Reasons NOT to use sand in a chicken coop or run

[JedJackson]

We have sand in the chicken coop and the guinea coop

My sister cleans the chicken sand, I do the guineas

I dont like using sand. No matter how many attempts at ripping up screen doors and using the screen as a sifter, theres always lil bits of poop in the sand. And you cant compost sand! Not to mention the dust that goes everywhere that you can breath micro particles of poop in and get sick -_-
And if its gets wet, nix on sifting it. Wet sand is heavy to remove too. And its not like home depot sells fresh dry sand for free either.

I told my mom that theres this thread on byc that has the reasons for not using said sand

She says "well, it really works!"

I did the only thing possible. I laughed.

But then she did it. "Besides," she says "martha stewart uses sand too"

I died



Ducks dont need sand.

I didn't know Martha Stewart raised chickens. I can't imagine her mucking out their coop, that's for sure.

 

[Tlmcq]

I use sand in smaller raised coop, but not fine "play sand" and never in run. It all depends on climate and coop. If it's on ground or concrete deep litter is best IMO. Anywhere that gets a lot of rain is gonna keep sand too wet, possibly causing problems and stink, not to mention freeze if you live in place that gets cold winter. I really like pine horse pellets mixed in with other natural litter as it is soo absorbent but doesn't hold moisture as it swells when gets wet and then breaks to almost like sawdust so easier compost..my birds love it for dust bathing they go crazy...lol. In horse stalls they wet it first to make it swell up and be soft. I don't do this as it will do it on its own and lasts longer. I think it just depends on your area and situation both have there pros and cons.

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

I didn't know Martha Stewart raised chickens. I can't imagine her mucking out their coop, that's for sure.

I know right?? I never knew that either!

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I never called the company that produces the pine shavings I use in the coop. I'd like to know if it's reclaimed from milling or were the trees taken down just for shavings. I'm thinking it's reclaimed, cleaned and packaged, but I'd like to know for sure.

It's marketed as horse bedding, and I also use it as kitty litter. It doesn't clump, but it works great if you give yourself some time weaning off of the need for perfect clumps.

As for composting fresh shavings, pine shavings do break down, but it seems to take a lot longer than other compostable material for some reason. You have to actively maintain your compost with moisture to ensure a good break down. I'm weaning myself toward all natural mulch from tree trimming and the forest floor. I've even used it in the litter boxes for the cats, but the husband says that's too much nature for his taste, the poor chap.

 

[Usrudd]

This is my first year raising chickens, but I wasn't hatched from an egg yesterday.

From my months of research, I've learned that lots of folks love sand in the coop or run. For the same reason I don't use clay kitty litter, I refuse to use sand: it's not compostable, and it has a carbon footprint.

And sand can harbor disease. There are different kinds of sand. The news stories I've come across over the years were specific to playground sand. A courser sand is recommended for coops, but my instincts tell me there's still a legitimate concern.

Also, sand is VERY heavy. You may only swap it out once or twice a year, but then what? You have to roll a heavy wheelbarrow somewhere and dump it or take the sand to the landfill, as I've read one blogger does. Some say it's safe to wash it and reuse.

Voila! An eco-friendly litter!!

I say a big nope to that, and here's why: water is a valuable resource. If you're a homesteader on an actual homestead, or a city dwelling homesteader, expending a resource to maintain chicken litter is wasteful. And think about the sand's point of origin and what was involved crushing raw material and delivering it to your local yard supply outfit.

Don't take from below the earth; use what's already on the surface!

It's my guess chicken folks are also veggie garden folks, so raising chickens shouldn't be just about the meat and eggs. They also give us beautiful compost, and even in a small backyard that compost is easy to create and, with the deep litter method, virtually odor free.

Just say no to sand, folks, and put those birds to work!!

I appreciate what you wrote and it makes sense to me. Here are a couple questions I have and hope u can answer. I’m a new chicken keeper and my ladies are only 22 weeks old. One egg already yesterday, haha. I read a lot too and fell for the sand in Run idea. I fell for the easy to clean, bla bla..but is it Really? I need to go on my hands and knees to scoop it. I never actually considered taking it all out to put in FRESH sand. Lordy!

But now sand is in the Run, which is mostly on ledge.in vermont....so probably soil down there somewhere...but now it’s covered with sand. It’s a covered run also.

I have added hay and grass clippings....they love that...so now poop is clumped in sand..
And also caked in some hay.

How do,I solve this and decrease my work load? I believe the deep litter method isn’t the way to go...but how do I get there? Any ideas? I welcome your advice.

thanks in advance. Btw, I have 6 chickens.

U

 

[aart]

I believe the deep litter method isn’t the way to go

I believe it is the way to go, many others have come to the same conclusion....best thing I did was start adding dry carbon rich materials, 'browns' in compost-speak, to my barren of vegetation, sandy soiled, very stinky chicken run. Start with a big load of aged ramial wood chippings, just a few inches deep will be a great start, you'll never go back. You can just add it right on top of the sand.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have a dirt floor so I get it wet once in a while. It helps with dust, the shavings start to compost before they go to the compost pile. Then I add some fresh shavings as needed based on smell. I have to get it wet though or it doesn't work.

I don't know that I would do this with your wood floor. However you could move the shavings to the run and dampen it there. The chickens will dig through it and help stir it for you. Especially if you throw treats on top.

Also, I live in a very dry climate. I have to water my compost pile once a week to keep it moist enough to compost. I've found that a higher ratio of poop helped get it going because what I had to compost with was dry, but now that the pile is working I use about 50/50 green to brown and it maintains quite well.

IMO, DL on a soil floor is as good as it gets. If you have that, you are golden: all natural, simply keep adding more material. The poo simply melts into the soil.

I didn't know Martha Stewart raised chickens. I can't imagine her mucking out their coop, that's for sure.

If MS has chickens, she doesn't RAISE them. She pays someone to tend them, so she can have the benefit of them running around to create the "country chic" image that she wants to portray. I'm sure HER chickens don't ever have poopy butts, nor is there ever any poo in coop or run.

But now sand is in the Run, which is mostly on ledge.in vermont....so probably soil down there somewhere...but now it’s covered with sand. It’s a covered run also.

I have added hay and grass clippings....they love that...so now poop is clumped in sand..
And also caked in some hay.

How do,I solve this and decrease my work load? I believe the deep litter method isn’t the way to go...but how do I get there? Any ideas? I welcome your advice.

thanks in advance. Btw, I have 6 chickens.

Simply keep adding more organic material. Is your run a walk in run? If it's an "under coop" affair, DL won't work, b/c you won't have the head room to deal with it.

I have a friend who uses sand for pigeons and chickens. He scoops poo every day. His sand coop/aviary look very nice. I have reactive airway disease. I can not go into either of his areas without having my asthma getting revved into high gear. It will mess up my breathing for the rest of the day. However, I can go into my DL coop and run without issue. Of course, I don't stir things up, nor do I hang out in the coop for an extended period of time. And if I clean, I wear a good mask. But, the benefit of DL in comparison to sand as it affects my breathing is the difference between night and day.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I had tons of decisions to make when I brought home chicks for the first time earlier this year. I actually suffer from OCD and some other things and can literally freeze when it comes to making decisions. The sand method was my preference until I hauled four soggy 50 pound bags of sand out of the back of our truck. We had old tires and used them to weight down the back on our two-wheel drive for traction.

And now we have four bags of sand we can't compost. They'll eventually be put to good use when I create a new walking path soon, but this is something to consider when you go the sand route.

On the flip side is all the good examples out there of why some folks prefer sand. The Chicken Chick has a blog post on sand and there are YouTube videos, too. The idea is to buy or create a strong metal scoop that lets you easily sift the sand and remove droppings. It should only take a few quick minutes, and most of the droppings will be on poop boards under the roosts, which you can scrape into a bucket with a wide painter's tool you can get at a hardware store for a couple of bucks.

Ha, there's a buck at the back of my property right this very second!!

Anyway, compostable material on top of sand will likely create a mess. Poop is sticky and messy until it dries, but rain will mush it up again. The good news is that it melts and breaks down rather quickly. With the deep litter method the chickens sift it to the bottom where it composts nicely, and all you have to do is create a large screen sifter to sit on top of a wheelbarrow, rake aside the top layers of leaves and pine needles, and scoop up the smaller debris underneath, and there you go.

I have six chickens just like you. Just those six can shred apart a huge compost pile in a few quick seconds, so the deep litter method is perfect for anyone, really. To convert to the DLM from sand, perhaps remove the sand in stages and dump it somewhere for later use as an underlayer for a new pathway.

We have an abundance of leaves and pine needles, but if you find you don't have enough call your city or county and ask about raking up leaves in a park. Some towns even advertise this and put a limit on how many bags you can take. Pine needles are awesome because they mat together and help create a nice padded layer on top of the mud.

You can add grass clippings and wood chips, too.

 

[lazy gardener]

Several weeks ago, I drove my truck to a neighboring town that provides city trash pick up. I found out when DPW was going to be doing leaf pick up. Intended to go before that date, but life and weather got in the way. Went on the day they were scheduled to start. I gathered 3 loads of bagged leaves, and could have picked up plenty more. All leaves came from a single side street. These leaves will easily last me all winter and into the spring for both coop and run, most likely some left over for HK, sheet composting area, BTE garden and orchard. So, as long as I have the ability to haul leaves, this will be my method of procurement!

 

[Usrudd]

I believe it is the way to go, many others have come to the same conclusion....best thing I did was start adding dry carbon rich materials, 'browns' in compost-speak, to my barren of vegetation, sandy soiled, very stinky chicken run. Start with a big load of aged ramial wood chippings, just a few inches deep will be a great start, you'll never go back. You can just add it right on top of the sand.

Omg I made a typo. I wanted to say that I believe the deep litter is the way to go...but how do I get there now? Do u think I can add the dry carbon rich material right on top of sand? Is that what u did? My Run is covered so it does not get very wet. Thoughts welcome! I do have available leaves and pine needles, etc...will it work?

Ps what are aged wood chippings?

U