Question about using sand for the floor of the run

[72elizabeth]

I saw in one of the post here, that someone used a kitty pooper scooper to pick up the droppings. He attached it to a stick or broom stick with duck tape. I tried it. It works great!

 

[elmo]

I use a reptile litter scoop taped to a handle:

You could also use an old kitchen strainer...same idea. The holes in the kitty litter scoop are bigger, and let some of the smaller droppings fall through. The sand scoop only lets the sand sift through.

 

[72elizabeth]

elmo your right. I do loose some with the kitty scooper. Kitchen strainer sounds great. Thanks Now what would you use for ducks. The sand is very messy

 

[Moabite]

I have a 2x4 frame that fits on the rim of my wheelbarrow with 1/8 inch hardware cloth attached on the bottom of the frame. Once a week, I rake the whole run to the corner and shovel the pile on to the screen. The sand falls through leaving the fertilizer, compostables, rocks, feathers, etc. on the screen. Course river sand is definitely better then fine blow sand. That screen gets lots of use around here for other things too. Like I sift the bark and sawdust from my fire wood pile to get the compost out of the burnables.

 

[katrinabadina]

Newbie here.
I have a question about sand...I am planning on using it in the coop and the run...but what about the nesting box? What do you use there if you're using sand everywhere else? Can you use sand in there too?
Also, what do you do with the sand when you do a (semi)annual clean? How do you dispose of it?
Thanks

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
DE is Diatomaceous Earth. There are two kinds food grade and pool grade.

Food grade as it implies can be added to food and handled safely. Its made of fossils of diatoms. Under a microscope they are sharp and will slice an dice the carpace of insects causing them to dehydrate and die. It can be put in the feed and or sprinkled on the ground. A good defence against mites. Also internal parasites for the chickens. Not a cureall but definately an organic way to keep their numbers small.

Pool grade DE has been subjected to intense heat to cause it to crystalize You should wear a mask when working with it because it can cause problems in your lungs. Not good.

 

[darncat]

where do you get DE food grade ?

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
You can get it at feed stores. You can also order it on line. We feed it to the horses to cut down on flies. It passes through and continues into the Poo.

You can buy it at Organic suppliers.... this is one I found a long time ago doing research... Ive never ordered from them but there is a wealth of information on its use.

http://www.wolfcreekranch.net/defaq.htm

Just about all the Poultry ads here on BYC offer it for sale too.

 

[Fluffy2]

Can I put live mealworms in the sand, like just empy a big container and let the extras go under sand, or is that a bad idea and just feed them from my hand? tx

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I don't think so.... Meal worms don't live under ground they live in organic material. Its best to keep the meal worms in the bran and feed them some potato as a source of food and water. Then when its time to treat the chickens dish them out.