by the coop and prefer to dust bathe in the uncovered dry dirt instead... If you're not sure about sand, just give them some dry soil and they'll be happy.