Pros and Cons for using sand

[Mountain Peeps]

What are the pros and cons for using sand in the coop and run?

 

[Free Feather]

I have sand in my coop and run as well as my dust bath area. Currently it is mixed with a ton of other stuff. PDZ, DE, leaves, pine needles, wood chips, hay and who knows what else. It's great. They dig all day and find goodies. I also mix peat Moss in. They go nuts. It's like an ongoing compost pile. It smells good looks healthy and my hens love it.

FWI: Peat Moss is currently being harvested in insane quantities from land that has its entire ecosystem based around it. Peat moss takes a long time to make, and we are taking it out of the bogs it belongs in at horribly unsustainable rates. It is destroying the bog ecosystem.
Just in case someone cares.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

con.... chickens eat to much of the sand and it impact their craw.... to much sand causes health issues and death.

That's untrue. The truth is: chickens NEED grit to digest fibrous foods. Any sand they ingest is passed out the digestive tract when the gizzard is finished utilizing it. Sand actually PREVENTS health problems such as coccidiosis by keeping the ground, brooder or coop drier than any other litter can.
Sand does not cause crop impaction as it is passed through the crop to the gizzard. Any bird that has an impacted crop with sand in it was predisposed to crop dysfunction and the sand did not cause it. Birds do not eat sand because it's delicious- they eat it because they need the grit and they only eat as much as they need.

 

[Free Feather]

Sand is no good in cold climates. It might drain well, but it is really no fun to scratch in or find bugs. It is good for only in a box for dustbathing. It does not compost, and you cannot plant in it. It also has a tendency to stink and cause diseases like Coccidiosis. It just really is not natural.

 

[Messipaw]

I have sand in my coop and run as well as my dust bath area. Currently it is mixed with a ton of other stuff. PDZ, DE, leaves, pine needles, wood chips, hay and who knows what else. It's great. They dig all day and find goodies. I also mix peat Moss in. They go nuts. It's like an ongoing compost pile. It smells good looks healthy and my hens love it.

 

[Blueline]

Wow really?

I have been considering on getting some washed concrete sand for my chicken run because I deal with bumble foot every single year & the run gets very muddy while it rains. The LAST thing I want is for it to stink & overwhelm my chickens with cocci.

Yea, hmm, I'm thinking you will find sand works quite well

. I use play sand, not too fine, not too coarse for the girls in the coop. When I get the run reconfigured, I'll use sand, PDZ, peat, etc in that as well. Have a care when choosing your sand, some sand is so fine it will simply compact from moisture and use; such as the ocean beach. Washed concrete sand MAY be to fine, it would probably be great for sand castle building. Take a look at the play sand (40 or 50 pd bags) from the hardware store, buy one it's cheap see what it feels like. Give it a try, that way you will prove or disprove it's application for your circumstance. As much as anything this forum is like a kids coloring book full of many useful ideas, just don't use to big of a brush when you color in the pages.

Charlie

 

[WNCcluck]

Sand is no good in cold climates. It might drain well, but it is really no fun to scratch in or find bugs. It is good for only in a box for dustbathing. It does not compost, and you cannot plant in it. It also has a tendency to stink and cause diseases like Coccidiosis. It just really is not natural.

Wow really?
I have been considering on getting some washed concrete sand for my chicken run because I deal with bumble foot every single year & the run gets very muddy while it rains. The LAST thing I want is for it to stink & overwhelm my chickens with cocci.

What part of NC? We have found sand quite effective. River sand is quite natural ... It's what we walk on in the rivers of our home state. Of course, our end of the state does have some pretty large rocks in the rivers, too.

Get the sand ... and some (also very natural) PDZ. Your chickens will be healthy and happy and so will you.

As far as sand and cold are concerned, we've had no problems with sand in the 0's of our mountain winters. Our girls don't sleep in the sand. Our coop is well made and well ventilated; our run is covered and also has a sand floor. I use a hard nosed rake in the run to keep the sand /PDZ mix nice and "fluffy". Our hens are constantly bathing in the sand, too.

 

[rons99]

I first learned about using sand in the Coop from an article, I believe, written by the Chicken Chick. i tried leaves (not absorbent), sawdust (really bad), then commercial wood chips (expensive and nasty after a short period), straw (bad idea), then sand. I live in south Texas, so cannot comment on cold as about 30 degrees is it for us here. I have changed it out once in the last couple of years and it is heavy to shovel out, but worth the effort. I free range my girls on six acres so they only use the Coop during dark hours. I seine the poop from the sand every other day and use it for compost additive. Sand is the best floor covering that I have found.

 

[EagleEyes]

Sand is no good in cold climates. It might drain well, but it is really no fun to scratch in or find bugs. It is good for only in a box for dustbathing. It does not compost, and you cannot plant in it. It also has a tendency to stink and cause diseases like Coccidiosis. It just really is not natural.

I totally disagree. I have sand in my run and I clean it like a kitty liter box. And it's dry in the winter.

 

[SNJchickens]

Here in southern New Jersey I have horrible clay soil that results in boot-sucking mud at the slightest rain. I do have roosts for my hens outdoors to give them relief.

I'm constantly adding sand to the run areas to lighten the clay and allow some drainage. Play sand in 50 lb bags from the home center are manageable (I am a small 66 YO woman) and inexpensive.

The hens appreciate the improved soil.

During the summer I bed the run with grass clippings from my organic lawn. Every two weeks I rake out the old clipping for the compost heaps and put down new clippings. The hens love the chance to scratch around in the grass, the sand allows my soil to drain on rainy days which keeps the clippings fresher.

My hope is that over the years the soil in the run will improve with the addition of sand, sand, sand.