Sand for Bedding questions

[ivan3]

jdoane wrote: Now my one last big question. idunno.gif I am won over to the sand idea but just concerned that if sand helps keep coop cool in the summer, what about winter. Will the coop be noticeably colder? I live in western Mass and we get some pretty cold snaps.

As I mentioned in my first post, too cold here in winter to not add straw/wood chips for `insulation' during the day.

 

[chynasparks]

If winters here got as cold as y'all's do I'd be doing something different. I may need to block off areas due to cold wind but I will stay with just sand on the floor. Hubby attached a little door to the window so we can close the window to the roost area. Right now the pop hole going into the roost is uncovered. Plan to hang clear flap split so they can go in and out through it. That will help keep some heat inside the roost. Other than all that they should be fine this winter. (Now watch it snow)

 

[MinBH2O]

I too use sand for the coop floor, live on the south shore, Massachusetts, zone 6. Installed about a yard and a half in an 6' X 12'. Coop built on 16" X 4" x 2" cinder blocks burried in the ground. Build coop with a clean out door, outside the fenced in area to make annual turn over a bit easier. Clean the floor morning and night, very easy to manage using a cat litter scoop. Keep an old cat litter plastic pail with lid just outside the door...perfect size. Smell only becomes noticable about 3/4 full at which point it gets dumped into the garden composter. Cat scoop does miss some of the small stuff so making a sifter the size of a dust pan. One a week I sift through the top layer and get most of the droppings. Feathers collect in the coop corners and are difficult to get with scooper. Use DE mixed in. Sweet PDZ or Stall Boy would also work. Floor a bit dusty but a sign the sand is dry, odor has not been an issue. Hang herbs: lemon balm and mint. Have not had an issue with flies. In fact fly sticky strip catches very little. Considering PDZ or Dry Stall as additional mixins if experience indicates a need, particularly in winter when the ventilation is limited - windows and doors kept closed. Use large mason mixing pans under the roosts where most waste collects. Floor material, if dry should not make a difference in winter. The key to maintaining heat is the balance between protection from drafts and humidity build up/ventilation management. I have not insulated the coop, will see hoe they fare. Plan to oil combs when cold weather expected. Have a thermometer with humidity gauge that I monitor weekly. Sand covered dropping go right into the compositor or are worked into resting garden beds...the sand is actually a benefit given the hard clay soil here. The decision on flooring material is a personal preference, choose something in line with your maintainence style.

 

[aaltamare]

I live in western PA so our weather is pretty similar. I recently started using sand and I do like it a lot. I am new to the chicken obsession, but am quickly figuring things out. I only put about two inches of sand and DE sprinkled tbroughtout. I scoop under their roost usually daily or every couple days. My girls are outside during the day so that is where most of their poop is. I decided to add some pine shavings for a little extra dryness. Turns out the smell from this natural adder is great, and does help keep things a little drier. I don't add that much, maybe a quarter of a bag. I don't usually put the shavings under the roost for easier cleanup. You can always add a little more sand as you go and shavings in the winter. I have five birds and my coop rarely stinks. I usually only take about five minutes a day for cleaning then once a week I am a little more thorough. My coop is about 6x12 also.

 

[chynasparks]

Lately here in the Houston Galveston area we've had some rainy days. My 4x8 coop run has been wet. I have sand over concrete. Also used sweet PDZ with some DE mixed in. For the most part sand mixture has been great. Last few days things have stayed damp. Not muddy, but damp. I came home from work and notice an increas of flies and an overall musty (wet) smell. All summer I've been off (school bus driver) and was able to spend a lot more time scooping and shifting the sand. The peeps have everything compacted down. It's time to take a shovel and really turn and loosen the dirt and I'll add in more PDZ. I don't think I need to change it out, just loosen it up so it can dry out. I've only just started in June and was hoping to make the sand last a year before changing out. I do expect to add sand from time to time since I loose some during the scooping up process. I've got to come up with a new routine for chicken maintenance now that I'm back to work. I'm still happy with the sand but I don't like that its staying damp. They couldn't dust bathe so I put a pan in. It's staying dry. Well, that's my sand bed update.

 

[aaltamare]

Someone on this site once told me don't forget they are wearing a down jacket. And I try to remember back to when I was a kid, my grandfather never had heat and all his chickens survived.

 

[Bens-Hens]

My 2 cents GO TEAM SAND!

I live in a warmer climate.

I use bags of washed play sand in our coop. No wire mesh, no straw. The timber is sealed and painted, then clean sand over the top.

I use a converted milk jug with holes drilled in the bottom as a sift to clear the droppings. Start out about an inch deep and when it gets thin I either top it up with about half a bag or spread it on the run floor and replace it with new.

We also use washed river sand in the run as it get really muddy with the natural soil/clay in winter.

I was put off using DE, so we don't use any. No respiratory problems to speak of (from either sort of sand.)

River sand.


Play sand under roosts/perches




We sue this type of stuff in the nest boxes at the moment, it's for horse stalls (not sweet pdz) Also milk jug scoop (my droppings one has holes in the base so it's a big sift.)

 

[lulu313]

i live in wisconsin and we are trying sand this year and so far it has been great. we dont know how well it will work in the winter but we just insalated our coop this year. last winter we used shavings and on the really cold nights we would turn on a heat lamp.

 

[kcobbs]

you also could use a large cat litter box with a cover that: doesn't have the vents in the top for your chickens for their dust baths!

 

[chynasparks]

I heard that! I remember my aunt had chickens. They lived in the barn. That's it. They weren't fenced no poop boards and such. Scratch got thrown out in the ground. They lived. I'm scared to let my peeps out because hawks