I've been wanting to try the sand in my chicken coop but have read very mixed views on it, one being that it's great and helps the Oder control and it's very easy to clean. The other is that it's bad for the chickens crop, which I'm not quite sure I understand what that means, and would love someone to explain that to me as well.
Any advice on what kind/type/mixture of sands to use?
I've heard that a lot of people use sand without any problems at all, and that it does keep things drier and cleaner than mud/dirt would.
We don't keep our chickens on sand, but we do have some on the property and it hasn't caused a problem so far.
If you get cold weather I was told the sand is not good in the coop as it holds the cold temperatures but straw would be warm.im using sand in the outside run but straw inside.
We used sand in our coop for over a year. It is so easy to clean BUT we had 3 chickens die from respiratory problems, so we decided to change back to pine shaving. Since using the shaving, for about 6 months now we have had no more respiratory issues. I don't know if it was a problem with the sand but we won't be using it again. Hope this helps.
I have had sand in my coop for close to 2 years now and I hate it with a passion! I have had 6 chickens die since I put the sand in the coop for no apparent reason. Fine one day, dead the next. I do not know if it is the sand or not, but 4 out of 6 of these chickens were under 3 years old. Prior to sand, most of my chickens lived to be 8 years or older. One made it to 11 years so I know it is not my chicken keeping killing them off.
That aside, the amount of dust in the coop has at least doubled if not tripled since putting in the sand. We didn't have this amount of dust in 6 months with the DLM. Plus it is a horrid mess constantly. I do not know how this whole sand in the coop fad got started, but I sorely regret listening to those that promote it. Yes, it looks nice for the first week and after that, forget it, unless you enjoy cleaning your whole coop each day or have a very small number of chickens. I have a 6 x 10 coop and 19 chickens when I switched to sand and I do not have the energy or the desire to clean that whole coop out every single day. Same with the poop boards. No, it does not take 5 minutes unless you have a very small coop and only a few chickens. Even so, this does not address the dust issue. I am sure that is not good for the chickens.
I have to clean my whole coop out once a week and I am out there for at least an hour and when I emerge, I am coved head to toe in dust. I have to immediately hit the shower upon leaving the coop. My chickens poop on the floor, throw shavings from their nest boxes on the floor, spill their food, spill their water, throw sunflower seeds and oyster shell on the floor and make a right royal mess that cannot be totally cleaned up ever. Oh and one chicken has decided that it is a fine idea to sit on the perch and let her eggs fall onto the poop boards. It is so gross fishing eggs out of the poop. OMG!!!! I hate the sand and the poop boards.
We are building a new coop this summer and I am going to go back to the DLM. I never had a problem with that for 13 years. I rue the day I put that sand in their coop and could just smack myself in the head. I am going to take a picture of my coop and poop boards next week when I go to do my weekly clean out and post it here so everyone can see that sand does not stay pristine and clean unless you spend time every single day scooping and cleaning and even then it is impossible to get everything picked out of the sand. And if it gets wet, oh that is fun too.
Sorry, but I am anti-sand all the way. Here is what our coop looked like right after we installed the sand. It stayed like this for maybe a day at the most. It might be ok in the run, but I will never put sand in a chicken coop ever again. Stay tuned for an after picture. It will scare the life out of you.
I use sand in my run, as it drains much better than dirt. But you have to rake / sift it to keep it clean. If you don't, you will need to replace the sand every year or so. I am going out tomorrow to get 2 yard of sand to do my annual run cleaning. But I do not use it inside the actual coop. I use hay on the floor of the coop. Hay keeps it warmer in the winter, and each day I toss in 2 cups of scratch to keep the hens busy. On benefit of hay is that it composts with the chicken manure and turns into a nice rich soil for the gardens (a direct result of the chickens scratching everything up each day). I clean it out once a year, and put the compost on the gardens before planting.
Personally I use dead leaves on the floor of my coop its free and readily available, it seems to keep the small down better than pine shavings and composts great as well.
