Sand in brooder

[LaynaDon95]

Okay, so I've heard of using sand in my brooder as bedding. I really love that idea but I do have questions.

What kind of sand? I know they have 50 lbs. bags play sand at Lowes for like 4 bucks. Will that work?

kitty litter scoop? Will that work? Some people say reptile poop scoop. I have no idea where to get those. Will a kitty litter scoop work as well?

Is the dust too bad? I have the brooder in the house right now. I can move it outside but will I need to?

Is it okay to use on day olds? I don't have any at the moment, mine are older, but I will have some soon. Is it a good option for preventing splayed leg?

This question is not about chicks but, I have a pregnant cat. Can I use sand as kitty litter for her? Just a thought, since we might have sand on hand anyways. Would the dust be bad for her or the kittens?

 

[ThomsonCentennialFarm]

Play sand is too fine. Use paving sand instead. You can still get it at Lowe's. I used it in my brooder box last summer and didn't care for it because chick poo is teeny tiny and doesn't scoop out very well with a cat litter scoop. I do use it in my coop with adult chickens and it works great.

You can use regular sand for your cat box as well but be aware it doesn't have any odor or moisture absorbing properties, so it's going to smell and not clump very well. If you're wanting to go more natural for your cat box I would recommend Feline Pine or Equine Fresh pine pellet bedding (same product).

 

[LaynaDon95]

Play sand is too fine. Use paving sand instead. You can still get it at Lowe's. I used it in my brooder box last summer and didn't care for it because chick poo is teeny tiny and doesn't scoop out very well with a cat litter scoop. I do use it in my coop with adult chickens and it works great.

You can use regular sand for your cat box as well but be aware it doesn't have any odor or moisture absorbing properties, so it's going to smell and not clump very well. If you're wanting to go more natural for your cat box I would recommend Feline Pine or Equine Fresh pine pellet bedding (same product).

Do you have to let the sand dry out before you lay it down? It has a lot of moisture in it at the moment.

Right now we are using newspapers do I think sand will be a step up... We are only having her indoors while she's pregnant and lactating so we haven't invested in any kind of cat litter or real litter box. The odor is already bad.

 

[featheredroots]

We use Swheat Scoop for our cats and our chicks. It's lighter than sand, so it's easy to dump come changing time, plus it absorbs odor and is flushable. It's 100% wheat and very low dust, should be great for the kittens.

 

[ThomsonCentennialFarm]

I just put mine in about 2 inches deep, it was damp also because it came from a big pile at the nursery. It dries out pretty quickly and you can give it a rake-through every so often to mix up the wet stuff. Mine dries pretty quick, especially if you're using it under a heat lamp.

Sand would definitely be a step up from newspaper and probably closer to what she is used to going in outside (i.e., dig a hole in the flower bed to go).

 

[LaynaDon95]

I just put mine in about 2 inches deep, it was damp also because it came from a big pile at the nursery. It dries out pretty quickly and you can give it a rake-through every so often to mix up the wet stuff. Mine dries pretty quick, especially if you're using it under a heat lamp.

Sand would definitely be a step up from newspaper and probably closer to what she is used to going in outside (i.e., dig a hole in the flower bed to go).

Nice. Thank you. Should I provide a space in the brooder that isn't sand, so they have a spot to get away from the moisture until it dries some?

I think I'll introduce sand to the cat when it's dry... Her moody pregnant self might be a little upset with me if I put cold, damp sand in her litter box. =P

 

[Eznet2u]

We use The Play Sand from Lowe's in both of our Brooders. It dries out very fast with the heat lamp. Very little dust. When changing the bedding, we just use a piece of window screen over a bucket to sift out the "Clumps" and bits of food. Let it dry for a couple of days outside, no smell.

We use it about 1.5 inches in depth. They love to scratch through it for food that they have kicked out of the feeder. They are also starting to use it to take dust baths in.

One bag will fill both of our brooders twice. This gives the just cleaned sand time to dry out.

Works great.

 

[Ole rooster]

I don't know about the play sand being to fine but that's all I have. I put a sack in the coop about every month to replace what comes out from cleaning. Mostly stuck to the moist poop. Which is good as it give it a coating. I did have an old part of a pile of sand I use mixing mortar from years ago and that went under my coop.

For cleaning I bought a kitty litter scoop from the family dollar and one of the child's sand bucket and shovel set to carry it in. But the sand thing I want tell you what to do, but the play sand is all I use and have been now for 9 months.

 

[Maximus]

I was also wandering about sand can you use it for day olds?

 

[southphoenixchick]

I hope so because I am right now... They are eating some but I've been told they need a little grit anyway. I'll let you know if it hurts them but I'm trying it with two day old chicks right now.