Sand in brooder? Pine causing sneezing

[Harmoni]

That's good for sure, I was referring to the grain size itself.

I wish I could find larger grain. It is definitely larger than play sand though. My "dirt" (I live in FL) is finer and dustier and it's what they would be on if they were outside.

 

[chickfused]

It's fine and works well. It's slightly dusty, but only when you're scooping. It falls out of the air in just a few moments. It is not dangerous, IMHO.

 

[K0k0shka]

I love sand!!! It's the only bedding I use in my brooders. Never had any problem with it. I use play sand from Home Depot. Scoop with a reptile scoop like a litter box, the easiest cleanup ever and you don't waste material by constantly throwing soiled bedding out. Use a reptile scoop though, because its holes are smaller. A kitty scoop will let the tiny chick poops fall through. I put paper towels on top of the sand for the first few days, until the chicks learn what food is, so they don't gorge themselves on sand right away. They'll still eat some when you take the paper towels out, because they're curious, but not enough to cause trouble.

Here are the articles I wrote for my brooders (both had sand and I loved it both times, that's my go-to brooder bedding now).

DIY Chicken TV Brooder

DIY Chicken TV Brooder, v2.0​

 

[Farmgirl1878]

What sifter do you use exactly?

I use a long handled wok spider to clean my poop decks and the run. Easy peasey.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000DZXGLW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is a pic of the short handled one. I use it to grab eggs from the nest boxes when I have to gather them from inside the coop (when it’s raining mostly).

And this is a pic of the poop decks. The low one that the girls are on in this pic is about 18” off the floor. The taller one is almost 4’ off the floor.

 

[AGeese]

It is amazing how I survived childhood, we had sandboxes back in the day.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

It's fine and works well. It's slightly dusty, but only when you're scooping. It falls out of the air in just a few moments. It is not dangerous, IMHO.

During the winter when I have the windows closed, I’ll sometimes wear a cloth mask just to filter out some of the dust. Once it hits 50° I just fling open the windows and turn on the vent fan while I’m cleaning. It does get dusty - not from the scooping, but because the girls all decide to come in and have a dust bath while I’m cleaning!

 

[Farmgirl1878]

It is amazing how I survived childhood, we had sandboxes back in the day.

I have REALLY bad allergies too. The sand doesn’t seem to bother me.

 

[AGeese]

I wear a mask too. I think I grew into allergies over time sadly. The dry play sand killed me when I let me girls dust bath in the garage, but I don't remember it being an issue as a kid.

The stuff you pictured here looks a lot softer than what I had like that stuff you put in little rock gardens on your desk, it never bothers me.

 

[K0k0shka]

It is amazing how I survived childhood, we had sandboxes back in the day.

A couple of years ago all the playgrounds in our town got torn down and rebuilt. We got some fancy new equipment, which was nice. But all the sandboxes disappeared and were not replaced! With "hygiene" being the reason. Seriously! Who disinfects the beach? I'm glad I have a house with a back yard so my kids can know what a sandbox is. The kids downtown in apartments... probably won't

 

[AGeese]

A couple of years ago all the playgrounds in our town got torn down and rebuilt. We got some fancy new equipment, which was nice. But all the sandboxes disappeared and were not replaced! With "hygiene" being the reason. Seriously! Who disinfects the beach? I'm glad I have a house with a back yard so my kids can know what a sandbox is. The kids downtown in apartments... probably won't

We live in the era of safety culture for sure.