Sand advice please!!!

[Umbrellabones]

Hello! Looking for advice from anyone that uses sand in their coop or run. I want to try using sand in my run this summer and I want to make sure I buy the appropriate kind. I mostly see "river sand" recommended here. I can't find anything by that name around me but it seems like sand names and descriptions vary from place to place. Based on how I've seen "river sand" described, 2ns sand looks like the closest thing I have found, though it is also described as "sharp sand" so I am not sure if it would be safe for the chickens feet or if they were to ingest it. Would i be better to go with a uniform all purpose type sand and just mix bags of chicken grit in?

I greatly appreciate any info and recommendations!!

 

[Chickenlovermom]

Well chickens need to have sand and small rocks to eat for there crop. To like digest food I assume its ok.

 

[Umbrellabones]

Well chickens need to have sand and small rocks to eat for there crop. To like digest food I assume its ok.

Well chickens need to have sand and small rocks to eat for there crop. To like digest food I assume its ok.

Right, they have access to chicken grit regularly, but are the pieces of rock in 2ns too sharp? Its described as "sharp sand" so I would be concern it could cause lacerations if "sharp sand" is sharper than chicken grit

 

[linguini]

We use sand on our enclosed, covered run. We simply use the dry, play sand from the home depot. We do put yard wastes (weed, grass) on top the sand. It has been working well for us. Never cleaned the floor, no smell (well ventilated). I do power wash the perches and wood frames of the run a couple times a year (spring and fall).

p.s. we have gravel in a bucket for them to ingest in the run. Occasionally I sprinkle the gravel in the run and yard as well.

 

[RubelliteRose]

This is the sand we use in our run. In our area it is called concrete sand and is a mix of regular sand and small gravel. I dumped some left over grit in the run when we installed it and couldn't tell the difference, so we haven't bought grit since.

 

[raingarden]

Sharp sand, river sand and builders sand are all the same thing. Just different regional names.

I like coral sand because it also supplies calcium carbonate. But, coral sand can increase the pH in acidic soils so watch out for that.

 

[Tookie]

I use concrete sand in my run, so far I like it a lot, we put sand in the run about 3 weeks ago. You want to get sand that has little pebbles in it so the chickens can eat it for grit. To clean the run of chicken poop I zip tied 1/4 inch hardware cloth to a pitchfork type thing and sifted the poop out of the sand. But using 1/4 inch hardware cloth doesn't sift out the pebbles so it might be better to use 1/2 inch hardware cloth instead.

 

[Umbrellabones]

Sharp sand, river sand and builders sand are all the same thing. Just different regional names.

I like coral sand because it also supplies calcium carbonate. But, coral sand can increase the pH in acidic soils so watch out for that.

Thanks so much! Glad to know they are the same thing

 

[HJD]

Is title 5 sand the same a construction sand

 

[RubelliteRose]

Is title 5 sand the same a construction sand

I'm not familiar with title 5 sand. I looked it up and I believe it is only sold in Massachusetts. Looking at pictures online, I think it is similar to what I use. You want a sand that is courser than fine sandbox sand but finer than pea gravel. Having some fine sand and some coarser pieces is fine, but the majority should be somewhere in between. This is the picture from the website of the company we used. It shows the scale of the sand a little better than my picture above