sand for coop and run floor

[ridethecurrent]

I'm new at this...this is my first post...Hi!

Anyway, after reading about sand, it sounded perfect. dust baths, smooth chicken feet, and unlike deep litter, they can dig through to get worms. But I'm not able to simply rake out the poop, as was asserted in the various articles and forums. The girls walk on it and it gets mixed in with the sand and I'm wondering if it will end up being a health hazard for them.

 

[nurseshelly]

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Hi!

I use sand too, but I use a cat litter scoop to scoop the poop out. It works really well. I do of course scoop some dirt out too, but I just put a new bag or two in every once in a while. Right now it's working really well because I can spray the sand down and they take wet sand baths to cool off - LOL!

 

[gale65]

We haven't done the sand yet, but believe it or not, I was looking for youtube videos of people scooping the poop because I also envision it getting all squished and broken up and mixed in with the sand. No luck though.

 

[harrisville chicken]

We have sand in their run and pine pellets (also sold for pellet burning stoves) in the coop. See my BYC page for photos, the run is ground level and the coop is elevated.
I love the pine pellets, they quickly absorb the moisture from the poop and the only smell in there is pine, not poop.

 

[ridethecurrent]

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I was ready for scooping, but there's nothing to scoop! But you did give me one cleaning idea. I hadn't thought about hosing it down to get the poop molecules to at least get below the surface. Why do you think my chicken's poop is getting mixed in and spread out before I have a chance to get at it? Do you think their poop is too soft? Maybe something is wrong with them?

 

[ridethecurrent]

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My coop is similar. I think it's a great design for my urban/suburban space

 

[elmo]

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I was ready for scooping, but there's nothing to scoop! But you did give me one cleaning idea. I hadn't thought about hosing it down to get the poop molecules to at least get below the surface. Why do you think my chicken's poop is getting mixed in and spread out before I have a chance to get at it? Do you think their poop is too soft? Maybe something is wrong with them?

I use a reptile litter scoop made for removing reptile droppings from sand; it's perfect. Only the sand sifts through it. I taped it to a long handle so I don't have to bend over. Last year in preparation for hatching out chicks I did go through two runs with a collander and sift most of the sand to clean it. That's overdoing it a bit, I think, though.

If your chickens' droppings are unformed, you might try switching feeds.

Honestly, I would not hose down the sand. You'd be wetting the chicken poop and that's what can make it start to stink.

 

[Toothless Willie]

The gang of twelve have been out in the coop and run since early march. We got a pickup bed of sand from a local ag supply and spread it out about an inch or two deep when the run was finished. Even though it has been dry, what rain we have had has pretty well washed the sand clean. We have added a few bags of contruction sand since and seen no need to rake, scoop, or even hose the run or the coop down,(although the roosts and poop boards do required frequent cleaning).

So for my money sand is the only way to go. Odor has been minimal, and restricted to under the run perch areas. Perhaps with time this will need to be re-evaluated, but for now our run is nearly maintenance free.

 

[chicshackmama]

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So do you put the pine pellets over the sand or mix it together? I see that many use the kitty litter scoop for cleaning out the sand but how do you clean it with the pine pellets? Our coop has floors that you pull out like drawers to clean.

 

[welasharon]

I started out with sand only in the original pen and really liked it. The I added a side wing....and put pine chips in it. Then I put some hay bales in for winter warmth...now they have poluted the sand with the other stuff and it is not as great as just sand. I will be returning it to sand only next week. With the sand the poop just disappears!
sharon