Sand floor just isn't cutting it

[chicken 86]

You could make a 2' by 2' sifter out of wood and put 1/4" hardware cloth on the bottom and then sift out the poop and feathers.

Or if that doesn't work you could get a finer mesh.

 

[CandiceN]

Thank you for all the replies! I do have an enclosed coop, with a wood floor, raised up about a foot off the ground with cement blocks in the 4 corners. . I think part of the problem is that we put weed cloth under the sand to keep it from falling through the wood slats in the floor (There's very small gaps, but I was afraid it would all fall through). The chickens have begun digging it up and tearing it apart.

My plan today is to go out and empty the coop completely, including the weed cloth, and start over fresh with pine shavings, which I have 2 bales of from the local feed store. I also bought a mulching fork to help turn it. I already have DE, so I will start with about 4 inches of shavings mixed with DE. I have to figure out a way to hang their food bucket, too. We already have a hanging nipple waterer so that will be all set. I'm hoping it helps keep down the smell and general yuckiness of the coop.

I might spread out some of the remaining sand in the run. They have dug up all the grass and it's just a big mess of mud/dirt now.

Thanks again!

 

[Ole rooster]

This is just me, but I had much rather have damp sand than damp hay. I have this bag sand from HD and one thing I've noticed about it is it dries out faster than I would have imagined. I just don't know how you would dry hay inside the coop.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

Quote:
I agree with this. Sand in the run is awesome. I use pine shavings in the nest boxes and coop.

 

[CandiceN]

Quote:
I agree with this. Sand in the run is awesome. I use pine shavings in the nest boxes and coop.

I think this is what I'll end up with. Pine in the coop, sand in the run.

Thanks!

 

[gale65]

We're going to switch to deep litter too. In our current coop we couldn't do it because the pop door, which is maybe 12" tall, is right at the floor. Since we're starting over we can account for that. I talked to dh about it today and he said he'd rather scoop out all of the shavings once or twice a year than have me have to scoop poop out of sand twice a week or more.

 

[Mattemma]

I used sand in my chicken shed,but there was a real funky smell despite the daily scooping.I went back to pine shavings,and do a quick clean up daily to remove some droppings(mostly roost area).

 

[CandiceN]

Quote:
I'll probably do a quick scooping under the roost where the piles tend to accumulate, too, every 2-3 days. I have 2 cat litter scoops designated for the coop already (one on a long pole), meant for the sand; so it won't be much extra effort to keep it from getting gross.