Reasons NOT to use sand in a chicken coop or run

[gonehencrazy]

We have a raised cooped with plywood floor. I use shavings. Every two weeks I strip it out and add to the "compost" pile. But there is so much waste with fresh shavings and I don't think my compost pile actual composts. I have thought about trying sand so that I can just scoop poop and maybe will actually have compost. My run is dirt and it basically for shelter from elements and a dry place for food. They have large fenced in paddock to roam.

 

[BantyChooks]

We have a raised cooped with plywood floor. I use shavings. Every two weeks I strip it out and add to the "compost" pile. But there is so much waste with fresh shavings and I don't think my compost pile actual composts. I have thought about trying sand so that I can just scoop poop and maybe will actually have compost. My run is dirt and it basically for shelter from elements and a dry place for food. They have large fenced in paddock to roam.

Two weeks? Ey. Does it really get dirty that quickly?

 

[aart]

Agrees that sand is not a good bedding substrate in large quantities.

Use it mixed with PDZ in the brooder.
Sand and poop make 'cement' that sticks to chicks feet and especially their toenails.
Yes, easy to scoop poop but hard to get it all, eventually it became saturated with Pulverized Poop. I did try 'washing' it couldn't get all the PP out and it still stank.
Used it to fill holes in lawn from an auto accident.
I still use it in brooder, but they are only in it for a week or so before moving to coop,
and I use the 'dirty' brooder sand mix on poop boards in coop...where it does perform well.

I keep the level PDZ/sand mix on poop board only at less than a half inch and fully sift all the 'sand' mix every day or two, never have to 'replace' it just replenish as some gets kicked off and the rest sticks to poop and goes to compost. Am moving to straight PDZ as I can't find a good(washed and coarse with no dirt/dust) sand anymore.

I learned a lot about sand while making my own concrete mixes for sculpture years ago; I used different cements, different sands, different admixes.
All the colloquial and common names for sand(river, construction, play, blahblahblah) are worthless, there's no standards, you've got to look at it very closely to know what you're getting. Made a huge difference in my concrete mixes, so I had to study it, and also applies when using for chickens.

That's my thoughts on 'sand'.

 

[gonehencrazy]

Two weeks? Ey. Does it really get dirty that quickly?

I turn it over after a week. I was cleaning it out every week but was wasting sooo many shavings. I don't really know how else to do it. Shavings don't compost well.

 

[aart]

I turn it over after a week. I was cleaning it out every week but was wasting sooo many shavings. I don't really know how else to do it. Shavings don't compost well.

Use a poop board under roosts, dry shavings on floor can last a year, then add them to the Deep Litter in run.

 

[R2elk]

So, I would imagine that blow sand is more angular so that it can compact together? I'm very curious about this! Thanks for sharing.

Without doing a macro analysis, I would not come to that conclusion. My understanding is that the addition of the fine dust is what makes blow sand much more compactable than pure sand. Washed blow sand acts pretty much like pure sand. The surface of blow sand looks super fine but the ant hills prove that it really is made of all different sizes of grains. Here a good source of chick grit can be had by raiding the ant hills which containn the visibly coarser grains of sand.

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

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.

 

[gonehencrazy]

Use a poop board under roosts, dry shavings on floor can last a year, then add them to the Deep Litter in run.

I don't really think there is room for poop boards. It's an Amish made coop. We added a roost because of bullies and the roosts are only like 10 inches off the floor. There is a roost on the left and right and we added the other one crossways. The birds walk under one roost to get to the nest boxes.

 

[JedJackson]

The soil on my property is mostly heavy clay so I have little sandboxes in their runs for dust bathing, but I never found the idea of using it as litter appealing. I use straw or shavings depending on which is cheaper, but prefer straw because it composts more quickly. In my garden grit works better to break up the clay than sand.

I've also seen peat moss recommended as litter for chicks and that is 10x worse, in my opinion. It is not a renewable resource, it dries out and when it does it can cause respiratory problems in people and I presume chickens as well. Plus it is expensive.

 

[igorsMistress]

I turn it over after a week. I was cleaning it out every week but was wasting sooo many shavings. I don't really know how else to do it. Shavings don't compost well.

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.