Pros and Cons for using sand

[ChickEngineer]

I have been using play sand for the last three years. I have a 9' X 6' covered coop so rain is not a problem. The girls have a 25' dirt run outside that they use for dust bath and etc.and occasionally they do dust bath in the sand. I usually mix some DE in with the sand, have not noticed any mites on the girls. The cleanup is easy, wire pooper type scooper and a small plastic rake twice a day.
Tried shavings and they work fine in the hutch but the wind blew them around too much in the coop.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I am just saying that too much sand in the bedding will do this or better yet complete sand. Their crop can and will become impacted over time and at some point not pass . I did a test about 20 years ago with 20 grown birds and put them in 20 different small pens with only sand as bedding. They had full feed and water and over 6 months 70% had impacted crops that was starting to effect their health. So my advise has always been not to have 100% sand as bedding for long periods of time. About 20% of a chickens diet in a chicken coop is their own litter, so they get too much grit and it becomes a harmful rather than helpful. Like everything in life , more is not always better... The right mix of sand added to litter has a lot of benefits as some have mentioned. In general if chickens eat only a formulated chicken feed and are not free ranged , there is the right amount of grit already in the chicken feed. However, if the chickens are free ranged they usually pick up enough grit in the dirt. This has been my experience.

That is completely ridiculous- all of it. Any chicken's crop "can" become impacted, but that has nothing to do with the use of sand. It is 100% untrue that 20% of a chicken's diet is litter! Further, commercial chicken feed not only does NOT have grit in it, commercial chicken feed does not NEED grit to be digested. It would be better simply to say that you don't care for sand than to propagate misinformation.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Sweet PDZ

(​

zeolite

) is a naturally-occurring mineral created from volcanic activity, which captures, neutralizes and eliminates harmful ammonia and odors.​

Sweet PDZ binds ammonia gas and odor to it’s surface, creating healthier air for chickens to breathe. Zeolite/Sweet PDZ is a food grade mineral, which means it is edible. When chickens eat it, Sweet PDZ serves as natural grit, which aids in digestion. It can absorb approximately 40-50% of its weight in moisture, which makes droppings drier and smell less! It can be used with all bedding types, including sand, pine shavings and straw. It provides additional absorbency to bedding, allowing it to perform more efficiently and last longer. Can be used in the chicken run as well as inside the coop. Safe to handle with bare hands and safe to breathe.
Zeolite acts as a compost enhancement and slow-release fertilizer in gardens.

 

[Crooked Halo]

I use all purpose sand in my coop and in the run, and it works great. The sand makes for very easy clean-up. All I do is get a kitty litter scoop and once a day, scoop up the droppings. It takes only a couple minutes. It also drains a lot better than dirt, and leaves the chickens feet a lot cleaner.

 

[Happy Dad]

Quote:
Great PDZ info but I would not say it's safe to breath. Also avians have more sensitive respiratory systems than us so just make sure when you are using PDZ you aren't stirring up a lot of dust. There is no cure for silicosis. http://shop.2farm.com/pdf/msds/A0001050.pdf Section 2. Health Hazard Data Hazardous Ingredients: May contain 0.07 - 0.10% Free Silica Routes of Entry: Inhalation Health Hazards (Acute and Chronic): Prolonged exposure to respirable silica may cause health risks Signs of Exposure: None (this means you won't know if you have been overexposed until it's too late)

 

[Jim Phelps]

Use the granular form of PDZ rather than the powdered. This eliminates most dust.

 

[RnRRidgerunner]

Thanks for the info on PDZ, very informative.

 

[Heme]

MESSIPAW Wrote> 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.

I totally AGREE; I do the same except I use Contractor Sand from Lowes (not Play Sand) and no peat moss. Noting wrong with Peat, its already in my soil mix. The Contractor Sand I use has both infinite sand particles and numerous grit sizes, some of which are consumed by the girls as an aid to digestion.

The PDZ worked great, especially in the hot summer, the sand mix helped drain away the rain water that accumulated, and my occasional Cyper-WSP spry solution stopped insect infestation. The Girls are happy, coop smells fresh and my wife is happy! What more can I ask?

 

[Free Feather]

Some types of sand may be "natural", but not for chickens. They are jungle fowl, not beach fowl. Natural litters like leaves and stalks would be what they scratched around in to find bugs. You cannot tell me you would find as many worms in straight sand as you would in a litter mix. Adding sand to your compost bin will do nothing to help it other than to make it a bit more loose. After that, nothing. It will not break down as a carbon or nutrient source. Sand does not hold heat, either, especially on a wood floor. It is just not good for cold climates, period.

 

[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.